Machu Picchu

By Josh - November 11, 2018

Machu Picchu - Peru
Breathtaking, unbelievable and hard work.

Day 1

Excitement levels high, nervousness levels similarly high. With a wake up call of 3am we met with our group and headed in the bus to the starting point. We arrived and all the porters rushed into action, putting up a table, adding chairs, preparing breakfast it was crazy. We tucked into scrambled eggs, fruit salads and warmed ourselves with a hot chocolate. From this point we could see the train tracks and the route we were imminently going to take. Very luckily (since the forecast was so bad) it was clear blue skies so we put away our coats and mentally prepared for the next four days, then we were off. The first day is described by the company as a moderately difficult day, we knew we had to make it through because the day after was so much harder. It started off very gentle, some incline but nothing impossible, then we spotted the route all the porters in bright green were taking - a very steep stretch. We took our time, it was so much harder in the heat and after this to lunch was pretty easy following that hill. The views we were surrounded by were incredible, pictures don’t do it justice, it was incredibly difficult to capture the contrast between the bright sky and the dark mountains. At lunch we realised we were in for a treat food wise, they provided so much food - and food we both actually liked!! The remainder of the day Rachel definitely felt challenging having very tired legs and only a short stride it took a long time to get to camp on a mainly inclining path. We arrived to camp and within 30 minutes it was happy hour. And a happy hour it was, we got popcorn, hot chocolate, biscuits and a sit down!! We ended up staying in the main tent until dinner with everyone, getting to know each other. Dinner was another delicious meal with many options to fill us up. We headed to sleep pretty quickly knowing the day after was going to be a tough day and already being pretty tired.

Miles: 9.7

Steps: 24,471

Flights climbed: 185

Day 2

The dreaded day. We knew it was going to be tough. One girl from the group actually turned around and went home before we set off after finding the first day too difficult. So a group member and a guide down we set off on the toughest day. From the get go it was up hill. It was ok at first, having sort of fresh legs and not being too hot, but knowing we had 11 hours to go was very tough mentally. Lucio our guide made it clear to take our own pace since it was just one path and you couldn’t get lost. Everyone in the group was a pretty similar ability which was nice but we did take many more water and picture breaks so did end up behind a lot, but it wasn’t a bad thing. All we could see was a constantly inclining path. Every corner turn we saw we prayed it was the top but it just never seemed to be the case. We agreed once we reached dead woman’s pass (highest point of the trek) we would reward ourselves with the Oreos we had brought, this definitely provided extra incentive as by this point we were feeling hungry and in need of energy. Reaching the top was incredible, however we were so high and surrounded by clouds we couldn’t see an awful lot. We stayed there for a while for a little rest and luckily the clouds and mist moved a little so we could enjoy the view. From here it was completely downhill to lunch (slightly annoying with how difficult it was to get up). Walking down was bizzare, not being able to see much more than a few feet in front we made our way down many many steps which was tough on our knees since we hadn’t rented hiking poles. Lunch was difficult, being hungry but knowing we had another mountain to climb we didn’t want to

eat too much to make it difficult to get going again. It rained at lunch but luckily cleared up pretty quickly when we set back off. Despite being less steep and less high we did find the second pass more difficult having tired legs. We knew we had to get to a bridge with a sign for camp and we had 10 minutes left, after the bridge Rachel basically sprinted knowing she could lie down and happy hour would be soon. One person in our group was a physiotherapist so at happy hour we all got tips for helping our aching backs and legs. Another early night with another early start.

Miles: 11.2

Steps: 24,594

Flights climbed: 221

Day 3
The ‘easy’ day. We were relieved to have reached this point in the trek, with most of the third day being down hill or flat... or so we thought. Unfortunately we woke up and it was raining, cloudy and misty and just all round terrible conditions for hiking. The first 30 minutes or so was pretty step up hill. We can’t tell you much about the views because we couldn’t see a thing. Lucio told us what was there and we had to use our imaginations. We visited some Inca sites and got information about how they would live and why settlements had been built in certain places. Every now and again we were treated to a slight view but the weather changed so quickly these moments were fleeting. About 30 minutes before our lunch and camp site for the evening we went up to a large Inca .... The third day was short so we could all rest up for the big day. We napped, and then as a group we went to another Inca settlement with terraces which was incredible.

Miles: 9.1

Steps: 20,504

Flights climbed: 30

Day 4
The big day, what the three days of struggle all lead up to. We woke up at 3 to set off to the control gates. The gates didnt open until 5:30 but there’s only room under shelter and with seats for around 20 people so you want to get there early. Luckily we were just in time managing to sit down before the queue really began to build up. After quite the wait the gates opened, we had about an hours walk to reach the sun gate (first view of Machu Picchu). The views around were stunning but we were trying to go as quickly as possible to the sun gate so it wasn’t too crowded when we arrived. We were very lucky, we arrived and it was pretty empty, and you could actually see Machu Picchu!! We took some very quick pictures because we could see a huge cloud rolling in about to hide Machu Picchu from us. Even from so far away we could tell just how incredible it was. We then had about another 40 minute walk until we reached and got inside of Machu Picchu. When we arrived it was already so busy, and we had to go in the opposite direction to the crowds in order to actually validate our tickets and in again to follow the actual path. We had a 2 hour tour wi5h our guide who told us all about the area. Although very interesting we were all so tired and aching as there’s even more stairs to get up and down in the town. After this we wandered on our own for a little before heading Tom get the bus down to Machu Picchu town. Once we arrived we went with 3 of the others from our group to get a well deserved drink. We then had lunch and caught the train down to Poroy a town close to Cusco. 5he train had some electric faults meaning it took longer than expected so we only got to our Hotel in Cusco around 8.

Miles: 6.8

Steps: 17,975

Flights climbed: 59