Hello Everyone,
Yesterday we had a lovely drive from Cusco to some Inca ruins at Tirawasi, and then on to the trailhead where we started our first day of hiking. The drive was beautiful! The pavement turned to dirt and we started climbing from the lush valleys below up into the mountains. After a few stops and about 4 hours of driving we arrived at the trailhead. From there we climbed up into the hills for the first couple of hours and then the trail was much more gradual the next couple of hours to the beautiful Salkantay lodge. We were greeted with hot towels, and tea and a very friendly smiling staff. Dinner was fantastic and then we all headed off to bed in our very comfortable rooms. The Salkantay lodge is just over 12,200ft. Everyone has felt the effects of being at altitude but are all starting to acclimatize and feel much better now.
Today we went on an acclimatization hike up to a glacial lake about 1,200 ft above the lodge. A couple people even decided to take a dip in the cold lake. After swimming, a couple of local Shaman men performed a blessing ceremony for us to keep us safe on our journey to Machu Picchu.
After walking back down to the lodge we had lunch and then had the rest of the afternoon to relax, get a massage, horseback ride, get in the Jacuzzi, or take a nap. Everyone is doing really well. We have a great group and we are having a lot of fun!
We are looking forward to our hike tomorrow up to our highest point at over 15,000ft. After tomorrow we will slowly start making our way back down to lower elevations before reaching Machu Picchu.
Everyone says hello to everyone following along back home, and we’ll check back in again soon!
Ben
