Machu Picchu

Quote of the day: " There will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever- improving path...But this, far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb." -Winston Churchill

Last day at Machu Picchu...WOW. Yesterday was a 4 a.m. wake up call. I didn't even remember picking up the wake up call. We were out the door and off to the bus station at 4:45. We then waited for an hour in the dark at the bus station just to get to the gates of Machu Picchu and wait in line even longer.

There are 2 hikes you can do...Machu Picchu mountain which is straight up the whole way in stairs...or Waynapicchu, where you have to sign your life away before going on the hike. Bex and I chose this one for the experience and to be out of our comfort zone....Only 400 people a day get to go on this hike, that's why we had to get there so early. We got lost for a little while in the ruins before reaching the starting point of Waynapicchu...but once we reached the starting point, we were up, up, up, and away. Raul said if you are afraid of heights, he highly advised you not to go. For most of the hike,there were ropes attached to the side of the mountain that you had to use to thrust yourself up the mountain. It has never felt so good to reach the top of a mountain before. Once you reach the top, you can either go down the way you came or go past the great caves...For the record, it was wet and rainy when we started the hike and didn't know if we would be able to see anything because in the cloud forest, you never know what the weather will be like. Luckily, once we reached the top of Waynapicchu, the sky cleared up and we could see the range of beautiful green mountains around us.

Anyways, we decided to go back down the long way...past the great caves...where the Incas buried their mummies. Bex and I took a picture in one of the tombs...a little sketchy if you ask me, but really awesome to be there. We thought we were hiking down the mountain, which we were for some of it...down some ladders and lots of slippery stairs...until we reached the caves...then we had to go back up the mountain to get somehwhat closer to the finish line. We were huffing and puffing to say the least. We were also ready to eat lunch..I think I ate my snickers bar in 2 bites. Then, we started the hike of the sun gate. We pretty much speed walked the whole way...and it was raining the whole time. We made it up in 30 minutes and down in 30 minutes...It was worth it....Everything is worth it here.

We were going to hike Machu Picchu today, but it was really rainy and cloudy, so we decided for our own safety, we would just explore the ruins for one more day...getting lost in and out of the Incas incredible masterpiece....Now we are about to get on the train back to Cuzco...My time here is quickly approaching it's finish line...although I will be sad to see this journey end, I know God-willing I will be back here again someday.

Looking forward to hearing from all of you when I get back to the states. Love always.