After the climb to Warmiwañuska Pass, the descent was almost as treacherous—except going down! With our leg muscles and knees already taxed enough, now we let the trekking poles handle most of the weight. Walking down the stairs facing forward was too painful, so we were forced to turn and take each step sideways. This method saved our knees and, though it was a slower process, put a different set of muscles to work. Sexy Llamas (our chosen group moniker) never give in or give up! Lunch, we decided, was going to taste extra amazing!

Five-Star Trail Cuisine

The chicken noodle soup was extremely satisfying, for starters:

As was our lunch of chicken, veggies, and rice. That’s an egg roll in the background, and we found out that these are not so uncommon. Chinese cuisine is very popular in Peruvian cooking, and we had seen egg roll wrappers amongst the very sparse groceries in a Cusco convenience store and wondered why they were there:

We camped at Pacaymayo and took it easy for the rest of the day. After dinner, we played heated card games with David and his assistant guide, Evert. Competition became heated when our Norwegian friend Mari questioned David and his Peruvian rules, as they were not exactly the same as when she’d played back home! The next morning, the chef wrote funny names on our pancakes for breakfast. I wasn’t lucky to get the noble Condor; instead, I was the Toucan (were they making fun of me?):

It was the little things that the porters did for us that really made the difference, like the extra time it took to set the table for lunch that afternoon:

This vegetable soup featured quinoa, a staple Peruvian crop that’s now considered a superfood because of its high protein and fiber content:

Lunch was a gallimaufry of items, including creamy chicken stew, vegetable omelet, rice, sweet and yellow potatoes, and a green bean/carrot medley:

The chefs surprised us with a cake for dessert, inscribed with our tribal name in caramel icing:

How exactly they managed to bake this tasty cake with only a propane stove, we’ll never know:

Getting There Is Half the Fun

More stair-climbing followed, as Amy traverses the very uneven stone steps here. A porter is in front of her, bounding up the stairs in his quiet, humble way:

At Runkurakay, David explained to us that this site was thought to be not a fortress but a tambo, a rest stop for travelers:

Runkurakay’s unique circular shape and valley overlook gives it a mystical quality—like a small labyrinth or Celtic knot design—especially on this day when the mists were rising:

Another smaller site, called Conchamarca, was probably a tambo as well:

The altitude was so lofty that sometimes we seemed one with the clouds themselves:

The larger site of Sayacmarca may have been created by enemies of the Incas, for the site has no agricultural terraces or telltale signs of religious structures. Still, it was spectacular in the way it was built into the side of the mountain, with steep drops to the valley below on three sides:

Next chapter: our final (really, we mean it!) day on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu!