Inca Trail Day 4: The Big Day - Machu Picchu (long blog)
Lacey was super tired after not sleeping well for a couple nights so she went to bed right away and slept great. I used my earplugs again and also slept well.
This was the earliest wakeup call of the trip at 4am. We were both already awake though by 3:30am. We could hear commotion starting at even 3am. The porters had to pack up and leave fast to catch a train. So everything was already taken down.
It was definitely not a leisurely breakfast. Breakfast was at the table but just out in the open (no tent). Plus, the breakfast was a bologna sandwich in a plastic bag haha. Again, not a gourmet situation.
We got dressed and ready for the big day. Our expectation was that it would only be a little hike and relatively flat so we dressed for the pictures and not for hiking. Before the porters left, we paid them their tip which was kind of awkward because they were moving around so fast and just wanted to leave.
We waited at the gate of the actual Machu Picchu with all the other hikers. In a non-Covid year, there would have been 250-ish people waiting here. Instead, there were maybe 50? And that might even be an overestimate. The gates opened at 5:30 am so we just spent the time sitting there watching everyone else mostly. One of the groups had an annoying guy who kept talking about racing to the sun gate for the first look at Machu Picchu *eye roll*.
So this was the only part of the hike that did not go super well. I did not know that we had a full 1.5 hour+ of hiking uphill in the heat and humidity left. If I had known that (my fault of course), then I would have packed some shorts to wear for this part of the hike and then changed clothes when we arrived at Machu Picchu. I should have done that regardless of the weather. I did that literally every day of the hike except this one.
It was humid. It was all uphill. It was hot. I was sweating A LOT. The sweat was dripping through my orange pants that I specifically bought for MP picture day. I was upset at myself, I was upset at the humidity, and I did not handle it well at all. Lacey was amazing as always. It was very obvious where I was sweating and I was not a fan and let that cloud my emotions while we were hiking.
So that stunk. On the bright side, we finally reached the sun gate. It was our first view of Machu Picchu after talking, thinking, dreaming about it for months, and hiking 26 miles, we finally saw it. It was very emotional. I cried for a bit. Partly from exhaustion, partly from releasing pent-up emotions, and partly from happiness. It was beautiful and amazing and everything people say it is. That moment alone was worth the hike by itself and that's why I would tell anyone that wants to see MP to do the hike for sure.
There were quite a few groups at sun gate hanging out taking in the view when we got there. Apparently, no one else was sweaty and I was the only one. Very frustrating haha. We talked to NY couple more while we were up there.
When we first arrived at the sun gate, there were basically no clouds and we had a clear view of the whole area. By the time we left (only 20 mins probably), it was very cloudy so we were lucky at the timing of our arrival. We took some pics up there and then started the short hike down to the site itself.
On the way down we saw some more llamas and we got some selfies with them in the MP remains which was very funny. We had to hike through the remains to get to the actual entrance. Long story short, we had to "check out" of the trail and then "check in" to the remains. This also gave Sergio a chance to shower and get ready.
The scene at the entrance was kind of crazy. Lots of buses arriving and lots of tourists. After 3+ days in the wilderness, it was a jarring situation to be in. We dropped off one bag and kept the other. To kill some time, we went to the snack bar to get a breakfast item or a drink. While we were there, we ran into NY couple and some other hikers. While we were getting ready to order, Derek and Olivia came over and asked if we were getting a beer. We said, "we will if you do." So we all had a beer at 8:30am at Machu Picchu. What a great moment. The views even from the snack bar were incredible and the company and camaraderie was so fun.
Sergio wrangled us up and we checked into MP for real this time. We had to walk back up to the top of the remains. Sergio told us all about the history of the place, what they've discovered about it, how it turned into a tourists place, why it was still so preserved, etc. It was so interesting and we really appreciated how he never just told us facts but told us stories instead.
The views... My goodness.
We played the game of "mask off, mask on" for pictures. On the trail, we didn't have our masks on but in the remains, it was very necessary. They had guards posted everywhere all over the remains (literally 50+ guards). If they saw someone without their mask for any reason, they would radio between themselves and yell at them. So to take a picture, we would wait for the guards to look somewhere else and then Sergio would SUPER QUICK take a pic and then we would throw them back on.
There was even one time where Sergio went and talked to a guard for a little bit so Lace and I could take pictures of each other haha.
The biggest misconception that Sergio cleared up for us was that many people think MP was a sacrificial place. Like they would take virgins here and kill them to their gods. Instead, the experts think it was a school for future leaders in the Incan empire. That would explain the small children's bodies they found near the area.
We also saw how the Incans built AROUND the mountains and how amazing their building skills were. Even though they did not do straight lines like other cultures (Roman, Egyptian, etc.), the fact that all of it is still standing is incredible. Also, the Incans are actually the Quechuans, not the Incans. Inca means "chosen one" or "leader" so when the Spanish asked to see their leader, they would say Inca.
We were in the MP remains for about 3 hours total. They make the guides get through it within a 3 hour time period to keep everyone moving and not allow people to just sit and hang out forever.
We got off the bus and picked up our duffel bags from a Pisco Bar in the town. The porters dropped them off here when they left this morning. At the bar, Sergio showed us how to make pisco sours (the national drink of Peru). This was absolutely amazing. The drink has egg whites in it so it has to be shaken a lot. The bar played a song called "shakey shakey" while we shook up the drink. It was so so so much fun and what an incredible way to end the experience. The drink was fantastic too.
We talked to the couple for the entire 2-hour train ride. We talked about travel and compared our different hikes and what we thought of Peru. She is a doctor and he is an engineer so we also talked about Covid and all that. It made the train ride go by super fast.
We were the first people to be dropped off in Cusco. I cried like 3 times saying goodbye to Sergio, Ricardo, and Romer. It was just a very bittersweet moment experiencing all of that with them. We were sad to leave them but happy to have gotten to know them too.
The hotel room exploded with clothes as we re-organized our entire life. We had our day packs, the duffel bags, and our big backpacks we left at our hotel.
Showering at the hotel was up next (yuck we needed it after 4 days). Then we called some family members including my sister who has been watching out cat. Then we finally slept.
What a day. What an amazing, roller coaster, long, spectacular day. We are so lucky to have experienced it.
- Let's get this bread
- Easy peasy, lemon squeezy
- You should BEEEEE here
- Soup by Ricardo
- Buon Provetcho
- Where's the uphill?
- Finished K Bye (at the end of dinner, Romer would say this)
- Don't worry, we're not famous
- Sergio called everyone he met "Papi"
Comments
Post a Comment