I mean it was last supper on the trail. The last site had some attributes of our civilization - hot shower, restaurant. I bought beer in the restaurant and we celebrated the achivement with the Guido, cook, and porters.

Photos from my 4-day Inca Trail trek in the Sacred Valley of Peru. Read my story of the Trail here.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Nevertheless, the fact that we were just 33 meters below 5,000 meters appealed for action. I couldn't resist to climb little bit higher. Unfortunately, the selected route ended up hitting vertical wall, and I was able to reach just the mark 4,493 meters by the altimeter in my GPS.

The white stuff on this cactus is Cochineal - some sort of insect or something. Anyways whatever it is it is used to dye wool red!

The first part of the hike was in a very strange area - it was very, very cold but cactus plants were growing! Something to do with the high elevation, lack of moisture, but proximity to the equator. It was odd.

Inca Trail Day 1

Incredible views!

Llaqtapata ruins, on the Inca Trail, Peru.

The picture was taken pretty close to 5000 meters. The clouds cover the valley below. I'm not sure why, but neither Val, nor I felt special altitude discomfort. May be because we found correct slow pace that kept us functional.

Look at her haircut! Would you believe she didn't dye her hairs?