Art & Sowle

Camino de Santiago 2016

Every single one of us possesses the strength to attempt something he isn't sure he can accomplish. It can be running a mile, or a 10 k race, or 100 miles. It can be changing a career, losing 5 lbs., or telling someone you love her (or him).

-- Scott Jurek

Old age is the time to be dangerous. Dangerously fun loving, dangerously alive . . . This is the time to do every single thing we can possibly do with all the life we can bring to it. This is the time to live with an edge, with strength, with abandon. There is nothing for which to save our energy. Now it is simply time to spend time well.

-- Joan Chittister

Thursday, June 20, 2013

5/11/2013. Finally the day came to start our hike on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. In four days we would hike about 27 miles, ascending three passes at 12,000 to 14,000 feet. The trail is a mix of incredible mountain scenery, lush cloud-forest, jungle and, of course, a ancient Inca paving stones, ruins and tunnels.

The trail starts at Piscaucho, along the Urubamba River and railway that will return us to Cusco
after the hike.

At the check in, permits are verified and porters weighed. The Inca Trail is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The numbers of hikers are limited to protect the trail and the environment. Porters are only allowed to carry 50 lbs. and are weighed to make sure that tour companies don’t overload them.