Peru, Colombia, and Chile vying for World Cup playoff spot

Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador and Uruguay have already secured the region’s four direct spots at the World Cup in Qatar later this year, but there’s still a lot at stake in the final round of South American qualifying on Tuesday. The biggest prize is the intercontinental playoff spot against the fifth place team from Asia, with Peru (21 points), Colombia (20) and Chile (19) chasing fifth place in South America. That playoff in June is likely to be against Australia, United Arab Emirates or Iraq. Peru can secure its place with a home victory against Paraguay. Colombia needs to beat Venezuela and hope Peru doesn’t win. Chile will have to beat Uruguay in Santiago and rely on other results going its way. Leader Brazil is targeting an historic mark at Bolivia on the same day. Coach Tite’s team can reach 45 competition points with a victory at altitude in La Paz, a tally that would break Argentina’s record of 43 in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup. Brazil strikers Neymar and Vinicius Jr. are suspended. “We proceed from the perspective of using tourism as a tool for social change,” Góngora said. “In this sense, having women-only tours is a step further into our mission of creating that social change. It solidifies the presence of women on the Inca Trail while it expands on the role that they initially played. That is going from being only one or two women porters to have a team of exclusively women guides, porters and cooks taking care of our women travellers.” Hiking the Inca Trail is no easy task. The classic trek, 42 kilometres from the trailhead known as Kilometre 82 to Machu Picchu, comprises four days and three nights of hiking and camping along rough, vertiginous trails, sometimes at more than 3,962m in elevation, through some of the world’s most striking landscapes. Llamas run free and birds soar overhead, and the ancient ruins of the Inca world sprinkle the verdant, cloud-cloaked mountainsides. Porters, though, are steely focused on lugging heavy packs of supplies and clients’ personal items between campsites, setting up camp and getting the next meal ready. The guides, meanwhile, must ensure that trekking clients are comfortable on the demanding trail and be prepared for illness, injury or other calamities, all while sharing insights into Incan history and culture. When Zamalloa started off as a porter, she doubted her ability. The night before her first trek she didn’t sleep. To top it off, she felt ill when she showed up for her first day of work, either from food poisoning or nerves – or both. “I didn’t think she was going to make it,” Góngora said. “She was throwing up.” “I said, ‘Yes, I’m going to make it,'” Zamalloa said firmly. The profession had been male-only until the year before she was hired. Knowing the significance of what she was doing, and how it could help her life, she refused to give up. And she didn’t. For four days she dug deep, carrying a heavy pack along the tortuous trail and fighting her unhappy stomach. Typically shy, she found that she enjoyed meeting new people and developing friendships with her fellow porters. She since has been promoted to assistant tour guide and is studying English to become a fully-fledged tour guide. When women first started working on the trail in 2017, they encountered resistance from men who questioned their abilities – and their very presence. “At the beginning, guys judged me for being a woman, thinking I wouldn’t be able to do the trek. They made me doubt my abilities, and that was hard at first,” Zamalloa said. “Then I realised I could, and that has made me stronger.”