|
| Contact Us |
| Email Carlene |
| Raw Food Resources |
| The Gurus Reading List Important Links Fats Chart (pdf file) Salt Essay Sprouting ABC's How Sweet It Is: High Sugar Fruits in a Raw Food Diet |
Kara's Peruvian Adventure
After losing over 100 pounds at RFBC, Kara headed off to Peru for the summer of 08. It was quite an adventure that she has so graciously agreed to share with us. She is is still at camp losing the rest of her weight and is now co-leading the Power Loser Club so she can use her love of hiking, snow-shoeing, and biking to motivate others to follow in her footsteps and create their own lifetime adventures.
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Nov 07 | Oct 08 | Nov 07 | Oct 08 |
Peru Summer 08'- In Her Own Words
I'm finally home and settling in after an awesome summer vacation. The past seven weeks have been a whirlwind of excitement and absolute chaos that I will remember forever! For me, this journey did not begin in June; it began last November when I joined Raw Food Boot Camp.
| When I started talking about going to Machu Picchu, I had no real intentions of doing any hiking there. I dreamed of it, but knew that I would ultimately spend my vacation on a tour bus. Carlene got wind of my dream and pushed me to start training. I assumed she was insane to think that I would actually make it, but figured I wasn't losing anything by trying, and so I began to snowshoe and walk up flights of stairs. |
Kara Snow Shoeing Dec 07 |
Hiking With Full Pack |
As the months went by and the pounds fell off, I actually started to feel athletic! I would snowshoe for hours and walk up many, many stairs. By Spring, I had reserved a spot to do the four day hike, but was scared to death that I would actually have to complete the four day hike! I still didn't know if I was really up to the challenge. The weather warmed up and my morning walks turned into stair climbing torture sessions. Carlene pushed and pushed to make sure I would be ready for Peru. By that time I was nearing 100 lbs lost and feeling on top of the world. I was no longer interested in just climbing Machu Picchu. I had researched other expeditions and was ready to climb many Andean mountains! Finally the time came to leave and I was ready. I was able to do seven-hour hikes with a full pack quite easily... and then two days before I was scheduled to leave, I slipped while hiking and sprained my ankle quite badly. I spent one day on the pity pot before deciding to go anyway. I had worked far too long and hard to spend my trip on a tour bus. |
I landed in Lima where I had a few days of relative calm (mingled with ocean safaris and paragliding) and much ankle icing before my first big adventure: Huacachina. Huacachina is located in the Ica desert about four hours south of Lima. There I hiked barefoot up kilometre high sand dunes. The ankle made the climbing slow and difficult, but my inner Swedish mountain goddess, Helga, forced me to the top. After hiking, I figured my ankle was strong enough to try sand boarding. I fell every 3 meters or so and eventually decided to go down on my stomach, but it was quite an adventure and one of my favourite things from the whole summer.
Kara and her Guide Paragliding |
Sand boarding at Huacachina |
After Huacachina, I headed south to fly over the Nazca lines and then on to Arequipa where I met my guide for my first big hiking adventure: The Colca Canyon. The Colca Canyon was by far the most difficult hiking I have ever done. It was also the most beautiful and rewarding. The first day of the hike proved exceedingly difficult as we climbed down into the canyon for six straight hours jumping down meter high boulders onto slippery gravel. By the end of the day, the entire group had multiple blisters on both feet. The second day was equally difficult as we walked in the heat towards the oasis. At that point I think I counted 18 blisters on my feet, three on my hands from continually rubbing against rocks and my ankle was the size of a cantaloupe. I was devastated that I had come so far to have my butt whooped on my first hike. That next morning, I resigned to be taken out of the canyon on the back of a mule. Out of my group of 12, only one woman (my new hero) made it out on foot.
|
 Kara and the only person to make it back up Colca Canyon on foot |
| Upon leaving the canyon, I caught a bus to Cusco where I was supposed to fly into the Amazon for a five-day trek through the jungle. My plans were suddenly changed as my bus was caught in the middle of a violent agricultural strike. The villagers were starting fires under the vehicles and throwing stones at anyone who tried to cross the picket line. Our bus driver chose to drive through the picket line instead of having the bus torched. As we drove through the lines, baseball sized rocks came smashing through the windows and I learned 'Hail Mary' in Spanish! In the chaos of it all, I am not sure what hit me, but I ended up with a mouth full of glass and bloody gash over my left eye. |  Kara's Bus after Attack by Strikers |
After passing through three such villages, we finally happened on a peaceful village where we parked the bus for two days while waiting for the strike to end. Those two days gave me a chance to regain my focus and hear Carlene in my brain telling me to push on.
Upon arrival in Cusco, missed flights forced itinerary changes making my four-day hike to Machu Picchu an impossibility because of strict government policies that require hiking permits to be purchased months in advance. (Wheph! Say that ten times fast!) Since the traditional four-day trek was no longer an option, I opted to join a small group on the mixed trail. One day of biking and two days of hiking.
 Day 2 of the Inca Trail |
I thought the mixed trail was a great idea... until I realized that my ankle wasn't ready to go biking through the Andes! I ended up joining another group for the first day on a walking tour that took me to a meeting point where I joined the mixed trail group and hiked the other two days up to Machu Picchu. My group was made up mostly of 19-year-old extreme hikers that probably had no more than 5% body fat. As much as I enjoyed the eye candy, they were in great shape and no mood to wait up for me. I pushed myself as hard as I could and managed to keep up really well. I left my big bag at the hostel and just took the basic hygiene necessities, which made the hike much easier. I was actually surprised to find out how easy the terrain actually was. It was only the altitude that made it difficult. Of course, that's easy to say after being forced to climb thousands of steps in preparation for this trip. As much as I wanted to strangle Carlene when she continually asked me to up the intensity of my training, I would never have been able to make it if she hadn't pushed me so hard. |
Machu Picchu and Kara
Despite being totally exhausted when I arrive on top of Machu Picchu around 7am, Helga showed up out of nowhere and made me climb to the top of Machu Picchu mountain... about one vertical kilometre (six zig zag kilometres) above the ruins. The view from the summit was absolutely spectacular and the terrain was so rough going up there were very few that made it there. I may not have made it out of the Colca Canyon on my own, but I did make it to the top of Machu Picchu mountain. Sitting at the summit, looking at the ruins far below, I met a breast cancer survivor who told me her story of wanting to beat cancer and hike to Machu Picchu with her daughter. I shared my story about losing 100lbs and making it to the top of that hellishly steep mountain. We shared a hug and some tears at our success and started climbing down.
 |
 |
One Vertical Kilometre Above Machu Picchu |
|
After leaving Aguas Calientes, I headed off to the Amazon Basin for five days in the jungle. It was there, at sea level, where I really got to shine. Without the altitude to hold me up, I was leading hikes, climbing trees, fishing for piranhas and generally running amuck. I loved our daily hikes and was more than thrilled to be able to walk confidently on several kilometres of wooden planks over the swamps knowing that if they were to break, it wouldn't be because I was too heavy. |
|
There were tons of wild animals all around and I even managed to get a monkey to eat a piece of orange right out of my hand! I also received personal attention from some fire ants and a gecko! I loved every moment of the jungle except the food poisoning, the pervert who kept trying to rob me one night and getting stuck in the middle of a cocaine trafficking area. The rest was truly enjoyable!
From the jungle, I took a boat and four planes to get home. It was a great way to end my trip.
I don't know if I can top this trip next year, but I am going to try. By then I'll be at my goal weight, so those extreme nineteen year old hikers better watch out!
To see more photos of Kara's trip go to: Kara' s Peruvian Photos
©2008 Raw Food Boot Camp