Day 9 SA - Day 4 on Inca Trail we reach Machu Picchu

Our last day on the trail. We are awoken at 3:45, (yes 3:45) to break camp so the porters can head straight down and catch a 5:00 train back to the communities they hail from. The trail checkpoint which is about a 10 minute walk away does not open until 5:30 so we will have to wait a bit until they let us proceed on the trail. We are all packed up and ready to go for about 4:30 and reach the checkpoint at 4:45, and set up to wait. There are about 100 people in front of us and 90 people behind us. There is excitement in the air in anticipation of reaching our goal. After a 45 minute wait the line starts to move. We think it will move slow, but the checkpoint does not look at passports or anything, it is just a point to prevent persons from hiking in the dark, so they gate it off until daybreak. Within about 5 minutes we are on the trail. It is dusk out and we dont need our headlamps as anticipated. The pace is much faster as it feels like a race to the sun gates. We do not take time to drink water we just keep moving. We also do not want anyone to pass us either after getting up so early.

On the right side of the trail is a vertical wall and on the left is a cliff with about a 5 foot wide trail. Davis has advised that if anyone wants to pass us to stay mountainside. There is very little room to go anywhere. Unfortunately for Doug, nature is calling and his eyes are getting the size of saucers with concern. There is no where to pull over. Just wall and cliff. Finally Dawson spots a site where Doug can hop down about 5 feet and there is a ledge. Off Doug goes and at the sound of breaking branches guides and fellow trekkers are concerned. Dawson announces, "Nothing to see here, just man pooing." so everyones concern as dismissed. We are all giggling at Doug's predicament. Ruth patiently waits for Doug and accidentally tosses the toilet paper into a tree instead of to Doug, imagine the giggling of Ruth trying to get the roll toilet paper out of the tree with her walking sticks while Doug awaits the TP arrival! Dawson and Julie continue on anxious to reach the sun gates. We catch up to our group who is taking a quick drink break. Doug and Ruth also catch up and we are off again. After 2 hours of hiking we reach the sun gates to a bank of fog and nothing to see. We are elated to have made this spot, but sad we cannot see anything. This is the Inca entrance to Machu Picchu and the site should have been laid out in front of us. We had our snack, took some group photos, said our thanks and tipped our guides and headed on towards the ruins. About 50 meters along the way the clouds parted and there in front of us is the famous site of Machu Picchu. The site is huge. We took some pics and continued on to meet up with Horas and Claudia of our group who were unable to trek due to ski injury the week before the trip. The site of Machu Picchu is not yet crowded, just us hikers and a few early birds. We headed down to the base to check in once again. They make you sign out of the Inca trail and into Machu Picchu and show your passports again. It was now time for the official tour of Machu Picchu. The day by now was 10 oclock and getting very hot. We had to sit in the sun to get our explanations and many of us were getting too much sun. After a 2 hour tour, we had an hour or so to tour the site ourselves. Julie was very exhausted and had a touch of sun stroke so not very enthused to climb back up to the top where we had earlier come from. We toured a bit, saw a chinchilla, and headed into town where we were to meet our group for lunch in Aguas Callentes where we catch our train back to Ollanytambota. The bus ride down to the town was very steep switchbacks for about 30 minutes. The town of Aguas Callentes is not connected to anything by road. The only way in and out is by train (unless you hiked like we did). The train drives down the centre of town. It is quite hillarious to see. Lots of trinkets and souvenirs. Julie bought a silver ring. Most of the trinkets seem to be the same. Stall after stall of the same thing.

Time to catch the train which follows the Urubamba river. Again a neat ride through tunnels, snowcapped mountains, and rushing river right beside you. Train ride was a couple hours then we boarded our bus back to Cusco. This bus ride to Cusco was a different route than before and we went up into the mountains and found a plateau to cross over. Good farming land along the way. Once in Cusco we went out for dinner together and then off to bed. Today was a very long day of many firsts.

Cheers Julie and Dawson.