altitude, inca`s and ipods
well here i am at the end of finishing the inca trail and it was absolutly amazing and quiet a test of me as a person due to the fact that i managed to contract gastro before it started but it only showed its self when we got to the lunch point and i had a sever dose of the shits that wouldn`t stop, i managed to continue on slowly for about 30mins to an hour before the puking started and well that was getting to the end of me, i got very cold weak and got to the point that either a i was going to faint or be i felt like dying.
my mind was racing with thought of just getting out of where i was but the option was walk back the way i came of go forward to the campsite, i was totally incapable of walking at this point though, the wonderful guides finally realised how bad i was and managed to get the porters i think via walkie talkie to comeback and help, i didn`t know what to expect maybe a strecher but no it was piggy back time, and in the end the 10 porters took turns to carry me an hour to the camp where rehydration was the only way to go. it was quiet hillarious in some way as they are so small and my feet were dragging on steps some of the time, but i have so much respect for what they are capable of after seeing what they do with carrying the gear and helping me out in the way that they did.
day 2 was also very hard, due to the fact i wasn`t eating but i managed to keep my liquid levels up and walk to the pass at 4200m and down and up again, it was might hard work on an empty stomck but it was an amazing walk all the same.
day 3 i was eating again but only a little and it was a half day of hiking and that was made it easier but keeping liquids up was still vital as i was sweating like a bastard, but thew rest although it didn`t help the pain in my legs from the walking was so sore at times as with everyone else on the trek.
finally we made it to machu pichu and the journey was perfectly complete by seeing the famous anchiet city. and the fact that i made it that far amazed myself in alot of ways, i was even stupid enough to climb the mountain behind machu pichu wini pichu (wrong spelling) which gave us a view that was awe inspiering my vertigo was killing me though !
now on another front, yes ipod`s i got to cusco and found my ipod seemed to be fucked not working making a clicking sound that made me think it was dead, but i think i have found the problem cusco is above 3000m and it seems ipods are only rated to 3000m and it looks to be true but i think it could be altitude and cold that affected them as i can get it to work when i warm it up, but its working again hurrah !!!!!!!
so i am feeling better now and well its alot of altitude from here on in ! lets hope it all goes well, puno is going to be the enxt stop in a few days time, and then lake titicaca and onto bolivia and then brazil 