Peru 2005: Epilogue
Epilogue
I don’t even remember boarding the plane and sitting down. Somewhere in there I dozed off….sleeping in an environment more testing than a sleeping bag on rocky ground (an airplane seat with a poor headrest). I was zonked and we were en route to Atlanta. There was an obnoxious crying baby on board, but nothing that my earplugs couldn’t handle.
In Atlanta, we had to pass through customs. The drug sniffing beagle gave my bags a good onceover (I was glad that the coca-tea smell exuding from our pores wasn’t enough to cause us problems). On the other side of customs it was a sudden rush to the bathroom and one final GI-tract explosion (turns out the GI issues would continue for another week as my stomach figured things out). A lunch at the Atlanta airport Chili’s and then we boarded another plane headed for San Francisco. Don’t remember much else…but somehow we made it home. It took over a week to unpack and dare to deal with washing the ultra-nasty trail clothes.
As I finish out this megablog–almost exactly 3 months since we got back–I am very glad that I took the plunge and signed up. Prior to the trip, i was nervous about the challenge, anxious about the unknown and scared of too many things to count. Would I go to Peru again? Yes, especially Cusco and Machu Picchu. Would I hike the Inca Trail again? Probably not, there are too many people on the trail as it is…too many for me to feel the need (or the right) to take a second swing at it (ask me again 10 years from now). Would I travel with SYAE again? Hell yes…the trip arrangments, the people, everything was awesome. Cherished and unforgettable! Who needs sleep, anyway?
Looking back at the Introduction to this whole thing, a few last minute thoughts come to mind. Packing for trekking and weight and an unkown environment was a lesson in insane day-to-day organization involving a few very large spreadsheets. The gear required (to get the weight down) plus the trip costs came out to be a pretty shiny penny, but definitely worth it! The food was tasty and offerred a great variety of flavors and textures. I wish I had not gotten that chest cold (or whatever it was) early on, for I would have liked to determine my altitude susceptibility better (without resorting to Diamox). Speaking of Chest Colds, that DayQuil was a total lifesaver those first couple of days on the trail. Immodium was the life save the last couple of days on the trail. And finally, although we didn’t ever need it, the travel insurance and the scanning of our important documents definitely helped us sleep better at night!
I had a great time, and am glad that the both of us together took >700 photos (not nearly enough IMHO). It has also been my pleasure to share the unabashed set of experiences we encountered while on our excursion…for in the sharing, I too have marveled at recalling some of the things we accomplished.
Special thanks to Steph and Susi for all of their editing help! In spite of their valiant efforts to set me straight, I know there are still mistakes in here, but at least it’s clean enough to read!
