36 I Out in the Mountains |August 2000

Machu Picchu continued from page 35

And I wept a little and I
thanked the river and the Apu
and the other Apus and the
Guides again.

Namaste.

That was my first moment
on the Inca Trail. During the
next five days we hiked — in
groups, in pairs, alone —
through some of the most beau-
tiful country l’ve ever seen.
There were dry stretches, with
cactus and century plants;
farms with llamas grazing;
cloud forests; lush green places
with bamboo and copper-col-
ored moss a foot thick (good
for a facial). Everywhere,
always, were steep valleys and
jagged peaks, some snow-cov-
ered.

There were many ruins — or
sacred places, as weppreferred
to call them — which vwe

explored with such disregard
for the passage of time that our
tour guides were at their wits’
end to get us to each campsite
before nightfall.

Porters carried the tents and
our heavy gear and scurried
past us on the trail each day to
set up camp for the following
night. The porters were angels.
Their strength and stamina
were phenomenal, and they
were unfailingly good-
humored. Some of us surely
could not have made the trip
without them.

The trail is mostly steep.
Much of it consists of stone
steps. But I think the major fac-
tor was the altitude. Even car-

VolunteeTopportu

rying very li_ttle extra weight,
and despite the wads of coca
leaves constantly in our
cheeks, we all found it a chal-
lenging trek. Perhaps the most
difficult stretch was the climb
to Dead Woman’s Pass, at
14,000 feet. l was the last to
reach the top and was wel-
comed by the most love—f1lled
group hug of my life.

Then comes the downhill —
or downstairs — part, in which
you learn everything you ever
wanted to know about your
knees.

But the mist is gathering —
and then clearing; and

Humberto or Puma is playing
the Andean flute; and the echo
is bouncing offthe hills; and all
around are the Apus, looking
down and blessing our every
step and receiving our constant

 

honoring of them. Apu
Wakkaywillka. Apu
Salkkantay.

May I don ’t know, 2000

There has been zero time.

We arrived in Machu Picchu
this morning. The place is
tremendously impressive: you
need 3-D and 360 degrees. I
am sitting in the sun in a grassy

  

       

e, tating g.

It was a thrill to arrive at the
Sun Gate this morning." the
recognition that we all had
made it. Lots of hugging. The
Hokey-Pokey. A little ceremo-
ny....
The views here, as every-
where along the trail, are spec-
tacular beyond description. No
photographs have a chance of
capturing them....

Two of the women in our
group got married in Machu
Picchu. That evening, in Aguas
Calientes — the village a short
bus ride from Machu Picchu —
at tables outside of Inka’s
Pizza (we’re back in civiliza-
tion now), we toasted them
with Champagne. A band of
musicians in the square saw us,
came to the table, and started

"playing and singing Happy

Birthday. Our laughter only
encouraged them to sing more
and more choruses — in
English, in Spanish, slow, fast.
There was no way we could
explain to them, through our
tears of laughter, that it was
nobody’s birthday: that two
women who love each other
had gotten married that morn-
ing in Machu Picchu. V

 

   

. RY

 

(

Watch fo
EXPANDEDp

Betsy's off To
a life of her own.
Jason & Aaron will

make "The Bread” home.

Maple Wheat, Tea
Cakes, TL T's, Fries,
Daily Bread continues
to RISE!

menu options!

 

THE T.V. SHOW BY. FOR AND ABOUT VER-
MONT'5 L/G/B/T COMMUNITY ANDOUR SUP-

PORTERSI

Sit back and enjoy our August program filled with news, resources
and an informative interview by co—anchors
Sharon Randall and Michael James

FOCUS ON SEGMENT:

Sit back and enjoy footage from VT Pride 2000 Parade/Rally!
Don't miss it!
Adelphia (CH. 13) (Ludlow, Plymouth, Woodstock) Fri 9pm—
Adelphia (CH. 15) (Greater Burlington area) Fri 9pm

Adelphia (CH. 15) (Montpelier, Waterbury, Randolph)

2nd & 4th Fri 7:30pm

Lake Champlain (CH. 2) Call for times and dates 802-862-5724
Helicon (CH. 7) (Barre) 2nd & 4th Mon 8:30pm

BCTV (CH. 8) (Brattleboro) call 257-0888 for air days/time
MCTV (Middlebury, E. ll/liddlebury, Weybridge) 388-3062 for air-

times

l\/lMCTV (CH. 3)(Richmond, Jericho, Underhill) call 434-2550
for air days/time
ENO (CH.15) (Enosburg, Berkshire, Richford) 1st & 3rd Sun at

Mountain Pride Media

WE NEED:
Delivery people
Writers and reporters all over the state

Ad sales people (commissions paid)
And more!

nities available:at

Call 434-6486 or email editor@mountainpridemedia.org

—:——

 
 

:
mu —