Machu Picchu!!!

The only thing that could ever possibly wake me up at 3:00AM besides mashed potatoes and gravy or Adam Levine himself would be MACHU PICCHU!!! After eating one pancake and tea we found ourselves sprinting to the next checkpoint. This checkpoint was the most important because if we made it there the two other groups we would be the first to enter Machu Picchu that morning! Luckily our company, United Mice, is the shiznit and we were the first ones at the entrance at around 3:45. We had to wait until 5:00AM for the gates to open but from that point on it was pure adrenaline. There we are, 13 United Mice from the age of 20-60 dashing full sprint through the darkness as backpackers from other companies are trying to pass us. No pee breaks, no water breaks, just Piznit on our minds. The race became intense as Kevin told one speedy backpacker that he was an asshole (good thing we saw him the next day at the airport). After what they call the Gringo Killers, a series of crazy steep stairs that seem to go on forever) we had finally made it to the Sun Gate... where we were able to see absolutely nothing because of the fog. But, it could have been raining so I was not about to complain.

We started our descent down into Machu Picchu and when that “postcard” picture of the ruins was finally in sight a feeling of absolute joy and amazement came over me. Literally 20 minutes into our descent the skies cleared and we were given the most beautiful sunny day that I could have imagined. During times like that I question why I am atheist because it was an absolute miracle. We had a two-hour tour of Machu Picchu from our guide Sol. The precision of the stone- work is impeccable… you can’t even fit a coin through the stones because of how precise their building techniques were. The Incans were also known for being hydraulic geniuses. For a civilization to form up in the mountains is quite unknown because of the lack of water source however the Incans mastered the use of mountain rain water through canals/pipes that are still working today and were able to use the mountains as a form of protection!

After the tour we had about 2 hours of free time so we checked out the ancient Incan bridge which, not going to lie, was highly anticlimactic. I was anticipating a beautiful, dangerous, old drawbridge where tourists could enter at their own risk… what we got was a plank of wood connecting two very close boulder ledges. The thing that I will admit was cool, however, was the Incan use of removable bridges. When they needed to pass they would use the bridge and then take the platform with them as they went so that others could not cross. I found it very intriguing and typical South American that on the way to the bridge we had to walk on the side of cliffs hundreds maybe thousands of feet up and there were no safety precautions. It would have been very easy for someone to fall off the edge to his or her death.

Afterwards, the other three began an hour hike to Aguas Calientes which Pat and I were having none of. After a 4 day hike, Machu Picchu was the reward, the culmination of all of my hard work… you could not have paid me 200 dollars in that moment to hike down to Aguas Calientes. Instead, Pat and I relaxed on a terrace by the ruins for a good hour… best decision of my life. Well, until we met a guy who kept taking pictures of us because we were “muy lindo”… this was the same guy who proceeded to tell us that he was a billionaire who now had 700 dollars in his bank account. I think he may have had some social problems but he asked Pat if he was Jewish, told me I was Hispanic, and then asked a random Asian girl what her nationality was… it was strange. He then told us that he wanted to take the train back with us. Thankfully, there was a llama walking by us and the man got distracted at which point Pat and I bolted.

After eating lunch in Aguas Calientes with the group we all got on a train that very much reminded me of Disney World (not sure I can explain why… maybe it was the soothing music). The views from the train were incredible and once we had arrived back at the start point I was shocked at how far we had walked (an hour and a half train ride)! After a train we took a 3 hour bus ride back to Cusco where we had to say goodbye to all of our friends from the Inca Trail which was really sad. There is something so personal about sharing an experience like the Inca Trail with strangers. I am not sure if it is the lack of hygiene, collective pain, or passion that united us all on the trail but they are truly a group of people I will never forget. While I am certainly an outdoorsy kind of person, I was not prepared for how difficult the Inca Trail would be. However, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will never forget.