After a warmer night sleep (not going to lie, the beers helped too!), we headed even further down. It was an easy (?) 6 hour hike to our camp site at La Playa (2,350). The day started with us navigating the mud washed trails, sometimes hand in hand.
We crossed into various different ecosystems, crossing rivers, and waterfalls.
We stopped for lunch and a break where a lady had a small shop. Gatorade has never tasted so good. We continued down, passing small houses and communities. La Playa is a very small town, where we stayed for the night. After a quick dip in the river, colder than I thought, we headed back for a cervesa. A local named Flabian asked us if we wanted to play a game of futbol.
We obliged, only to find out our guide is a total ringer who used to play for his university in Cuzco. They bet us a beer thinking that we were a couple of gringos, a city boy guide, and a couple of local kids. We showed them, winning two games in a row, including a gringo only goal (I assisted Brandon for a game winner). We enjoyed our hard fought for beer over a discussion of this dreaded decision of option 1 or 2. Option 1 included another back breaking day up a part of the Inca trail to Llactapata (2,700m), including a view of Machu Picchu from about 20km. Option 2 included a nice easy bus ride, a relaxing day in Santa Teresa including hot springs, and another bus ride to Agua Calientes. We decided option 2 was the way to go. Off to bed for another day of hiking
.
We crossed into various different ecosystems, crossing rivers, and waterfalls.
We stopped for lunch and a break where a lady had a small shop. Gatorade has never tasted so good. We continued down, passing small houses and communities. La Playa is a very small town, where we stayed for the night. After a quick dip in the river, colder than I thought, we headed back for a cervesa. A local named Flabian asked us if we wanted to play a game of futbol.
We obliged, only to find out our guide is a total ringer who used to play for his university in Cuzco. They bet us a beer thinking that we were a couple of gringos, a city boy guide, and a couple of local kids. We showed them, winning two games in a row, including a gringo only goal (I assisted Brandon for a game winner). We enjoyed our hard fought for beer over a discussion of this dreaded decision of option 1 or 2. Option 1 included another back breaking day up a part of the Inca trail to Llactapata (2,700m), including a view of Machu Picchu from about 20km. Option 2 included a nice easy bus ride, a relaxing day in Santa Teresa including hot springs, and another bus ride to Agua Calientes. We decided option 2 was the way to go. Off to bed for another day of hiking
.
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