The Hike to Maray

Hiking through the mountains of Maras to Maray, I was struck at the picturesque scenery we were surrounded by. It truly seemed as though someone had shoved us into a postcard or book. The monstrous mountains surrounded by green fields did not seem real. We were promised at the beginning of the hike that this one would be more strenuous than our previous ones, which was felt particularly at one particular incline. However despite the universal huffing and puffing sounds our group was making, through the views we were graced with, along with the tunes we were all blasting, the hike soon turned into one of the biggest highlights of the trip.

As I was walking, one thought that kept on running through my head was the idea that this was how the Incan people travelled and these were the same views they observed as well. The idea honestly flabbergasted me. To realize that people thousands of years ago walked on the same ground as you did is not something that is usually considered. It is astounding to think of how differently their civilization lived compared to how we do now. Reflecting on it, I came to the conclusion that our generation today would not be able to live the way people lived back then, we are way to comfortable.

As someone who currently lives in the 21^st century, I can’t imagine living in world where there isn’t a heater available, where I would have to walk everywhere, or where the technology we have today isn’t available. Likewise, I can’t imagine the people thousands of years ago understanding our way of life today. Overall, it is crazy to think how much human’s have evolved and continually evolve. I wonder how life will be in another thousand years when someone else is hiking those same mountains.