Day 2 on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

Continued from previous page the group of six women who are friends or friends of friends or friends of friends of friends of Caroline), is leading yoga stretches.

We enjoy a snack and then a fantastic and welcome lunch served in the dining tent (delectable chicken salad appetizer; Sara Lawa soup which is a kind of eggdrop soup made with corn flour, eggs, ginger) and I am struck by how really excellent the food is - I mean as good as the finest restaurant in Peru. Alpaca Expeditions boasts the best chefs in the mountains, and I am inclined to agree.

Chef Mario seems to use spices, flavors, textures (hot soups, energizing carbs, reinforcing proteins) that are medicinal or at least appropriate to the activity, whether to hike, acclimate, rest, sleep or wake. All the food is prepared from fresh ingredients purchased in the Cusco local market and carried up for us by the porters, then prepared by the chef (no canned or rehydrated food) who also caters to vegetarians, lactose intolerant and food allergies with heaping platters.

Lunch typically includes a delicious soup (like corn or mushroom) and some combination of chicken and rice, sausage, fried fish, ceviche, steak, beans, fried rice, french fries, boiled potatoes, vegetables, salad.

There is such a lot of food but it is not just for us – the porters and staff eat the same food as we do (which, we learn, was not always the case for the trekking companies and a feature of Alpaca Expeditions that we really appreciate).

After this delightful lunch, the

BY CHARLYN FARGO

A study by researchers at Ohio State University confirms what most of us know about weight loss -- increased exercise and a healthy diet are the keys rather than skipping meals and using prescription diet pills.

The researchers examined adherence to the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 recommendations among people with and without clinically significant weight loss. Researchers concluded that U.S. adults would benefit from adopting the heart-healthy measures to achieve weight loss. The findings were published in the journal of the American Heart Association in April 2023.

The eight recommendations, published by the AHA in June 2022, are considered crucial for heart health and include:

-- Eat better: Follow a healthy, balanced diet consisting of unprocessed, nutrient-rich foods, including vegetables, realization sets in: this is only the halfway mark of this challenging day. We actually have another mountain to climb and descend.

In fact, the two-hour climb up the next mountain to Runcuraccay Pass is steeper though shorter - really what I had envisioned (and feared) the Dead Woman’s Pass would be like - and altogether more challenging.

We stop at a small Inca site, Runcuraccay, and see two huge waterfalls cascading down the opposite side of the valley.

After the second pass, it’s another hour of a steep downhill hike to reach the magnificent Inca site, Sayacmarca (an otherwise inaccessible village).

This part of the trek has actually been the hardest. Eric and Sarah, who had just 10 days before hiked Rainbow Mountain, a 6.2-mile out-and-back trail near Pitumarca, Cusco, where they hiked 1,627 ft in elevation up to 16,000 feet (and suffered altitude sickness), are skipping up and down these peaks like a mountain goat. I’m a tortoise, taking my sweet time, going slow and steady, stopping for the views.

The trail disappears as a thin line hugging the mountainside, the people are mere dots of color, and then, in the distance, this amazing and improbable fortress, Sayacmarca, appears. This is an astonishing view as we descend (it is steep), with the mountain mist –even more astonishing because you are not prepared for it as you are for Machu Picchu. And to realize that this construction was basically to protect Machu Picchu. (Here, though, as Lizandro warned, we encounter the meanest mosquitoes.)

In 1941, an archeologist came upon Sayacamaka, which was completely buried under the overgrowth and named it “inaccessible village.” The site is strategic – on top of mountain, surrounded by valleys, and protected. We see what would have been a watch tower. These structures were used for resting places, like a hostel, for the pilgrims, nobles and travelers, spaced 20-25 km apart, so they could be reached in a day’s hike and travelers knew there would be food and drink ready, Lizandro tells us.

In 1915, the archaeologist Hiram Bingham, who is most responsible for uncovering Machu Picchu, found 8 of these Incan trails. One of the trails led to Vilcambaba, the last refuge of the Inca. In 1538, these sites along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and Machu Picchu were destroyed by order of Manco Inca, the last Incan king to protect them from the invading Spaniards. Portions have been restored.

Peru’s Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Environment is responsible for these sites and rangers protect them. While they excavate and can restore, they cannot rebuild any of the structures, so if there is a stone that has fallen off and they are not sure where it came from, they leave it where it fell.

After exploring Sayacamaka, it’s only 20 minutes further to our second campsite, Chaquicocha (Dry Lake) at 11,808 ft. altitude. We reach the campsite at around 6:30 pm, as the sun sets over the Vilcabamba mountain range, having met the toughest challenge of the trip (and

Heart Health = Weight Loss

fruits, whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts, plant-based proteins, lean animal proteins, skinless poultry, fish and seafood.

-- Be more active: Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week.

-- Quit tobacco: Smoking cessation is recommended to avoid numerous health problems.

-- Get healthy sleep: Get seven to nine hours of sleep per night.

-- Manage weight: Be at a healthy weight. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an optimal body mass index (ratio of height and weight) is between 18.5 and 25.

-- Control cholesterol: Aim for your LDL (low-density lipoprotein) to be lower and your HDL (high-density lipoprotein) to be higher for overall good cholesterol health.

-- Manage blood sugar: A test called hemoglobin A1C provides a picture of blood glucose over the past three months and can be used to keep levels in check.

-- Manage blood pressure: Adults should maintain blood pressure levels below 120/80 mm Hg. A lower sodium diet can help achieve this.

What the study found is that those recommendations for heart health also helped with weight loss. Researchers looked at data from 2007 to 2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey questionnaires, clinical measures and 24-hour dietary recalls to determine adherence to the eight recommendations, diet quality and weight loss strategies. Adults who achieved clinically significant weight loss in the past 12 months reported higher overall diet quality, greater levels of physical activity and adoption of evidence-based weight loss strategies when compared with those with weight loss of less than 5%, weight maintenance or weight gain.

The bottom line? If you want to lose weight, skip the fad diets, missing meals and prescription drugs. Focus on triedand-true recommendations of eating my life).

The Chaquicocha campsite is described as a recently restored Inca settlement at the gateway to the jungle, nestled between two eco-systems – high ground and cloud forest. It has one of the most picturesque settings with a fantastic view of the night sky to observe the stars, except it is cloudy tonight. It is also quite cold, and I am so happy with my $4 purchase of knee-high alpaca wool socks.

“Happy Hour” ( tea time) before dinner consists of popcorn, fried wontons, tea, coffee, followed by another superb dinner (the menu might consist of some combination of stuffed chicken, vegetable tortillas, pizza, spaghetti, pork cutlet, sauteed vegetables, salad).

The permits to do the Inca Trail trek are limited to 500 a day for all the trekking companies (which includes 200 for trekkers and 300 for porters and staff) and get booked up months in advance.

More information: Alpaca Expeditions, USA Phone: (202)-550-8534, info@alpacaexpeditions.com, https:// www.alpacaexpeditions.com/

Check with the US State Department to get the latest information on travel to Peru (https://travel.state.gov/ content/travel/en/internationaltravel/International-Travel-CountryInformation-Pages/Peru.html).

Next: Day 3 on the Inca Trail healthy foods and exercising daily. There are no magic pills or shortcuts.

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Charlyn Fargo is a registered dietitian with SIU Med School in Springfield, Illinois. For comments or questions, contact her at charfarg@aol.com or follow her on Twitter @NutritionRD.

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