Young Peak

While we were visiting Machu Picchu we did the "optional" climb of Wayna Picchu. Now, I knew that it would be a challenge because there were signs that said "only for healthy fit people". And I knew that it would be bad if you fell because our guide joked that you could get back to the train station in 10 seconds if you were not careful. I didn't really grasp what those actually meant until we were climbing.

The stairs reminded me of the stairs from Lord of the Rings where Frodo, Sam and Gollum were climbing those long stairs outside of Mordor and there was a cave at the top that they had to pass through. Not nearly as nightmarish as that of course, but they were steep. And there was a cave at the top. That was small enough I had to take my backpack off and push it ahead of me to get though it. Going down the stairs was a bit nerve wracking too. I feel I am fairly comfortable with heights, but with how the stairs were shaped and the size of my feet, I was going down them on all fours backwards because that's how I felt was how I wasn't going to die. Because, at the end of a long-ish set of these steep stairs, it was a straight drop off of probably 400 m. Long enough for you to think about what went wrong.

To give you an idea who "close" the train station was, I took a picture of it. Now, wikipedia lists the peak as 2,720 metres and Aguas Calientes (the town below) elevation as 2,040 m. That's a difference of 680 m, but the train station is a bit below the town. Either way, with a misstep you could go for a close to 700 m fall.


I'm glad that we did the climb. The views were great. It's just not something that I'd recommend for most people. Below is a nice rock that sort of had a seat carved out of it. Not sure if there was much underneath it. I didn't actually want to look down.

The parts that photos miss

Traveling is awesome*. I love taking pictures to "capture the moment". But you never really get the whole picture. There are intangibles that can't be captured. Some things you might be luck to catch on video, but others you'll just have to remember, or, you know, blog about so remembering isn't your only way to recall them. I'm going to talk about some from our recent trip to Peru and Ecuador (the Galapagos).

First, Peru:
How at altitude 4000 m or greater, your legs can feel fine, while your heart pounds and your breathing isn't able to catch up, even while trying to sleep. How lone little children seem to wander over a ridge I'm gasping on, looking for some cookies or crackers. That moment after reaching the top of a pass (4500m and 4600m in our case), and how the other side looks like an impossibly perfect oasis. That moment of panic where you notice a group of loaded pack mules charging down the 6' wide path and you have about 5 seconds to get out of the way, and you had better pick the side where you won't be pushed downhill because it can be a long way down. The realization that you're the only one looking out for your safety, so you had better not trip because it's a long, long way down. The swallows that zoom around Machu Picchu in dogfight-esq battles. That feeling that the gods really have smiled upon you, not only because you're able to be there, but because against the odds, the weather is nice.

Now the Galapagos:
How on some places, the sand feels more like baking flour and somehow seems whiter. How the animals have a very different concept of "personal space" than the ones at home. How the Marine Iguanas sneeze all the time, and despite their impressive volume and distance, you somehow are not soaked with snot. How a tree's sap (which I've forgotten the name of) smells. How freaking fast penguins and sea lions swim. Waking up in the middle of the night in your bunk on the boat with a falling sensation - because the seas are so rough. The unbelievable coldness to the water despite it being directly on the equator. The awesomeness of being greeted with hot chocolate and cookies after you get out of the cold water.

Just a few moments to remember. There were so many.

* As long as you're safe, healthy, have enough to eat, etc. Same caveats as "awesome" would normally have.

Goodbye Jaz

My folks are going to put down their dog Jazmine tomorrow. For a medium / large dog, 15 years old is really old. She's really starting to have troubles now. She can't stand for very long and if she falls, she can't get up. My mom thinks that she's having little strokes because some times she really bad, and other times she's better. My mom told me today about their plan, so we went over to my folks place after dinner and took some lamb. No matter how a dog is feeling, they sure perk up when you give them some meat.

She was the smartest dog I've ever had. When I was in elementary and high school, often my mom would walk up the driveway with the dogs to meet me. If they were still at the house or too far down the driveway, I would dash into the long grass (6' or higher) and crouch down to hide. I could fool the other dogs, but Jaz would usually zip up the driveway and then go 90 degrees and a bounding straight towards me, usually knocking me over. I was able to hide from her once but I was in a bit of a gully. She was able to come within a couple of feet, but not find me. I knew she could smell me and knew that I was right about there.

She loved the snow. Didn't matter if it was -35 C, she'd bury her face in it and roll around. She also had a super soft mouth. Because Joe (our older dog at the time) would steal whatever she would be playing with, she'd play with tiny little pebbles. You'd be sitting on the front porch with her and she'd be making a slight scrapping sound. Then she'd spit out this tiny rock - half the size of a grain of rice. If she heard Joe coming, she'd quickly pick up her tiny pebble and run off, because, right then, that was her special toy.

There were some foods that she didn't like. Joe didn't like things like lettuce, but if you would toss it up he'd gulp it down. I don't think that it would even hit his tongue. With her she'd catch it, and only then decide if she wanted to eat it. She might spit it out. If you gave her an old bowl of cereal, she'd eat the whole thing, but if there were raisins in it she would spit them out one by one into the bowl with a little *puh-thua* sound.

In the below picture you can see me playing with Joe and Jaz. Notice how Joe is totally focused on my hand - but Jaz is paying attention to the person. I'll miss her.


Goodbye Jazzy.
June 1995 - October 2010