Nature will remain a big part of my future life. But it can’t just be hiking. I love nature, but I also love civilization, I love contact and interaction with people. I am sociable, nature is not.
However, we were not spared them, as we had to fight our way through the snowfields for miles. The snow had thawed slightly. We kept sinking in a little, but only until the snow had compacted into a hard surface. Our map did not show us a clear path. As before, we were on our own in this section.
The landowner at the start of the third stage wasn’t exactly thrilled to see me. He told me straight away that this was private land and that I had no business here. He had already been annoyed by enough other hikers who had simply walked across his property without asking. That’s why he had put up a gate, which I had deliberately overlooked. I had seen it, even though I had come onto his property from a different direction, but I had decided to ignore it.
In the previous post, I described how I left Ecuador in a hurry. The reason for this was my unsuccessful search for good trails, especially those lasting several days, without having to book a tour. I finally found these long hiking routes in Peru.
I fled Ecuador to get to Peru as soon as possible. I paid for my haste with a penalty when leaving the country. At the border with Bolivia, the border guard calls my attention to a number in my passport. There is a small 30 on the stamp. This refers to an interview I had with his colleague when entering Peru. Unconsciously I answered the question how long I intend to stay in Peru succinctly with 30 days.
Without expectations, no, on the contrary, with reduced expectations, I set out in the morning to make the approximately 500 meters of altitude to the entrance of Machu Picchu on time, as noted on my ticket. The path zigzags from the river up to the mountain. Again and again I have to cross the road, on which the masses stream with buses to the wonder of the world.
When I was planning my hike to Choquequirao, it occurred to me that the two ruins were only about 60 air kilometers apart. The prospect of hiking off the tourist Salkantay route to the sanctuary of Machu Picchu, and the fact that I would probably only be in the area once, finally convinced me to visit both ruins.
Suddenly it starts to snow. It is not the first time that day that the weather suddenly changes. A few hours before, light hail has already fallen from the sky. I am just sitting at the foot of my last pass before my camp for today and meditating.
Cusco is beautiful at first sight. Already when entering with the Collectivo, I noticed the many colonial buildings. My hostel is located directly in the city center, not far from the Plaza de Armas, the central square. But to get here I first had to go on an odyssey hunting for my stored things.
Two years ago I decided not to earn more money, but to spend my saved money to discover the world. A year ago, I put this idea into action. Since then, I’ve had countless adventures, visited seven countries on two continents, and walked over 4,000 kilometers.
