Day 5: Machu Picchu. We woke at 4am that morning - it was still dark. One of the porters was very eager for us to clear out of the tent as fast as possible, because all our porters had a train to catch at 5:30 at the bottom of the mountain. He kept knocking on our tent and we think he only spoke Quechua because he didn't seem to understand that we were hurrying as best we could. We had a quick breakfast and hit the trail, by the light of our headlamps only. We walked only a short distance to get to the line to enter the Machu Picchu sanctuary where we waited until 5:30. Dawn was upon us as we entered the park and began the remaining hour hike to the Sun Gate. Our group stayed together, as we all wanted to get there together for the first view of Machu Picchu.
Again, remarkably, the view was perfectly clear from the Sun Gate as we looked down on the Sacred sanctuary of the Incas! The sun had not yet crested over the mountains, and there we were! It was incredible and especially so for the rest of my group, because none of them had seen it yet. It didn't change the beauty for me, after seeing it with our family last July, because my appreciation for it had changed. I had completed, probably, the most physically challenging test of my life, outside of childbirth. (c: I was reminded again, of how blessed I was to have had this opportunity.
We descended another half hour to the actual ruins, checked out backpacks at the gate, and began our full tour - something I didn't get to do the last time. We were pretty exhausted by the end of the tour, so Mesha and I found a lovely spot on a back-side terrace to rest, have a snack, and just absorb where we were. With recharged batteries, we went to explore a little on our own, taking fun pictures and marveling at the thunder we could hear as we watched a storm move through the majestic valley before us. To one side of the mountain there were dark rolling clouds and to the other, fluffy white ones with a bright blue sky behind them. It had been a really long time since I had heard thunder, and it just reminded me of the all-powerful Creator that we serve! It only misted a little, so we stuck around and waited for a rainbow, but to no avail. Soon after that we took the bus down the mountain, to meet our group for lunch. We had the afternoon to spend together in Aguas Calientes, as we waited for the train. Our guides left us here to return to Cusco on an earlier train.
It was here, that our trip took a little twist! We had a great train ride, chatting with two other Americans who had just completed a longer, more obscure trail. The hour and a half passed quickly, and we arrived at Ollantaytambo and boarded a bus that was waiting for us. Our whole group was present and ready to go, when the driver said he was waiting for 2 more passengers that were to arrive on the next train...we waited a half hour, and soon realized what was happening when our bus was flooded with people that had arrived on the local train. There were even people in the aisles - it felt like a "combi" in Lima! Except, this was a tourist charter bus, with people from other countries who had paid a lot of money to be on that bus after hiking the Inca Trail. The local folks, too, were really upset and after seeing how he drove, and how he stopped in the middle of nowhere to wash his face, they called him "borracho!" (drunkard). This didn't make us feel any better. As we neared Cusco, people started calling "Baja!" to get off the bus, and the driver collected 5 soles from each of them - Mesha and I started counting how many people were getting off the bus, and there were 31 besides our group! This driver made about a weeks' wage in one night! We were dropped off in a small plaza in Cusco and made plans as a group to go to the agency the following morning. Then we decided to get some dinner (at 10:30!). While we were tired we enjoyed some final time with the Argentinians (3 had to leave in the morning). Mesha and I were so happy to arrive safely back to our hostel at midnight after enduring a sketchy bus ride and the lewd comments just made by our taxi driver. What a day!
Day 6: Coming Home. We couldn't sleep in - after waking up before 5:30 the whole week. It was nice to take our time and enjoy breakfast together before meeting up with our group to walk to the agency. At the agency, they weren't quick to take any responsibility and rather just blamed the transportation company that they had contracted to bring us back to Cusco - passing the buck is pretty normal here. After my (very tall) Dutch friend, Nico, explained what his expectations were, we each got an apology and 10 soles for our trouble. Mesha and I were shocked to have received any money back.
We rushed back to the hostel to collect our things and meet our transportation to the airport. It was an uneventful flight and I even made it back with my walking stick - to which I was very attached after our journey together. I took a taxi home and Michael was there waiting for me half way up the stairs. We had a little time together to catch-up before Noah woke from his nap. Daddy went off to youth group and Noah and I just snuggled on the couch and reacquainted ourselves. It was so sweet to be home with my guys again.
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