PHOTOGRAPHY
TREK TO MACHU PICCHU DAY 8
Route: Lucmabamba to Aguas Calientes
We began the day by bidding farewell to our invaluable arrieros and animals. Clark planned a wonderful ceremony for the tipping and gifts. Each man had a number which, when pulled by one of us, matched a name. That arriero received one of the 11 piles of gifts …. such as shoes, head lamps etc. that we had put together. Tips were given to the guides to divide. Hugging each of them, we sadly said good bye to the helpful and kind men who had made the trip possible for us. Nothing was ever too difficult or too demanding for them. They worked incredibly hard on our behalf.
We set out on another ancient Inca stone path through a grove of coffee and avocado trees. Following the contours of the hills, we followed the Santa Teresa River, up and down through swaths of burgundy grass. A thrilling flock of green parrots flew out of a canyon, we passed through a mossy forest where we saw our FIRST VIEW OF MACHU PICCHU!
The Inca site of Llactapata,discovered in 2003, offered breathtaking views of Machu Picchu seen by very few.
From there, in a sense of euphoria and joy, I felt I was flying a foot above the path to the finish line where the Pedros offered us the best lunch yet and we toasted ourselves with champagne. Well done!!!!
