Well, picking up where I left off in Arequipa on my final GAP trip in South America, we went to the Colca canyon, soaked in the hot springs and saw some condors. Then we flew up to Cuzco and had our free day there. Some of my passengers wanted to go rafting, but only on a really mellow section. We went, and to make it more exciting for myself, I jumped into the river and swam through most of the rapids, when the guide told me it was safe to do so. At the end of the trip, while we were waiting for the bus, I was able to hop into the kayak and fool around for a little while. I was pleased to note that on my very first attempt at an eskimo roll in several years, I pulled it off flawlessly. I practiced the rolls a few times and then played in a rapid for a bit.
Next, we took our Sacred Valley tour and then headed out onto the Inca Trail. We had excellent weather and the hiking was fun. On the second day, we got to the 4200 meter pass at 10:30 am. Everyone seemed to be doing well, so I left the group and hiked up and around a mountain. I saw the lakes I was hoping to see and then came to a pass. It was 3:30 pm. I knew that camp was down the valley, but that it would be slow going due to the lack of a trail. I decided to attempt my new found alternative route. By 5:00 I realized that I would not be anywhere near camp before dark. I climbed up a mountainside and when the sun set at 5:30, I was able to see the camp far below me. I signalled to them with my flashlight. I did not want them to worry about me when I did not show up before dark.
I started down the mountainside. Even though the moon was bright enough to see by, I kept my light on so that my passengers could follow my progress. Several of the porters grabbed flashlights and came up to meet me. I was afraid that my passengers would be worried, but, as I found out later, they just lined their chairs up outside, drank tea, ate popcorn and watched the bouncing lights on the mountainside. It was better than watching television, they tell me. Eventually, I met up with my rescue party of porters. Although, I am not sure who rescued who. I was the one who had extra food, water, and flashlights to offer them.
The group of us headed towards camp. The porters made me laugh because, now that I was on the easiest section of the whole evening, they were there to bend branches out of the way and to tell me to be careful. We got to camp at 8:00pm and the cook was nice enough to have kept my dinner for me. All in all, it was an excellent ten hour little side hike.
After visiting Machu Picchu and soaking in the nearby hot springs, we went back to Cuzco for a free day. Then, it was off to Puno and a visit to the floating reed islands and to the solid islands of Amantani and Taquile. I had another great swim in the ever cold Lake Titicaca. After a border crossing and some slight delays, we were in La Paz. We went to the Andean music and dinner show (Pena) and had our goodbye party. A couple of my passengers were university professors. One of them, a British professor of American Literature, gave me the most incredible speech I have ever heard. He summed up the trip and praised me in an amazingly eloquent way. I was very flattered.
After six movies, four meals, and 24 hours on a bus, I was back in Lima. I visited with Luis and Karem before flying back to the US on the 4th of June.
I spent the rest of June visiting family in Florida, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. I enjoyed the drive north and south. The World Cup of Soccer took place then and I had to wake up at 2:30 in the morning quite often to watch tv.
On the 3rd of July, I flew out to Denver. Susie picked me up and we went to a party. We spent the rest of the week visiting and watching some good fireworks. On the 7th, I went out to Telluride and had a good visit with my family in that area. Next, it was a bit further south to Cortez to visit John and Cathy and their family.
John, Cathy and I went on a two night backpacking trip to the West Fork/Rainbow Hot Springs. We had a nice time soaking. After we hiked out, Cathy dropped us me and John off at another trailhead in the Weimenuche Wilderness Area and we hiked for a few more days. We saw lots of elk and finished up the trip back at the hot-springs.
After eight days of backpacking and soaking, we went back to John's house and there I met my biggest challenge of the week. I watched ten hours straight of Star Trek: Enterprise episodes. That was a pleasure, but the sitting still all day part was not easy.
The next day, I took a bus back to Denver. I like taking the bus in the US. It gives me a chance to practice speaking Spanish. Susie and I went on a quick overnight backpacking trip in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area. As soon as we crossed over the one big pass on the trip, the rain and lightening started. It was a bit cold and wet, but I enjoyed it immensely.
From Denver, I went down to Colorado Springs to visit Karla and Daniel. Karla and I went over to the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness Area for a few days of backpacking. We saw three foxes, some elk and a big deer. Also, we were woken up throughout the night by some sort of rodent sniffing around the tent. To finish off this trip, we went to the Cottonwood Hot Springs. These hot springs would make my list of top three commercial hot springs in Colorado.
We spent last weekend in Colorado Springs and got in my final hike in the U.S. for a while.
Now, I am back in Florida and will be leaving for Japan tomorrow.
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