Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
Brian Cafferty is not only a busy real estate agent in Manhattan, he is an artist who teaches painting at NYU and helps raise money for the New York City Ballet, among other artistic interests. He is also an avid traveler, and kindly agreed to share his memorable trip to Peru.
One of the best journeys I ever took was a trip to Peru. A good friend was turning 40, and she said she wanted to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, the sacred Incan city. I said to myself, I just have to be a part of that, so we decided to go together. One of the smartest things we could have done was to let the experts plan the trip for us. We ended up traveling with a group of eight other avid hikers…and we had a blast.
We spent four days on the Inca trail, and then ended up in Machu Picchu. The entire trip was 17 days. We started our journey in Lima, the capital and largest city in Peru, and had some time to explore before heading to then we went to Cuzco. This city is considered one of the most important tourist destinations in Peru. It is a simply beautiful Peruvian village type of town, with churches, a town square, and very friendly people. We stayed there a couple of days to get used to the altitude before we began to hike the Inca Trail.
The Trail experience was basically climbing mountains in a jungle. It’s about 28 miles in total, and we took several days to reach our destination of Machu Picchu. This pace allowed us to enjoy the incredible sights along the way. For example, on one incredible day, we sailed to a beautiful island in the middle of a lake along the trail, which was actually the top of a mountain of a valley that had flooded long ago.
At the end of the trail was Macchu Pichu, the “lost” Incan city. It was everything we ever thought it would be, and so much more. We climbed to the top of the Temple of the Sun; I will remember the view – and the moment – for the rest of my life. As part of our tour, the ten of us were booked at the four-star Machu Picchu Hotel. Staying there allowed us to explore Machu Picchu before all the tour busses started to arrive.
This experience solidified for me the importance of booking vacations with the help of a travel expert. I would never have known about the hotel, and many people visiting the city came on buses, missing many of the things we had seen along the way, and having a relatively short time to take in the beauty of Machu Picchu before leaving again.
Interestingly, my Peruvian vacation didn’t completely end when I got back home! I am an avid artist, and I love to paint. Thinking I would want to capture the beauty of the area, I brought along my art supplies. That was ill advised, though. Thinking back on the itinerary, I realize we never stopped moving once! Needless to say, I didn’t do a single painting while in Peru.
I took a lot of photos, though, and when we got back, I painted the beautiful things I had seen from those pictures. I went to the Peruvian Consulate in Manhattan, and was granted a meeting with their Special Projects Director, who was interested in my work. The Director offered to sponsor an exhibit of my paintings, putting 60 of them on display at the Consulate. The opening of the exhibit was a mere six weeks after 9/11, and many people who came told me it was the first time they had gone out since the tragedy. It was a very special time, and an incredible way to commemorate one of the most special experiences of my life.
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