About three hours in, we took a break and had lunch. The villagers had sent us with plenty of food, and while I was hungry, I did heed Hildy’s advice and ate only some fruit, bread, and chocolate. “You don’t want to take your energy away from your muscles to digest too much.”
I nodded, fairly certain that my energy supply would gladly take food but also absolutely sure that Hildy knew more about hiking than I did. And, when we began to hike again, I was grateful I’d gone slow on the meal because I could indeed feel the sluggishness in my steps as my body both digested and reacclimated to the climb.
Shortly thereafter, though, we reached the Inca Trail. Antonio gave us a rest break and told us we’d hike up for a couple of hours and then make camp. “Then tomorrow, we will reach the temple.
