(Ep. 114) Hiking the Incan Trail with Ray Blakney

Ray shares about hiking the Incan Trail, and a train ride through the Andes, as well as his life in Mexico City, and growing up internationally. 

• Cusco 
  • In the mts. of Peru - 8,000 ft 
  • 2 weeks to acclimate to altitude  
  • Coffee & chocolate making classes 
• Incan Trail 10,000 ft 
  • Only 100 people allowed on the trail per day
  • A 4 day trail 
  • Usually reserve 6 months in advance 
  • $1000 per person to do the hike 
• Day 1 
  • 3 hr drive to Sacred Valley where the trail starts 
  • Mostly flat for about 5 hours, then the last 30 minutes is steep 
• Day 2 
  • From 10,000 ft to 14,000 ft for 4 straight hours
  • The views are amazing 
    • Wild llamas running up the hills 
    • Waterfalls 
• The path the Incans would take to get to Machu Picchu 
  • Secret path 
  • Paths through other forts, ruins (can’t be seen from above) 
  • ½ degree different terrace to grow different crops 
  • From jungle to pine forest 
  • Looked like a river of clouds moving through the Andes mountains 
• Machu Picchu 
  • With no one else there, you watch the sunrise, then you get an hour with only the 100 people who hiked it with you 
  • Train at the end Agua Calientes 
• Silent Meditation Retreat 
  • Lake Titicaca 
  • Train from Cusco to Titicaca 
    • Only 2 people on this train because it was a day the train usually didn’t run that day 
    • Quinoto  - risotto with quinoa 
    • 2 bands on the train, the 2nd band was awful 
    • Half way through the trip they stop and local people set up a market to sell to the people on the train 

Wish You Were Here 

Cheryl: Pyramid of Cestius, Rome, Italy 

Ray: Sima de las Cotorras, Chiapas, Mexico 

Ryan: Deception Pass, Whidbey Island, WA 

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LiveLingua.com - online language school 

PodcastHawk.com - service to help people guest on podcasts 

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