We were all told to meet at the same restaurant the next morning so we could grab breakfast and start the most challenging part of our trek - an eight hour high-altitude narrow hike (part of which touches the original Inca trail).
I woke up an hour before we needed to be at the restaurant, I was one of the first ones there. I finished most of my fruits but my tummy still hurt. I walked towards the washroom to try and work some magic but as I was about to enter, Stephan (a fellow German tour goer) warns me that it wasn't flushing and I wouldn't want to go in there. Of course I had to see it myself, and of course he was right - there were floaties. Another tour mate was with me waiting (Sheila) and so we took matters into our own hands and tried dunking the remainder with more water. It wasn't working. I searched for Alex to ask if there were any other washrooms around but unfortunately, there wasn't. So he was the superhero that stepped in and fixed the toilet for us. Thank you Alex, thank you Jesus! I managed to relieve my stomach a bit but I could tell that this bug wasn't done with me yet. Nonetheless, the trek was set to start...bug or no bug.
The first bit of the trek was easy enough, it was flat terrain. When the uphill started, this was when I started to feel extremely ill. I let everyone pass in front of me and I looked visibly sick. Stephan and Cedric stayed at the back of the pack with me. They insisted I give them any extra weight I was carrying. How did I get so blessed with these two angels who tooks shifts in carrying my belongings? Even my water bottle and camera, Cedric insisted he carry everything for me. Swoon.
Truth is, it was only actually slightly easier without the extra weight. I took several breaks and kept dry-heaving. I just wanted to throw up but nothing would come out. Cedric and Stephan looked at me helpless. I wanted to cry. These guys were being so sweet and telling me to take as many breaks as I necessary.
Eventually we made it to our first resting area where the rest of the group was at. I felt defeated. Being competitive, I looked around knowing that I was the last one to come up. I rested and drank lots trying to catch my breath as I know it's not over yet.
The second part of the trek was a bit easier. My lungs and stomach were cooperating with me. My belongings were still with the guys. We got to a little restaurant on the trail where we would have lunch. I had the quinoa soup but I couldn't finish the main meal even though it was delicious.
On the third part of the trek I decided I would carry my own belongings. Cedric would check on me every now and then and I would assure him I was fine. He had a knack of calling me "girl". "Ay girl are you alright?", he would ask in his very French accent. We got to know a little bit more on the hike, I told him about where I'm coming from, my past, where I want to be...and he did the same. I confronted him at one point, "do you even know my name?" I asked laughing. He assured me he did. He's interesting. From what he tells me, this 31 year old has been working in the IT field back home and one day realized that he doesn't want to do it anymore. His passion is in journalism and media. So he's taken off a year to travel and document political (and adventurous) trips that he would go on. Care free. His plans were to sell his adventure tour videos shot with his camera to tour companies once he finishes editing. He said he would also like to sell photos if he could. We both had similar interests in that sense.
It was a 9 hour day (10 if you count the hour we spent at the lunch spot). We made our way to the thermal baths. After crossing a bridge, using a manual cable pulley car to cross the river, and more trekking in the rain...we made it. I decided not to go in the hot springs but I dipped my feet instead. I was basically mosquito food; there wasn't a strong enough repellant to keep these bugs off.
Alex presented the group with two options. Take a taxi to the simple hostel or walk 40min in the dark (the sun was barely in sight and was quickly running away completely). All but a group of five opted for a taxi. Once our taxi was near the top of the hill and close to town, the taxi got stuck in the mud. It was raining earlier and this caused the dirt road to go soft on us. This meant that everyone in the taxi needed to get out and push. This would've worked for me..if i wasn't wearing flip-flops. After many scary slippery attempts (it started rolling backwards on the pushers)..the car made it to the top and nobody was hurt. Within two minutes, we were at the hotel. We managed to acquire three new tourists. As it turned out, they were left behind by their own group. An American and a Peruvian couple. So far, the American annoys me.
Only two more days...
