We left off mid-hike on the Inca Trail. The second night was colder than the first and on harder ground. Another early wake-up call had us heading to a way-point building to get our passports stamped. Breakfast was omelets, something close to french toast and hot chocolate.
The third day was almost completely in the jungle. We were definitely in the mountains! Here's a view looking back at Dead Woman's Pass - Do you see a woman lying down?
Day 3 is the fun day. Less height gains and climbing and more stops to see archaeological sites. The porters passed us early on to set up for our early lunch.
We did still have to climb, though, as there were two passes to conquer.
Our first stop was at Runkurakay. They think it was an outpost or a rest stop for the Inca messengers.
Follow that lunch!
This was the second pass for the day (third overall). Again, it looked so close but took a while to climb!
The scenery in Day 3 was GORGEOUS. Also very cloudy which helped A by covering up some of the steep drop-offs along the path.
At the top of the pass, A felt inspired to climb to the very tip-top.
So pretty!
Coming down from the pass, we were deep in the jungle. We had to climb through a few rock tunnels.
The next site we saw was Sayacmarka. They think it was another outpost for Inca messengers and travelers. The only way in and out is up a steep staircase cut into the side of the mountain. A did not like those stairs.
But he made it! It was a very cool site. Many different levels and rooms to explore.
Manuel provided all the explanations for the day. His stories were really great.
We couldn't get enough of the mountains!
A hates it when I do this, but I always feel inspired to stand on the edge of things.
We dared A to try using the Inca stairs. Hundreds of years old and they still work!
Carlos and Manuel were too funny. They played off each other and at times were more like comedians than guides.
This was a familiar site: Our fast porters waiting for the slow tourists.
This is how we washed our hands before meals. The porters kept the warm water coming.
Lunch was pizza (seriously!), soup, pork in pineapple sauce and rice.
After lunch we kept going into the jungle and into the clouds. We saw all kinds of plants, including orchids.
In mid-afternoon we reached Phuyupatamarca, a really impressive site. The name means "town in the clouds". Very appropriately named!
The way in is downhill by a long staircase. Much of Day 3 is downhill stairs. Very hard on the knees, and difficult to navigate as the rocks are smooth and damp.
Manuel drew us a picture explaining how Machu Picchu is surrounded by four significant mountains which might have been the reason the Inca chose the site.
Leaving the ruin was not fun - straight down about one thousand stairs. One THOUSAND! Everyone's knees hurt that night.
Before we left Phuyupatamarca, Manuel told us we had two ways to get to the campsite. The fast way (many stairs straight down) or the long way (still stairs, but not as steep and more spread out). The long way went past some terraces. We chose to go that way, crossing our fingers we'd get to camp before dark. A group of us went together.
This is the one and only guardrail on the Inca Trail! At first I was slightly disappointed to see it as it isn't in tune with the culture, but one look down the cliff face was enough to be glad it was there!
We started to be able to see the Urubamba River, which runs right by Machu Picchu.
We discovered the llamas love terraces - they graze along the grass. They weren't too scared of us. They see plenty of tourists every day.
We did make it to Winay Wayna, our campsite, before dark. And we were one of the lucky groups to get a site at this camp. Those who didn't had to camp further away, which means waking up even earlier than we were going to the next day in order to make it to the Sun Gate by sunrise.
This campsite was the most uncomfortable. Each group was essentially on a terrace. And on top of hard rock. Carlos told us a funny story about a tourist who had too much to drink and fell backwards off the terrace onto a tent below. We were all careful to watch where we stepped!
Our meal tent waiting for us was a welcome sight.
It started raining before dinner. Dinner that night was golden potato soup, fried chicken, barley with cheese, and a surprise dessert.
Yes, they baked a cake! On the Inca Trail! We all speculated about how that worked. One theory which had us all laughing was the thought of porters from all the tour groups running into Aquas Calientes (still hours away), buying cake, and running back up the Inca Trail with it.
Carlos explained the procedure for the next morning to us. We were getting up painfully early so we could hike as fast as possible and get in line to be let onto the trail to the Sun Gate. The goal is to hit the Sun Gate at sunrise to get your first breathtaking view of Machu Picchu. At the gate they check passports again.
Part of the last night's activities included tipping the guides, cook and porters. We were a smart group and had the resident CPA figure it all out. Note the headlamp: It was dark!
All our porters introduced themselves. They were all super shy! We presented their tips to the head porter in a cup and also tipped the cook in his own cup. After the business was done, we shook all their hands and thanked them immensely.
Winay Wayna is the only campsite with showers. However, there's a catch. They are cold. And not just normal cold. Mountain spring cold. A and I decided waiting another day wouldn't kill us so we skipped out. Plus, it was raining and hovering just above freezing temperatures.
Our wake-up call the next morning was at 3:40AM. It was sadly still raining. There was a mad rush to get everyone up, eat breakfast (pancakes, I think), and start hiking as fast as possible for... 5 minutes. We all had thought we had to hike for an hour to get to the entry gate. Not exactly. Turns out they just wanted us to be one of the first groups in line so we could get hiking as soon as possible when they opened the gate. So we stood in line, in the rain, in the dark, in the cold, for about an hour. I think. I can't remember - I was asleep on my feet, like everyone else.
Then it was a fast 1-hour hike in the rain over very slippery stones to get to the Sun Gate. It wasn't too bad until we reached what looked like a rock climbing wall. Straight up we went. We did make it to the Sun Gate as the sun was coming up. Unfortunately, it was still raining and cloudy.
Machu Picchu is down there... somewhere....
We hung out on the terraces for a while, reveling in being so close!
We took off again and headed downhill another hour. The trail from the Sun Gate leads you straight into Machu Picchu. That early in the morning, there were almost no tourists because they hadn't opened yet. It was just the Inca Trail hikers, which was really great.
The clouds cleared a little, but it drizzled the whole morning.
Our group was triumphant!
Hiking the Inca Trail really was the experience of a lifetime. I highly recommend it. There were people of all ages with all levels of experience. Our guides were especially awesome in letting you decide your own pace and supporting however you wanted to tackle it.
Coming Up: Machu Picchu and all it's amazingness.
