Reasons to Party

For our vacation this October, Delta and I had been toying with a few different ideas on places we could visit, and then finally settled upon one last month. We decided to hike Machu Picchu.

It might as well be that we came to this decision with a few months to spare, since as it turns out, the five day hike will require quite a lot of preparation. I read a few blogs on the subject, and realised that "being reasonably fit" (and even that is a hard stretch to describe me) just isn't enough to cut it.

In fact, the more blogs I read, the more I realise that nothing prepares you for the sheer breathlessness of hiking at that altitude. Well, nothing I encounter in my daily life anyway. And it certainly didn't help when I almost had a heart attack biking around Central Park last week.

All the same, it's certainly exciting, and there were some important decisions to be made. How much would it cost? Which hiking trail should we take? How many days would we need off? Would our friends want to join so we could go as a group?

So we threw a Machu Picchu Planning Party this weekend, so the entire gang could look into this together.

"I'm definitely in!!" said Doobie, "I mean, depending on how my asthma is doing at the time," and she gave a little cough for dramatic effect.

"Count me in," said Vish, " I mean, if I sort out my visa situation in time."

"I love the idea! I'm in!" said Ilajna, "I mean, I just need to make sure my knee is up for it though."

"Sounds kewl," said Danny, "I'll see whether I can get the time off from work."

Kate on the other hand, was upfront: "There's no toilets? Ew." And that was that.

Delta and I laughed. "Guys, listen to us!! We're pathetic! If this is how we're talking now, can you imagine what we'll be like when we're old?!!"

And then I went into my spiel about how difficult the hike would be, and silence everyone, six pairs of eyes stared at me like terrified saucers.

I don't know what will come of it, or whether the peops will be able to join us at all. But still, it's a lofty goal, and it sounds like it's worth every minute of the attempt.

"Let's have another party in May," Delta suggested. "This time, it'll be the Machu Picchu Decision Party." By early May, we need to all commit.

Hell - if you're going to plan Machu Picchu seriously, might as well have all these parties along the way, eh.