Day 3-
So day 2 was in the books…we were all very exhausted and pretty beat up. We were told that day 3 was going to be fairly easy, relative to the day before. We had the option of either walking for 1.5 hours to the cable car (to take us across the river) or we could bus there. The main incentive for taking a bus there was to go to the hot springs in Agua Calientes, our next destination (and main hub to MP).
So we decided to take the bus. Along the way I quickly realized how much of a higher chance I have of dying in South America than I would back in the states (living my normal life). The bus swerved along the 15-foot wide muddy path in a hectic fashion, probably less than 7 feet from the edge of a cliff (and inevitable doom). There were a few times when I thought we’d swerve off and that would be the end of it; no more vacation and no more machu picchu…but meh, we survived.
Here is a quick (lame) picture of some of the conditions-
So we got to the cable car…it’s this tiny thing that carts you over the river, powered by two guys pulling you. Some people were freaked out-
We continued to walk along the path…the hiking throughout the day was very soft. The land/road was primarily flat and we weren’t forced to climb up steep hills like the day before.
So we trucked on…The day got shittier as it went on and we walked along the railroad tracks. Our hike lasted about 6 hours, which was fairly soft. We also got to see our first glimpses of MP along the way-
We ended the day in Agua Calientes, where we went to a hot springs (was kindve meh, the water was a bit nasty and it seemed like a swimming pool). I was fairly wiped despite the easy day and wanted to go to sleep early in preparation for the next morning (where we had to get up at 3:30 a.m.)…but that plan went to shit and I didn’t.
Day-4- Machu Picchu-
So we woke up at 3:30 in the fucking morning after 5 hours of sleep…I think we were all in a state of shock, our minds totally fried and incoherent. We stumbled to the main square 5 till 4, ready to start our day. We were told that today was a hard 1.5 hour trek upwards (literally just straight up steep steps). Given our state and the difficulty of the climb, it was fucking brutal.
First two pics of the morning-
The climb was fucking hell…they were very steep and the pace at which we went was brutal. This wasn’t as hard as the second day but it was still fairly intense, and by the time I got up to the entrance I was drenched with sweat. It was around 5:30 when we got there and we waited to get our tickets to waynapicchu, the sister mountain atop Machu Picchu (they only permit a certain # of people each day up this mountain).
I felt fairly proud of our early morning walk. I’d say there were probably 60 of us that did it, and when you contrast that with the thousand or two thousand or w/e that go each day, that’s a proud feat. With that said, I don’t really think that a high % of people would be able to do it to begin with, at least at the pace we were going.
Anyways, we arrived to the entrance of MP around 5:30, got our tickets at 6, and walked up for about 10 minutes to the postcard photo-esque view of Machu Picchu…My first two photos (first wasn’t great)-
We had our tour about an hour later. I sortve wish that there wasn’t as much fog at sunrise, but hey, what can you do? The rest of the day was beautiful. Now, for the barrage of pictures (LOL at my shirt/sweat mark)-
They had these weird llamas walking all over the place-
The tour was alright…our guide wasn’t the best and I felt like we missed a fair amount. The guide that led us for the last 3 days gave us to another dude, which was disappointing. Still, it was interesting to hear some of the history involved with the place.
The location of MP is just incredible…it’s like you’re sitting atop a cloud kingdom. Everywhere you look you’re surrounded by mountains and clouds.
So around 10 a.m. we decided to walk up to waynapicchu, the sister mountain. There were more ruins here, along with a great view of Machu Picchu from atop.
The stairs were kindve a bitch to get up…it was very steep and the conditions were poor (very muddy and slippery).
The top was pretty cool and we were able to get some interesting pictures.
After we were finished we went back down and pretty much laid around. Our bus wasn’t until 9:30 that night and we were already wiped, having been up for probably 8 hours by midday. There really wasn’t much food and I ate some nasty crackers/fruit/and cookies for my lunch…
We went back to Aguas Calientes (walked it back, not sure why I did this) and hung around town for a few hours. Had one last dinner together with the group/went on the train for 1.5 hours and the bus back to Cusco for 2 hours…Stumbled back to the hostel totally wiped and slept.
All in all, a fantastic trip. Very physically and mentally taxing but totally worth it. I think alot of my group shared the same sentiment in that the actual journey itself was just as memorable as Machu Picchu itself.
I’m heading to Puno, Peru today, planning on going to Lake Titicaca, one of the largest and highest-elevated lakes in the world. It’s also right on the border of Bolivia, where I’ll be headed next.
I’ve spent like 3 weeks in Peru…I’ve grown to really enjoy it. I probably am going to have to slightly pick up the pace on other countries (and probably will, given that I won’t have to wait a week for a Brazilian VISA or anything else like that)…but yeah, looking forward to the rest of my journey.