The Inca Trail - Day 3

Another postcard moment
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Day 3 - The Knee Destroyer

After what seemed like the coldest night on earth, and after only having three hours sleep each, we awoke at 5am for what was to be the longest trekking day.  We were keen to warm up and so enjoyed the best porridge Linda has ever tasted.  Isacc then explained the reality of today......9 hours of trekking!

Every step was painful, but being a Fidge, he sucked it up and soldiered on

The first hour was a steep ascent to the second pass, where we could see how far we had come from Dead Woman´s Pass.  On the way we were able to explore an amazing Incan site steeped in mystery and history.  Isacc explained the importance of the soltices to the Incan people as well as the Incan belief system which included the Inner World (snake), the Living World (puma) and Spiritual World (condor).  This was followed by an hour of beautiful walks through the Amazon Rainforest.  We were constantly in awe of the countless postcard moments everywhere we looked.

Admiring the view
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Lunch was early (11am) but was needed for the long long long trek ahead.  We headed down for what seemed like an eternity.  Mike´s knee didn´t make things any easier as his iliotibial band decided to play up.  Every step was painful, but being a Fidge, he sucked it up and soldiered on.  The pain may have dulled his mind, as when given the option of a quick decent to camp or hiking another 30 minutes to see another Incan Site we chose the latter.  It was worth the extra time and pain, however we had to cut it short as Linda´s bladder was about to burst.

Isacc explaining Incan history
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Speaking of toilets, we will never again take for granted being able to sit down on a toilet (curse the drop toilets).

After stumbling in to camp exhuasted, the only thing on our minds was the two chocolate bars that we had been craving for the past 4 hours.  They were the best tasting chocolate bars we have ever had.  That bliss was quickly followed by a hot shower and a cold beer for Mike.  After another awesome dinner, it was time to cheer the porters and give them their well earnt tips.  They really were amazing and so friendly.

The first Incan Site of the day
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As you could imagine, sleep was on our minds. Particularly as we had a 4am start to trek to the Sun Gate tomorrow.  We decided that in order to get some sleep, we needed to cuddle, and so put our sleeping bags together.  This proved to be the ticket, and for the first time in 3 nights, we both got a good nights sleep.