Inca Jungle Trek | Part II

A continuation from our last post. Here are more photos from the second day of the Inca Jungle Trek. It was a long day of hiking along an Inca pathway—10 miles (16km) and 9 hours, first uphill, and then a little easier toward the end when we walked along the river. Most of the hike was very hot, sweaty, and dusty. It was hard to breathe, and our guide stopped for too many breaks.

The craziest part of the day was crossing a river in a man-operated cable car. In other words, we flew across a raging river in a wooden crate and then waited for someone on the other side to reel us in by pulling on a rope. At first it was a native boy, probably around 10, who was pulling us in (we paid a small fee to cross)! After he struggled for a while, a couple of the guys in our group took over.

At the end of the hike, we arrived at a big hot springs with several steaming pools. We were so satisfied soaking our tired bodies in hot springs as the sunlight disappeared. It wouldn't have been nearly as wonderful if we hadn't traveled 10 miles by foot to get there.

After the hot springs, we piled into a bus for a short ride into the small town of Santa Theresa and spent the night in another hostel. That night we had dinner at a restaurant with our group and stayed late this time to have drinks with everyone and get to know them. I just love backpackers. Everyone was very kind, open-minded, and interesting. Our group consisted of a bunch of Chileans, a handful of French, a couple Swiss guys, one Norwegian girl, and a Dutch guy. And us, Ukrainian-Americans. Where else can you get this much diversity but a common interest in traveling and adventure? Despite the fact that we come from such different places around the world, speak different languages, we could easily be friends with any of them. Of course, the fact that everyone knows some English helps immensely.

One more day of hiking, and then Machu Picchu!

- Julia

Break time. Refueling.

A Peruvian woman we passed by on the trail.

Smoke break.

Crossing a river in this man-operated cable car. The guy pushing them off is our guide.

Our view from the cable car. Getting pulled in by a French guy with a cigarette in his mouth. Amazing.

Zhanna and I, approaching the end of the hike. Good thing you can't tell how sweaty we are!

Not sure if I'll ever wear this rad combo again, but it was perfect in these conditions.

Santa Theresa hot springs. Couldn't think of a better reward after a full day of hiking.