Day three-

"Buenos Dias... Coca Tea???" The morning wake up call came at 6:00am, the latest we were called to action. Long Legs and I had shared a tent, which meant her body took up 2/3rds of the tent so I contorted my body into the open space around the other 1/3rd. It was lucky I'm a yogi?Ninja capable of most feats. No matter, we had to spoon midway through the night to avoid another indoor downpour and the high altitude chill.

"Hermana? (sister) Buenos Dias?" I poked my finger into the sleeping bag bundle next to me.

"Buen dia." She mumbled and pulled her head out of her cocoon.

"Holy SHIT, What happened to your face?"

Probably not the nicest way to wake up. Especially when accompanied with unstoppable hysterics, at which point she bolted out of bed and demanded I tell her what I saw. But I couldn't, I simply couldn't look at her without bursting into a fit of giggles. Until I got hold of my wits. Then I looked into her face and she stared at me... followed by her own outburst of giggles.

"I hope I don't look as bad as you." -- Silenced.

Have you ever seen someone stung by something, right near their eye? Their eye gets all puffy and loses definition, resulting in what I think looks like an elephant face, without the big ears or giant trunk...

Which is how we looked... but much worse.

Our entire crew of porters and trekkers. If you look closely you will see the puffiness.

I do wish I had a picture but I was too horrified. Never in my life had I been so swollen. Even when I gained 20 pounds on a diet of beer. At lease then my eyes weren't melting into my cheeks and nose.

Cloaked in dark glasses and baseball caps we snuck to the bathroom, in hopes of cooling down the inflamed Elephant faces staring back in the mirror. Along the way we met the Mom. Or rather the Elephanted version of the Mom. She too had been diseased with the puffiness, almost beyond recognition. Just another day on the trek to Machu Picchu. Dumdidum.

Sunshine and break on the Inca Trail

The day went up from there, though the trail was downhill. Only a short hike up and the rest of the short 5 hours on the trail was downhill or flat. Rejoice dear hip flexors, Rejoice. We arrived at our final camp by 3pm and discovered HOT. LUSCIOUS. SHOWERS. Well a tepid trickle but still, goodbye raunchy stench, hello tolerable stink.

Another ruin on the way to the big one

I realize the dirt bag look is back in after a decade of being very much out, but I had fallen from the dirt bag greasy look and was purely dirt and grease, and mildew-gym-clothes-in a-gym-bag-kind of stinky.

3 hermanas and our head guide, Marco

While the option of drinking beer (a short aside- in every small town there is always a bar, so is it any wonder someone decided to erect a little joint at the last camping spot before the gate to Machu Picchu), at the local discotheque was appealing I felt it might take away from the whole pilgrimage holy journey thing. so we skipped out. Plus I didn't need a hang over for our 330am wake up call. It would be painful enough.

The littlest Hermana Mags and the support guide, Edwin