Machu Picchu- an incredible end to an amazing journey (winter solstice) 6/24/11
Today is the Incan Sun Festival and we happen to be going to Machu Picchu- pretty cool! We were up by 330 (am that's right), packed, and ready to go. We ate breakfast and had to wait on the group to get in line. We got there at 4 and other groups were already waiting. The entrance that leads to Machu Picchu opens at 5 and everyone gets in line since there are hundreds of hikers that come through there each day. We weren’t far back but people were saving other people’s place- yes that’s right, we went back to elementary school. These kids were sooo freakin annoying. We were cold and tired, the kids next to us were screaming and playing game.
After an hour of hell they opened the gate and we got through pretty quickly. Andy took off pushing people out of the way. People yelled and called him names as he passed but he didn’t care. I, on the other hand, was not able to push guys out of the way. I tried passing one guy and when he realized what I was doing he put the block on me. Other people were coming up from behind trying to pass this group as well, they didn’t make it easy. At one point I jumped over tree stumps and the edge of a cliff to pass people. They were walking so slow!! Why not let people pass? One girl was hiking with her walking poles sticking out to the sides (not how you use them) taking up so much room, I jumped over them and ran past her. Another girl came up behind me and tried to pass the group too. I told her to go for it and they tried to block her. I finally got past the two large groups and almost ran the rest of the way. The hike was 2 hours to the Sun Gate in the dark, by myself, my light almost dead, Andy nowhere to be found.
We were told there were so really steep steps right before you reach the Sun Gate. As I reached the steps (it was pretty much a ladder not stairs) the first asshole that wouldn’t let me pass caught up to me and tried to pass me here. It didn’t work. I finally made it to Winay Wayna (the Sun Gate)! I was the 4th person there and the view of Machu Picchu was amazing! The fog was hanging over Machu Picchu and the sun was getting ready to rise in 20 min. We sat, rested, and enjoyed the quiet before all the loud-ass American’s showed up (that’s right I’m talking shit about my own peeps!) The Incans were amazing how they built Machu Picchu. If we would have been there on the 21st (the winter solstice) the sun would have rose exactly between two hills off in the distance. We saw it only 3 days later and it looked pretty close. After taking lots of pics we headed down the mountain for an hour to Machu Picchu at 2400m. We were told the Inca Trail was 28 miles, but that doesn’t include the distance up and down all the hills which makes up the who hike; so we don’t know how far we really hiked over that last 4 days. Antonio gave us a tour and we took tons of pics, admiring the ruins we worked so hard to see.
We knew that only 400 people could hike up Huyana Picchu (in Quechua it means “Young Peak” and is 1200ft higher than Machu Picchu) each day and we would have to be really lucky to get picked. Many tourists stay in Aguas Caliente and get to Machu Picchu early to get in line for Huyana Picchu. Around 11 (the first group up Huyana is 10) Antonio went over to talk to the gate keeper to see if we could get in. I was secretly hoping we wouldn’t because my legs could barely move. But of course, he got us in. Andy, myself, and the gals all went for it although Leslie and I weren’t thrilled. The hike was very steep, I had to crawl on my hands and knees up the mountain some of the way. I guess my legs were in shape from hiking up the thousands of other steps, but these steps didn’t hurt as bad as they should have. Along the way we had to pass people coming down, one of us taking the edge by the cliff. This is Peru people, they don’t have the highest safety standards. I used the rope when possible to ensure my safety, especially since my legs could give out at any time. We made it to the top in record time. Antonio told us it would take 2 hours and we made it in 40 min. Booyah!
The view was amazing from the top and I was exhausted. An idiot was holding his child off the edge on the other side of the peak. I was waiting for something bad to happen. People are idiots and there’s nothing holding you back up here. We finally made it down, I was ready to rest. Andy and the gals said, shall we go see the Inca Bridge? I couldn’t believe they wanted to walk more, especially since I knew to get there we would have to hike up hill, back towards the trail we came down into Machu Picchu. All of a sudden, I got really cranky. Days of exhaustion and no water to drink at the moment didn’t mix well. The gals bought me some water (because Andy drank the water we had) and it calmed me. I do admit I was happy we went to see the bridge, if you can call it that. It’s a little strip of wood along a straight vertical side of a mountain connecting what used to be a path. It was beautiful and I was happy we saw all there was to see (and now I could sit for a long time).
We headed back to the main gate and took the bus down the hill to Aguas Caliente to have lunch with the group one last time. The food was crap, but I was just happy to sit, drink a beer, and relax. Andy and I upgraded our train tickets to the Peru Rail. It’s supposed to be nicer, but the real reason was because it left earlier and we wanted to get back. This town was so touristy, it was hard to take. All the hotels were so expensive, nothing about it felt real- even the food was terrible. We were happy to get on the early train out and relax, but relax was not what we were allowed to do. The train took 3 or so hours to go 60 miles because the damn thing went so slow. The people on the train were there to entertain us. I just wanted them to go away. They kept trying to engage us and I wasn’t having it. At one point they put on a clothes show where they strutted down the train walkway. It was so bad and I was losing my patience- not that I had much in the first place. I put my head down and they got the hint. The ride was beautiful along the river valley.
We made it back to Cuzco and planned to go out since it was the Sun Festival. We took a shower and lied down to enjoy the bed. Of course we then decided we were getting up. We were beat and had an early flight home the next morning. What an amazing way to end the best adventure.