I am thrilled to say I and my fellow trekkers are back in one piece from out charity trek to Machu Picchu. Apart from some bruises and blue toe nails we all made the long 3 1/2 day trek.
The grandest news though is thanks to everyone of you who supported us we raised nearly a million dollars for The Arthritis Society. The night before we set off everyone met for dinner and speaches in a town called Cusco high up in the Andes. Many of the trekkers talked about their experiences with family and friends who suffer with this disease and the pain and often blindness that the children live with daily. This emotional evening put us all in a competitive mood to get through the following days.
The guide books say it is a 'moderate' trek. Well let me tell you if your thinking of following in our footsteps - IT IS NOT. It is gruelling. Three and half days of climbing up and down mountains at 14,000 feet up in the Andes on wobbly uneven steps built by the Incas is not a walk in the park.
But we laughed and cried, moaned and groaned but we all made it (you don't have a choice as there is no going back!) Our guides and porters were magnificent. We whinned about blisters and our fancy boots - they ran the trail in shoes made from tires with straw stuffed in the end and carried all our stuff which included stoves, water, tents are duffle bags and of course several pairs of Prada shoes and outfits for me in case there was anywhere nice to go when we go to the top - just kidding.
Our guides were proud to originate from the Incas and talked about the mystery of why this innovative hard working people disappeared. Well I know the answer. They built their cities high up in the clouds. I figure that one day one of them discovered the flat lands, possibly a nice beach with a cool bar and said forget all this trekking up so high and they all moved to the coast!!
Again thank you for all your support. My next charity trek will be 5th Avenue in NY City.