Monday, January 29, 2007

Inca Trail - Day 3


Couldn't face dinner again last night but I sleep well. Despite this, my eyes are so puffy I can hardly see out and I can't seem to walk in a straight line as my legs have turned to jelly.

We set off at 7.30 for our next campsite, Wiñaywayna. I'm assured that the rest of the trail will be a walk in the park. When I enquire further, the dreaded expression 'Andean flat' is uttered. Apart from a steep 20 minute section, the next 1.5 hours are undulating through jungle until we reach the Phuyupatamarca (Town above the Clouds) ruins at 3600 metres. Although I'm exhausted and looking forward to an afternoon relaxing at the campsite, the guide is right. Nothing will ever seem as hard as the day before.

At 10.30am we start our two-hour descent to the Wiñaywayna campsite, at 2700 metres. There are over 2000 steps and the downhill onslaught is relentless. Again the steps are steep, uneven and slippery. One of the girls in our group is reduced to tears when she repeatedly falls over as her knees have given way. I have strapped my painful one as I feared the same would happen to me.

On the way to the campsite we also pass the Intipata ruins but exhaustion has made all the ruins merge into one. We arrive at the Wiñaywayna campsite at 1pm and I collapse into my tent ready to sleep for the afternoon.

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