Peru // Inca Trail: Machu Picchu
/You know how I have been saying all along that the Inca Trail is not a sprint but a marathon? Yeah, the last and finale day of hiking pre Machu Picchu is more like a sprint. Literally. You wake up at approximately 3:30 am to get on line to wait to start the hike. It is basically like the Hunger Games -- except you aren't killing anyone for food, you are instead trying to out speed walk everyone so that you can be among the first people to get to Machu Picchu. What a lot of people don't tell you is that while you are enduring the pain of shin splints and other people's body orders, there are buses already pulling up to the Machu Picchu with bright-eyed and bushy-tailed hoards of people who didn't earn the right to be there before you.
View from our waiting spot.
The beginning of the end.
Right past the Red de Caminos Inka sign is the last stretch of the trail. There are zero pictures because like I said above -- this is a sprint. After a two hour session of zipping and weaving through trees and climbing (yes, climbing) up a wall of stone steps we arrived at Intipunku or, as it's better known, the Sun Gate. This is where we would first lay our eyes on Mach Picchu. Drum roll please...
Great. More clouds.
As you can see (or can't see) there is Machu Picchu. David told us not to worry -- this happens often. It would only be a matter of time before the sun burns off the clouds.
Everyone trying to will the clouds away with our death stares.
I see something!
Getting warmer!
We started our descent down from the Sun Gate towards Machu Picchu city in hopes of getting lower than the clouds. And well... our plan worked!
Machu Picchu city!
Unfortunately after having spent so many hours in close corders with others, there wasn't much privacy to answer Pacahamama's call so enjoying the views were short lived temporarily as we made a B-line towards to the bathrooms at the base of the mountain.
A man on a mission.
At the base of the mountain we were able to use the facilities for a nominal price, store our day packs and purchase some overpriced snacks before heading back up to explore. Although we arrived at our final destination, the hiking portion was far from over -- you still need stamina to get you through all of the stairs. Luckily our adrenaline was pumping so we all still had enough energy to get around.
Looking back towards the Sun Gate.
Such precision that not even a credit card (or my map) would fit between these stones.
Tiredness is starting to set in.
Since we still had some time before our train, two out of four of us decided to pay a few bucks for a hot shower. After four days of nothing more than wet wipes and freezing cold water, a shower was the perfect way to end our Andean adventure.