Reimagine yourself in Machu Picchu, Peru

 

We all know them.  Those people that say, “I’ll do it when…..” fill in the blank.  When I have more money.  When my kids are grown.  When I have more time.  When I am older.  And that phenomenal thing called time occurs and suddenly it is too late and all we have is “I wish I hads….” left.  I was one of those people until I stepped up and decided not to wait any longer.  An unexpected death of a friend spurred me to act before I was one of those wondering where the time had gone.

I had been divorced for three years.  I was a single mom of active teenagers.  I was a teacher.  And I was only identified my those characteristics.  Through the years I lost who I was.  I started finding myself again.  I did ten triathlons.  I started a masters at University of Central Florida.  As I got closer to graduation, I wanted to challenge myself to step out and be a brave individual somewhere where no one knew how I was identified.  I had always wanted to see Machu Picchu so I began the thought of my adventure of hiking the Inka Trial.

I had traveled internationally before, but always had someone to meet and travel with.  This time, I was on my own.  Learning not only about a culture, but about myself.  My children were not keen on the idea of me traveling to a foreign country alone, but we had a year to prepare. My daughter took me shopping.  My son worried.  Despite all of our fears, they dropped me at the airport and with hugs, wet cheeks and well wishes, I was standing there alone.  Almost as soon as I entered the airport, my heart soared thinking about the grand adventure I was about to undertake.  Fear was gone.

After 18 hours of travel from Orlando to Cucso, via Lima, I arrived exhausted and exhilarated!  Pushing my limits, I dropped my bags at the hotel and instantly went to find the trekking company I had booked for the hike.  Brave is one thing, careless is another.  I should have taken into account the altitude and lack of decent food, but excitement took over. One misstep and now I had a knee scraped to the bone and gouges in my palms from a tumble on the uneven cobblestone streets.  What terrible timing.  I had a day and a half to nurse myself, but I started to trek bandaged up.  Push on.

It was an amazing few hours into the hike, then the rain started. I am not sure what else I expected for March in the rain forest, but it was tough.  Basically four days of steady rain.  Day and night.  I was hiking with fourteen strangers that quickly became friends and between us, we found ways to stay dry, enjoy the great food cooked by our porters and laugh.  I took 1500 pictures of things that I never would forget.

The last day as we were coming down into Machu Picchu, I began to slow down.  Smell every flower.  Hear every rain drop.  See every distant peak.  I wondered how I got to be so small in such a big world.  I wondered how to make the best impact.  I knew when I returned, I would be a changed person.  Less fearful.  My children would be proud of their mom.  I hope as they age, they look back at their 45 year old mom, a Don Quixote, and not be afraid to take chances.  Life is too short not to be brave.  Try new things.  Test those limbs.

Thank you for reading and commenting. Please enter the Inspiration Travel Writing competition and tell your story.

Gratitude Travel Writing Contest

We hope you enjoyed this entry in the We Said Go Travel Gratitude Writing Contest. Please visit this page to learn more and participate. Thank you for reading the article and please leave a comment below.

One response to “Reimagine yourself in Machu Picchu, Peru

  1. Hi Kay,

    Wonderful!

    I still owe Machu Picchu a visit. Had a bad case of food poisoning when I stopped by Cusco 3 years ago and cancelled my trip. I’m happy that you’re growing so much through travel.

    Keep on inspiring!

    Ryan

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

We Said Go Travel