Peru 2005: Introduction
Introduction
This whole thing started back on May 17th, 2005. I had casually deleted the email from the Stanford Alumni Association figuring that neither Steph or myself could afford the trip, or that it would be of any interest to either one of us. I was so very wrong! To my amazement, the girl from Florida who had never been south of the equator (let alone out of the country) was seriously considering it (note: this same girl-from-florida also loves sushi and now plays ice-hockey—go figure). We knew that these trips sold out and had to act quickly. Could we afford it? Was the timing right? Could we manage the details? Would we ever have this opportunity again? (Yes, Yes, Yes, Not Really). Within a few days we had our deposit wired and were confirmed for the trip. Within 2 weeks all 30 spots were sold out. We were on the trail 4 months later.
A few things to note: I have never been to a spanish speaking country. Neither one of us speaks anything other than food-spanish. I, too, have never been south of the equator or in a country as developing as Peru. I have never had to pack with such severe weight and space requirements (22lbs on the trail, 44lbs total weight). Nor have I ever been and stayed at these altitudes (13,800 peak, two nights at 12,000). I also have not been camping for this many nights in a row since I was a kid.
Yes, this was shaping up to be an adventure with memories to last a lifetime.
The preparation was intense. Lots of walking to get in shape (started playing hockey, too). Numerous trips to R.E.I. to purchase nearly $1000 in new lightweight gear. Spreadsheet packing lists. Scanned documents just in case. Travel insurance, immunizations, innoculations and imdemnifications. Books about Peru, the Inca Trail and Altitude Sickness. Medical kits to prepare and shoes to break in (I have *major* blister problems, but figured out how to beat them….more on this later). Thankfully, the Stanford YAE and Global Adrenaline provided documents and answers to all of our questions.
