Top of the mountain: A hike to Machu Picchu (Part 5)

By Simon J. Lau

I went to sleep soon after we arrived at our camp yesterday and I woke up feeling much better this morning. Good enough to hold down food and really enjoy this part of the trek. Ironically, this part of the trip was much easier than yesterday. We only hiked 15 km, compared to 24 km yesterday, and it was mostly flat. We also had a chance to drop by a hot spring after settling into our campsite.

This is a photo of my father and me in front of one of the waterfalls along the way to our campsite. If you look at our faces, we have red markings along our cheeks. Kenny found some red berries that were used as face paint by the Incas and he applied this same dye to each person’s face in the group.

One characteristic that made Kenny such a great guide was his enthusiasm for sharing. In this case, he went ahead of us to find fruits off the beaten path. The first fruit Kenny shared with us was a type of passion fruit that was quite delicious. At the same time, we found this pumpkin-like fruit in the same area. Apparently, it was not ripe for the taking, but I suggested that Kenny hide it so that he could scoop it up next week and cook it next time. Sure enough, we helped him cover it with brush. This is what you could see after we camouflaged it.

This was my first hot spring experience and it was amazing! There were three pools – a kiddy pool, a hot pool, and a warm pool. I spent most of my time in the hot pool chatting with Kenny. It was here that I learned a tremendous deal about Kenny, his family, and the modern Peruvian economy. At one point, we were discussing what it meant to be happy and Kenny reminded me that satisfaction is mainly determined by your perspective. It is something that most people know, but it is worth reminding ourselves when life does not go our way. Never let yourself get too low.

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