Machu Picchu. I 've never been there. My backpack has. It's black leather with a single opening and two very wide leather shoulder straps adjusted the old fashioned way, with buckles. It's a rugged good looking backpack, the kind that might have persuaded Ernest Hemingway to drag it around the globe as he travelled, wrote and was photographed for those pictures that bars in Cuba and Italy use to verify that he drank there. I think there may be a photograph of my backpack buried in my friend Laurel's photo albums.

Laurel went to Peru with her parents about nine or ten years ago. I loaned her the backpack for her trip. I think I was vaguely trying to start a trend that only I would ultimately appreciate, one akin to the lawn dwarf stolen by pranksters whose intent was to pose it in front of recognizable landmarks and then send the ensuing pics back to the dwarf's owner. In my case, Laurel dragged that pack up the steps to the ruins of fabled Machu Picchu and I think she may have even touched it to the sacred Intihuatana stone. So, instead of a worldwind global tour my backpack went, in effect, on a spiritual pilgrimage. Did it return changed? On the surface it had a few new scratches that added character to the hide. What was odd, what was hard to explain was that for some reason when I started to carry it around again it seemed heavier, even when empty of contents. My back hurt, my shoulders ached and I couldn't remember if this had always been the case, or if suddenly it truly was heavier. I want to say that there was a profound reason for the perceived additional weight. I want to say that it foreshadowed a new life that I was about to embark upon sans a husband. I want to say that the cliche of "carrying around one's baggage" had gone from symbol to concrete application. But I won't. What I will say is that this was a bag that went on a trip that I would have liked to have gone on.

Meanwhile if you haven't been to Peru, this site, Raingod, has a virtual tour of the Inca trail leading up to Machu Picchu that might nudge you into booking a trip there. And, Culture Focus has many interesting links and photos of the area, the people, and the sites along with links to book travel or explore other regions of Peru.