Macchu Picchu

Tomorrow is a big day. My mom and I start our hike to Macchu Picchu bright and early in the morning. I think my mom is a bit more nervous than I am about the whole thing. I know that it's going to be long and tiring but I don't imagine it to be that mentally difficult, something that you just kind of keep plodding. I mean I've grown up playing golf and thirtysix hole days have to be just as tiring if not more so because you are carrying a bag of metal sticks on your back. I'm not trying to take away from the trip but I just think its going to be more beautiful and intriguing than challenging. This is also easy to say because my mom has hired extra porters for us and I don't have to carry any of the cooking gear (although it should be noted that in my extra porter bag is just my sleeping bag and the rest is my mom's stuff). There is also the great chance that I get to the end of everything and am cursing myself, but it just seems like it'll be a tiring couple of days but that there is little chance that I don't make it.

The reason I say all this is because of the people that I have seen walking around town talking about how they've done on the trek. And for the most part, I would say that there doesn't seem to be that many serious hikers. It seems like the majority of the people talking about it are backpackers/travelers and I haven't been that impressed by the fitness of many of them. My mom and I sat at this table for dinner the other night and the couple next to us had just finished the trek a couple of days before and they were gracious enough to spill some of their wisdom to us. My mom was soaking it in like a sponge, because she has been a bit worried, but nothing they said seemed that shocking. It was basically: Drink water (um, really?), bring snacks on the way and eat them (profound!) and don't try to go too fast. On top of all this, the guy had more excess body fat than my mom, me and his wife/girlfriend combined. So naturally I became even more relaxed. Who knows, maybe this is hard, but it seems a lot less daunting being here.