9/16/17 Km 82 to Campsite # 1

Our day started getting to know our fellow trekkers: Eric & Haley (St Louis), Michael & Yujin (Washington),  Tim & Iffy  (Australia /UK),  Aaron, Soma & Louie (young  lads from London),  Kimo (Austalia),  Tatiana (Russian living in Amsterdam), Chris & Aaron (Canada). Our guides were Christian (with 10 years experience) and Pablo.

We started at a much lower altitude than Cusco (9409 feat vs 11,186 feet). We would drop down to 8,429 feet and finish the day at 9,870 feet.  There was always one guide at the front controlling the pace and one behind the last trekker at the back where we usually were.

We were the last group to get on the Inca trail that day (only 500 people are allowed on each day and you must have a guide.  The lead guide would periodically stop throughout the day so the group could get together. He would usually give us information abut the Incan culture or about a particular ruin we might be passing.

For lunch they provide a dining tent in which they served multiple courses of Peruvian cooking. The porters and cooks  worked incredibly hard each day.  They would carry around 55 pounds on their  backs and race ahead of us to have the camp and meals set up for when we got there.

Our first campsite was behind a ladies home where we had a “proper toilet”.   We start every evening in the dining tent for happy hour tea followed by a meal with multiple courses of food that were incredibly delicous.  We had a blast getting to know the various “personalities” in the group.  Micheal was the philosopher in our group who would always provide us with many deep quotes like “the mountain doesn’t change, you change”.  After a great evening Beth and I went to sleep in our tent which was cramped with all our gear.  Tomorrow, we go to the summit (Dead Woman’s Pass) at 13,818 feet.