Day #94 - Toronto, Canada to London, England

Wednesday, June 16th

A quick overnight in Toronto and I was back at the airport by 6:45am for my 8:50am flight to London Heathrow.



The flight was around 7 hours in length. It was a great flight. I finished my book - "Digital Fortress" by Dan Brown during the first 3 hours. An awesome read. Next, I watched the movie - "The Hangover". My buddies kept referencing this movie on the trip to Machu Picchu and I was out of the loop. Liam and Kim even brought over the movie to watch on Monday night but we just didn't have enough time. This movie was great. I hurt from laughing. People around me probably thought I had some issues. If you haven't watched it - do it. Keep an open mind --it's funny.

I arrived in London around 9:30pm local time. I grabbed a taxi to my hotel. Only 3 miles away - but still 17 pounds (highway robbery). I'm in my hotel now finishing up the blogs and officially getting up to date. I'm only paying 32 pounds/night at this place. It doesn't have a bathroom in the room itself - but it's OK otherwise. I'm told the train is 1/2 mile away. I plan to sleep in tomorrow and then get my sites on one of the 3 most visited cities in all of Europe.

I'm not even sure what country I'm in right now. The last few days have been a blur. It's gone something like this: Cusco, Pero ---- Lima, Peru ----- Miami, USA -----Raleigh, USA ----- Toronto, Cananda ------- London, UK.

The guy in customs gave me the business tonight at Heathrow. Question after question. I guess I wouldn't believe me either if I were asking the questions. A single, 25-50 year old male, travelling alone, no confirmed plans other than 1 night in a hotel, no printed out itinerary, no job, and very little luggage. He said: "How do you plan to get by". My answer - "Day by day"

Good-night from London. I might grab a nice cup of tea tomorrow morning for breakfast.

Day #93 - Raleigh, NC to Toronto, Canada

Tuesday, June 15th



When I came back to the states for my 2 week sick leave earlier in April, I decided at that time to head back to Europe pretty quickly after my Peru Trip. I slept in this morning and recovered my sleep lost from the overnight flight on Monday.



I spent the afternoon doing laundry, packing, mailing some items, picking up some toiletries, booking hotels in Toronto and London, and catching up on some emails. I didn't come close to doing everything I needed, but it was a start.



Greg came home from work at 4:30pm and took me to the airport. I had a 6:50pm flight to Toronto. I would stay in Toronto tonight and then get a 9am flight to London, England on Wednesday. This stop seems unusual (and it is), but the price was much cheaper than my other options. It's OK however. I'm in Toronto now - I'm able to get a solid night's sleep. Then I fly to England on Wednesday. With the 6 hour time change, I arrive about 9pm in London. I have a hotel booked by Heathrow. I'll get out of the airport and be able to get rest again.



I know that I need to be good to my body right now. Rest will happen for me. I plan to stay in London a few days. If I don't do much the first day or so - I'm good with it.



I'm watching Game #6 of the NBA finals right now. Looks like it's going to 7. The World Cup, NBA finals, and the US Open at Pebble Beach this weekend -- I should have some things to keep me busy while resting and getting the edge back.



Good night from Canada. How do Canadians spell Canada? C - Eh - N - Eh - D - Eh! I can say this - I lived in Minnesoooota for 7 years.

Day #92 - Lima, Peru to Raleigh, NC

Monday, June 14th



We boarded our international flight and departed at 12:20am. The flight was smooth. I wrote up some blog entries for the first 2 hours then slept the next 3-1/2 hours. 5 hours, 25 minutes later - we arrived in Miami.



We had a couple hours until our flight to Raleigh, leaving around 10am. All was going well so far. Only small glitch in the return travel occurred when we boarded the plane for Raleigh. We had to sit there on the tarmac for over an hour. No air on the plane. I stripped down to nothing. Still sweating. We were cutting weight while waiting for the take-off. I normally don't get clautrophobic - but the air was thick, hard to breath. The flight was full and people were getting anxious. Finally, we took off and the air was turned on. Whew - made it.



Once into Raleigh, Liam went to get a rental as his car was in the shop. We made it back to Greg's place around 2:30pm. I grabbed a 3 hour nap and then we all went out to dinner at 7pm. We exchanged photos between the group and all agreed it was a great trip - filled with solid memories.



I said good-byes to Liam and Kim - I'll see them again in 4 months in Athens, Greece. I tell them I really appreciate the fact that they push me to be better. When Liam brought up this trip to us, I really didn't think it was possible. "Not a chance", I said.



Here's to those people that help us open our minds to things we would otherwise never consider.

Day #91 - Lima, Peru

Dancers after lunch

Lima's coastline - dreary day

Central square

Large screen for world cup in central square

San Francisco - toured the catacombs

Sunday, June 13th

Today we got up early, packed our bags, and headed to the airport for a 10:20am flight to Lima, Peru. Greg, Liam, and Kim had problems initially. For some reason, their return flights had been cancelled. LAN Airlines had made a mistake. When our bags didn't make the flight to Lima originally, it was assumed they had not made the flight either. Thus, the rest of their trip was deleted. They were able to work things out - all was smooth again by the time we boarded our plane in Cusco.

We got into Lima around 11:30am. We were met by our guide and then took a 45-minute bus ride to a hotel in the Miroflores area of Lima. We checked in quickly and walked down to the ocean for lunch. Nice lunch. They had dancers performing again after we finished eating. We stayed here until about 3:30pm

We next boarded a tour bus for a 3-hr tour of Lima. Interesting. One of the most memorable things was when we toured the catacombs beneath the San Francisco site. Eerie, creepy. There were bones and skulls laying around. We were told that the bodies were placed ontop of each other, naked, with a layer of cement between them to aid in the decay process. The femurs and skulls were really the only remains - as the other bones had become dust. Freaky stuff. We walked around the main town square, took a unique tour of one of the governmental houses, and saw a parade in the streets.

These 3 hours were short, but I was able to get a feel for Lima. Our guide told us that Lima has come a long way in the past 20 years. It's now a place where people want to come again. It used to be a place where folks left for the US, Brazil, Chile, etc.

We made our way back to the hotel - 6:30pm. We had to leave at 10pm for our international flight to Miami (leaving at 12:20am). We took this time to grab some dinner near the ocean. It was a great dinner - just the 4 of us - completing the journey on a high note. A bus ride to the airport, some good-byes to the group, and we were set to board our flight as Sunday ended.

Day #90 - Cusco, Peru

Traditional dancing after dinner

Our group with our 3 guides (Avoraldo, Freddie, and Devy)

Piscay market

Piscay market

Saturday, June 12th

I woke up this morning with a little hangover from the previous night. That's OK - it was worth it. We had breakfast and walked down to the train to leave Machu Picchu.

After a 1.5 hour train ride, we boarded these little buses. Due to the flood earlier in the year, a section of the train tracks was destroyed. We had to take the smaller buses around this area. We next boarded our 2 big buses we had originally toured on in Cusco. Another 45 minute bus ride to the town of Piscay. We were allowed to shop in the outside markets for about an hour. The US was playing England in the World Cup at this time - I spent some of this hour watching the game in one of the shops. We boarded the bus and took a 1-hour trip back into Cusco. It's 3:30pm.

We had a couple hours of downtime before meeting upstairs for our award ceremony. I relaxed, got some money from the ATM to pay tips, and purchased a couple souvenoirs. At the awards ceremony, we were all called up individually and presented with our medals, a completion certificate, and a running shirt. Pictures were taken and war stories exchanged.

We walked to our dinner location. Great. There were traditional dancing performances that entertained us after dinner. We stayed at the restaurant until about 9:30pm.

I then went with a doctor, ER nurse, and 2 dentists to a local pharmacy to pick up some medications. I was able to get a few preventative things for my next 6 months in Europe. Pravi (general practitioner) was with us. I did as he prescribed.

I then met up with Greg and Liam at Paddy's Place - an Irish pub in Cusco. It was not the traditional Irish place both Liam and I had come to appreciate. After a couple beers - we called it a night.

Tomorrow we leave Cusco for Lima.

Day #89 - Machu Picchu

Inside Machu Picchu

Atop Machu Picchu Mountain

Our group atop Machu Picchu Mountain

A typical trail

Friday, June 11th

What do I get to do today? Tour the Lost City of the Incas - Machu Picchu - with no stress, no worries. Things could be worse.

We board a bus around 8am to go back up the 11-mile hill to the ruins. We spend the first 2 hours with our guide as he took us around and explained the layout. Pretty fascinating stuff. Everything built with a purpose.

Machu Picchu was first discovered by an American, Hiram Bingham in 1911. It's amazing how this place remained unknown to the world until this date. The reason was most likely due to the location. Machu Picchu is located in a steep valley. It was likely abondaned before the Spanish conquerors came in the early 1500's. It was grown over and would not have been visible to the common eye.

When Bingham arrived from Yale, he wanted to explore more areas of the Incas. He came upon this valley and talked with some farmers. It comes to find out that the farmers were getting some pottery from a location up on this hill adjacent to their land. They called the hill - Machu Picchu. They served him some potatoes in this old pottery bowl. Bingham knew at once that the pottery he'd been handed had ancient ties. Bingham asked if they would take him to where they found this pottery. After he promised to give them 1 solace (35 cents), they agreed.

On July 24, 1911 - Bingham and his explorers discovered Machu Picchu. He spent the next several years studying the area. One problem - the area was overgrown and full of poisonous viper snakes. The area was burned to get rid of the snakes. This aided in discovering new areas and bringing an overall perspective to the ancient site.

Machu Picchu was the religious capital of the Incas. As previously discussed, Cusco was the actual capital of the Inca Empire. A trail existed from Cusco to Machu Picchu. The last portion of this trail is now the present-day Inca Trail - the route we marathoned yesterday. It was said that when the Spanish came to conquer the Incas, a portion of the trail had been destroyed to preserve their religious location. Thinking about it, it wouldn't have taken much to let this grow over.

There's a few theories as to why the Incas may have abondaned Machu Picchu prior to the Spanish arrival. One theory is that the water supply had run short. Another was that the people had contracted disease and died out. This was identified in the bones found on the site. It was said that when the Incas made their final stand against the Spaniards, they used a trail that would have deverted the Spanish to another ruin site, bypassing Machu Picchu.

Some interesting thoughts concerning Machu Picchu

--- Temple of the Sun -- 4 mummies were found here, 3 standing and 1 in the fetal postiion. They were assumed to be leaders. There were 2 windows in the Temple of the Sun. 1 facing the location where the winter solstice sun would rise and 1 facing the location where the summer solstice sun would rise.

--- Machu Picchu faced entirely east. They could use the rising sun as a marker for the time of year.

--- There is a sun dial on top of the grounds.

--- There is a difference in construction of buildings which housed nobleman versus common class. Noble structures were well constructed with no gaps in the stones; whereas, more common structures appeared to be fit loosely.

--- The actual color of the stones has likely changed with time due to the lichens and growth on the stones. The current Temple of the Sun is most near to the color of the initial ruins.

--- Certain locations on the site were likely for specific classes of people. One area yielded the bones of 16-19 year old females (sacrificed virgins). Another site was the location of 50-60 year old men - believed to be the high priests.

--- Much of the city was built underground. They had an elaborate piping system bring water from the mountain

Bottom line - this place was fascinating. I have not read much on Machu Picchu. My details above are sketchy and based on word of mouth. I look forward to reading more and understanding a little better how this place came about. My biggest take home -- the place wasn't discovered until 1911. Are there other such locations yet to be discovered?

We had a great buffet lunch at the restaurant by the entrance. We had the afternoon to explore at our leisure. My buddies and I took this time to climb up Machu Picchu Mountain. This was a couple thousand feet above the lost city (what are we doing to ourselves?). It was a tough climb. It took about 1 hr, 15 min. Man was it worth it. Spectacular. When we peaked, you could see everything. I've included a couple pictures form this location. We didn't want to leave. We stayed on the peak for about 45 minutes to an hour. We were joined by several of our tour group. Pictures were taken. Our guide pointed out sites - the Inca Trail was laid out below us.

We worked our way back to the ancient city. We kept taking more and more pictures. The last bus left the site at 5:30pm. We ended up leaving just before this time. I remember standing there - looking out - knowing I would most likely never be here again. I didn't want to go. Nobody did. You get the feeling that everyone felt this way. We all knew this was something special - words and pictures can only tell so much - seeing the site with your own eyes is incredible.

Friday night was the best night of the trip. We had a great dinner and then the whole group went to this little dance club next to the hotel. Awesome. 4 hours later, after a couple tequila shots, a few beers, and some dancing to traditional rock music, we had all officially bonded as a team. This is one of the coolest things about tours. I feel like I can email most anyone on the trip now.

On my return to the UK - I have plans to meet up with Prav and Rachael. Rick and Cathy in Phoenix will share thier training coaches while I share details of my African trip. Mark and Cathy from Phoenix told me they want to introduce me to their duaghter. The contacts go on and on. One thing is for sure -- we will all remember this trip - and remember it fondly.

The night ended after an old Bryan Adams song - "Cuts like a knife." Bedtime - it's all good.

Day #88 - Inca Trail to Machu Picchu Marathon

Machu Picchu - first look

Race finish

Great feeling

Another look

Flat stretch with no stones - very rare

Thursday, June 10th

Happy Birthday to my grandma! I thought about her when I rose for my 3:30am wake-up call. She's 91 today - still strong as ever. I would be strong today - for her.

3:30am - our guide taps our tent and brings us a cup of hot cocoa tea. We need to pack our gear and be ready for a 5am departure from camp. We were given the option of starting the run at 5:30am or 6:00am. I decided to start early to maximize my chances to complete the race. 9 of the 21 runners started early.

I filled my camelback with water, checked my food supply, put on suntan lotion, laced my trail shoes tightly, and downed a couple motrin. It's 5am - game time. We walked about 20 minutes in the dark to the start line with our headlights. Temperatures in the upper 40's. I would start the race in just shorts and a short-sleeve running shirt. I will be getting warm quickly. Nervous, anxious, scared, focused, determined - all these emotions are running wild though me. We took a couple pictures as a group at the start line. 5:30am, Elevation 8,400ft - GO!

My buddy Greg and I took the early lead. (Liam and Kim would start at 6am). We were informed that the first 3 miles were runable. We started in a slow jog. Greg is leading. All of a sudden he jumps to the right - eyes in the path. It's a cow. We saw a number of these in the first couple miles. We settle in to a slow jog/walk while watching the path closely with our headlights. About 2 miles in, the sun started to rise. The path started a steep climb. There would be no running Mile 2-3 -- major uphill. I'm breathing hard by now, and drinking water. We're about 1 hour into the run and we are headed straight up a mountain. "Easy, stay slow, don't burn yourself out" - this is what I'm thinking. Greg and I switched the lead a couple times, this would be the first and last times we lead the Inca Trail Marathon today.

7:00am - here comes one of the 6am starters - Jeff Roth. He had caught us in 1 hour - strong. At 7:07am, here comes my buddy Liam. He's solid as ever. No question - he would fight for the title today. He has a mental strength and persistence that few can match. Another 10 minutes or so - here's comes Kim. She's incredible. Leading the females and burning up the track. Greg and I push on. I'm eating some sharkies (carb food), and drinking water. We're at 10,500ft - we've already climbed 2,000ft from the start.

It's starting to hurt - badly. We're entering miles 5-7, steady climbing up these treacherous slopes (uneven and steep). We're now getting near 12,000 ft. My hands are swollen, I'm getting chills (air is colder at this elevation). Here comes more runners from the 6am start. We've now been passed by about 8-10 runners. I'm starting to feel nautious. O-no! This is bad - I can't get sick - not this early. I stop and take a salt tablet. I'm going slower. Greg powers ahead - but I just can't keep the pace. The next couple miles, we climbed 1,700ft to the peak of Dead Women's Pass at 13,779ft. The last 1/2 mile, I completed by taking about 10 steps - then resting. I would do this again and again. I felt terrible. How I am possibly going to run/walk another 20 miiles when I can barely move right now?

"Keep going, you can do it. Stay slow, one foot after the other. If I can get to that peak, it's downhill 2,000ft. I can get some oxygen and rest on the downhill" I'm trying to pump myself up.

I did it - I peaked at 13, 779ft. My buddy Greg had waited for me. He's awesome today - solid as ever. I was in no mood to talk - I couldn't. I grabbed a seat. I told him "Go ahead man - be strong." He asked me if there was anything he could do. There wasn't. This would be about me and my will to survive. I knew it, he knew it.

At the peak, I got out my bag of trail mix. A salty snack that I needed. I drank more water. I couldn't sit long - it was too cold. "Let's do this thing". I started downhill. Treacherous would be an understatement. These huge stone steps were sometimes 2-3 foot high. No chance for me to run here. Those who would challenge for the title would run - but it was partly suicidal to do such.

I started to feel better as I descended. I kept eating the trail mix. The first rest station was at Mile 10 - this was coming up soon. My sites were set on this bogey. I made it to Mile 10 around 10am in the morning. I'd been on the trail for 4.5 hours now - and had only gone 10 miles. I had 1 more high peak to go - then mostly downhill. At the rest station, I took a couple more salt tablets, ate a banana, and grabbed a cheese sandwich and another banana for the trail.

Miles 10-12. I had to climb from 11,600ft back up to 13,100ft. This went much better for me. I wasn't feeling nautious anymore. Maybe the salt tablets were working. I powered ahead. I passed some porters during this time. We would stop periodically. I remember once when I was stopped. This porter and I looked at each other - no words were spoken. There was a mutual respect for what each of us was doing.

I could see the peak - just another 200-300 ft. One foot in front of the other. I made it! Mile #12 --- 13,100ft - I wouldn't see 13,000ft anymore today. I had a rush of positive emotions.

Miles 12-17. These miles were comprised of rolling hills. My next target was the aid sation at Mile #17. I ran some of thes 5 miles, but walked more. You couldn't run much - crazy terrain and rocks. "Focus, focus. Concentrate on every step." I can't tell you how many times my ankle twisted when I missed a rock or the stone would slip. Some areas had wet stones. I kept telling myself - "Place your foot." Every single step was calculated.

Mile 16 - I'm starting to crash. Where's the aid station? There are no mile markers and my Garmin (running watch) isn't working. Nobodies Garmin worked on mileage. I only had elevation and overall time as my guides. It's 12 noon - come on aid station!

Around the corner - there it is - thank God. I sat down for about 5 minutes. I took 2 salt tablets, 2 motrin, took off my light jacket I'd put on for the second climb, ate a cheese sandwich and banana, refilled my water bladder, grabbed another banana and cheese sandwich for the trail, and headed out. I was at 12,000ft. I had just left the last aid station of the race. I would descend 4,200ft in the next 10 miles. There's no turning back now.

I needed to be at Mile 22 before 3pm - or I would not be able to finish the race. This was the control cutoff point. It was a little after 12noon. "5 miles in 3 hours - I can do this"

Miles 17-19. These miles were ridiculously hard. There were literally thousands of steps going downhill. Each step was slow. Sometimes I had to sidestep down as the stairs were too narrow. I made it through unscaved.

Mile 19. The trail started to level out a little. I started running. It was about Mile 20 when it hit me. Usually, this is the time many marathoners hit the wall. Today was different. I started feeling stronger. I'm now at 10,500ft - more oxygen, more life. This was something I never felt before. I started running faster. There were hikers on the trail. Some Australians. They were cheering for me. "Bloody awesome mate", "Keep going mate", "You're our hero mate". Some even put down their walking sticks and started clapping. All this for me!

I had waves of emotions - my body was getting goosebumps. I had some tears in my eyes. I was running faster, hitting stone after stone, lifting the legs. "Don't go down, don't go down. I'm going to do this thing. I'm going to complete the 27.5 mile Inca Trail Marathon." For the next few miles, I was floating on air. I made it to the control checkpoint at Mile 22 at 1:15pm. Yes - I will make it. Just 5 more miles to go.

Miles 22-27.5. I started to think to myself - If I can finish by 2:30pm - I'll do this under 9 hours. I thought this would take me 10+ hours coming in - something in the 8's would be fantastic. I kept it steady. More hikers. They cleared the trail for me. "You can do it man", "We think what you're doing is incredible". Even though these people may not have realized it - because I was all alone on the trail - they were my lifelines. They kept me going during the rough stretches.

Up a hill, there's Su Li, she had passed me at Mile 6 on the initial ascent about 5 hours ago. She stepped aside and I passed her. Another 1/2 mile, there's Nico and Rachael, I haven't seen then since 8am this morning. They stepped aside. "Go Kyle, keep it going". I could feel it now. I was only a couple miiles away. More goose bumps, more emotion. The trail had some steep inclines. I powered though. I was gasping for air but I wasn't stopping. I came to this extremely steep staircase. I had to literally crawl up this thing on my hands. At the peak - there's Jeff Roth. He was the first runner to pass me this morning at 7am. He had finished and come back to cheer us on. "Keep going man. 100 meters to the peak of this hill and then 600 meters to the finish". "Are you serious - I'm that close?". I flew up the hill. I had made it to the Sun Gate. There's Chuck and Pravi, there's Cathy and Jill - high 5's, hand shakes. "Looking strong Kyle - you're almost there". I look up - there it is. There's Machu Picchu. Is it real? I can see it. It's like the pictures I've seen, the TV specials I've watch. There it is.

Now, I'm remembering how our guide told us that one of the runners on a recent trip had broken his ankle 1/2 mile from the finish by looking down at Machu Picchu. I needed to concentrate harder now then ever. (Most accidents happen close to home - people let their guard down). I did not look over at the Lost City again until the end of the race.

There were people all over the trail now. I was flying down beside them. It was a little after 2pm - I was going to beat 9 hours. Long strides, hit the stones flush. I was almost there. Then, I could see our guide Freddie up ahead. He was the finish line. I crossed the line at 2:11pm - 8 hours, 41 minures after I started (12th overall finisher). I had just completed the Inca Trail Marathon.

People ask me why I run, why do you travel, why do you do what you do. The answer is - the feeling I had at 2:11pm on June 10, 2010 - that's why. It's a feeling of accomplishment, of strength. It's challenging yourself to do things you don't think are possible. I have a poster that reads: "Running is a road to self awareness" Words could never be more true.

My buddy Greg was at the finish. He had come in 10 minutes earlier (awesome performance). We gave each other a huge high 5. Then, I sat down and just looked out. I was sitting on a hill that overlooked one of the wonders of the world. This was one of the most satisfying accomplishments of my life.

Greg and I took a number of photos. I couldn't see all that well beacuse my contacts had picked up a bunch of dust along the way. I wasn't too stable either - wobbling around close to the edge of the trail. Because we didn't have tickets to tour Machu Picchu today (we will be spending all day on Friday here), we decided to catch the 11-mile bus down into town.

On arrival, we met some of the other crew for pizza and beers. Liam (6:18) and Kim (7:21) were there. Awesome!! They had both finished hours ago. We exchanged congradulatory high 5's. After a beer or 2 - we went back to the hotel for some rest before dinner.

Dinner that night was great. All 21 of the runners had finished the course successfully - with the last person coming in right at the cutoff - 11 hr, 30 minutes. The night ended fairly early. About 10:00pm - exhaustion had set in. I slept more peacefully on this night than any other on the trip.