Inca Trail, Day 4: We Made it… Hello Machu Picchu!!
I guess I slept well because when our alarm went off at 3:15am, it woke me up. And yes, Brittany and I set an alarm to get up earlier than our official wake up call… We were having trouble getting ready and out of our tent in the forty minutes they gave us every other morning and today we only had twenty. We didn’t want to be responsible for holding up the group… and we need to put on our mascara!!
We heard there are “western” toilets at Machu Picchu, so that’s another incentive to get up and get there… besides seeing the site obviously. After a quick breakfast, we were on our way, but only to get in line at the check point so our group could be one of the first through when it opened at 5:30am. We had a great spot in line near the front and anxiously awaited the hour to pass so we could complete the homestretch of this four day trek!
And finally we were off! It was close to a mad dash as everyone was hurrying to be one of the first few to get there… the anticipation!! As we got within ten minutes of arrival, there were a ton of narrow, steep steps we had to conquer and our hearts were beating out of our chest. But we pushed on out of excitement and adrenaline. And then, we had arrived… We came out through the Sun Gate and there, laid out before us, was Machu Picchu. It was a surreal feeling. We had a moment to take it all in before we took tons of pictures and watched the sun rise to illuminate the lost city of the Incas.
I need to take a moment to mention how unbelievably blessed we’ve been with the weather on this hike. Besides the bit of rain we had on the first day, the weather has been absolutely beautiful. And we couldn’t have asked for a better morning to “discover” Machu Picchu. One guide told us out of all the times he’s arrived at the Sun Gate, he’s only had weather like this one other time. Some groups couldn’t even see the Inca city when they arrived because it was covered in clouds. I’m just so thankful and appreciative that we’ve had perfect weather. We couldn’t have asked for anything better.
We continued our hike to Machu Picchu, another hour down the trail. We started passing people who looked a little too fresh to have been hiking the last four days and realized they were tourists visiting for the day. We instantly wondered if they could smell us as we passed by… Sorry! Lol
As we got closer, the photo opportunities continued to get better. We had to exit the site and had thirty minutes to regroup before going back in for our tour. We enjoyed a quick snack and a visit to the bathroom. And yes, the rumors were true… normal toilets (well at least what I consider normal)!! I’ve never been so happy 🙂
Percy led us through Machu Picchu with a very educational and informative tour and then we had some time to explore the ancient city on our own. Britt and I climbed to the top of the terraces and found the most amazing view yet. We also found more “Yah-Mas”!!! We had a great time watching them parade around, putting on a show for all of the tourists with cameras and my dream photo became a reality, lol. (Below) Trip made.
After having Machu Picchu on my bucket list for several years now and after four days of trekking to get here, I was worried all the anticipation was just setting me up for disappointment. But seeing this sacred city in person has exceeded all of my expectations. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I can’t believe I’m standing here with Machu Picchu in front of me. And as Percy promised us when we started our journey early Friday morning, this trek through the Andes was indeed life-changing. I’m so grateful for the opportunity and thankful Brittany and I got to share this together. And now we’ve seen another New Wonder of the World… four more to go to complete the list!
Although it was tough to leave, we had to catch the bus down to Aguas Calientes to meet the rest of our group for one last “family” lunch together. We all celebrated with adult beverages and lots of food!! We’re really going to miss everyone in our group as we had a great time getting to know and bonding with our hiking “family”. We all exchanged contact info and plan on staying in touch!
After lunch we had a few hours to kill before our train left, so we treated ourselves to an Inca Massage. The massage included an opportunity to shower and we decided it would be cruel to make any masseuse touch us in our current state, so we showered before… And luckily we had the massage waiting for us on the other side of our hot showers, otherwise they might have gone on forever. Those sixty minutes were exactly what we needed after hiking 43km that included climbing 5,248 feet and then descending 5,904 feet while carrying backpacks weighing at least 15lbs. But it was all so worth it… and so was that massage!! 
We boarded the train at 6:20pm to start our four-hour journey back to Cusco and shortly after we pulled out of the station, we came to a dead stop on the tracks. We ended up having to sit there for 90 minutes thanks to the train ahead of us suffering mechanical issues. I guess something had to go wrong… We all agreed we’d take this hassle getting home every time in exchange for the amazing weather we were given over the past four days! We were supposed to be back in Cusco around 10:15pm, but didn’t arrive until 11:45pm. And this is after waking up at 3:15am… so you can imagine how exhausted we are! But not exhausted enough to skip another hot shower. Plus we had to pack as we leave tomorrow morning for Lima, our last day in Peru!