Machu Picchu 14 July

FRIDAY 14th Day 4 Inca Trail

The group was in high spirits as we were awoken at 4am.

No breakfast in the tent as the porters were in a hurry to get all their equipment down the hill not knowing whether there would be a train for them.  We had already seen porters walking the Trail in reverse to get their gear back to the start because of the teachers strike.

However a packed breakfast/snack foods was provided.  Off we went at 4:30 to walk for fifteen minutes and then queue for 45 minutes.  Most bizarre.

The government has a control gate and passport control which doesn't open until 05:30. People will queue here from as early as 2am so that they can get to the Sun Gate first to get pictures of Machu Picchu empty of tourists.  Arriving at 4:45 put us near the back of the queue of the 150 allowed plus guides.

At 5:28 the officials walked through our queue and opened up. We moved quickly. Had to show our passports and we were on our way.

90 minutes later having walked around Mt Machu Picchu we reached Intupunku. In the Quechua language Intu means sun and Punku means door or gate.  Our group was on such a high. It was a wonderful experience, climbing some stone steps, walking through this massive stone gate and there below us, still two kilometres away, was the fortress of Machu Picchu in all its dawn glory.

L

A group photo was first up. Then a hunt for a geocache. And then we walked down 100m to a great spot that only a guide would know, to watch the sun work its way down the mountainsides towards the ruins.

We moved on down the mountain picking up another geocache on the way.  Took more photos and exited the ruins for a toilet stop.

Our guide changed into an Intrepid guide shirt, gave us our reentry tickets, and we set off on a two hour tour of Machu Picchu.  Passports presented again for the fourth time in four days!

Our guide, Lenny, took us down an alleyway and onto a cute wee platform with seating which overlooked the lower terraces and over to Huayanu Picchu.  Here he gave us another historic talk which I don't really pay much attention to.

We then climbed up to the priests temple and quarters followed by the Kings quarters and dining room.  The King even had an ensuite! 

From there we climbed higher to an area that they used as a quarry for some of the stone work and gained some magnificent views over to another side of the mountain down into a valley where I could see a swimming pool and tennis court!  Our tour continued over to the base of Huayana Picchu where there is another gate controlling the numbers that want to climb this mountain. 400 allowed per day (3000 allowed into Machu Picchu per day).  We stood and watched in awe at the steep narrow path up the side of this mountain as small specks that were people edged their way up.

Finally we worked our way through some more ruins, a general housing area, and what looked like a sports field to me but more likely used for agriculture and the tour ended.  Now all I wanted to do was climb back up to complete an Earth Cache but that wasn't going to be as simple as it should have been.  I. Ow discovered that there was a one way system working here so when I tried to climb the perfect set of stairs a guard blew his whistle at me and told me to go back.  I tried again at another perfectly accessible path, to me, to be turned back again.

The only option left was to exit the ruins, join a queue, show my passport and ticket again to start all over again. Ugh, I hate bureaucracy.

To make matters worse I'd given Lindsey my back pack and my reentry ticket was in it and Lindsey was waiting for me on a sunny grassy area inside and I was now outside. What a stuff up.  Thankfully Lindsey wasn't up to sunning herself for too long and we were soon reunited.

I'd given up on the Earth Cache by this stage so we caught the bus down to Agnes Calientes (aka Machu Picchu township).  That was an experience in itself.  An incredible amount of switch backs as we descended over 1000m down to the township. It is a dirt road, not always wide enough for two buses to pass and the drivers don't muck around. A couple of times we met oncoming buses and we had to stop to allow them to pass.

30 minutes later we arrived in a lovely wee tourist town that has a railway line running right through the middle of it.  

Our group met at a restaurant to have lunch and say goodbye to our two guides.

Lindsey had an "appetiser" of Nachos and guacamole except the nachos weren't made from tortilla.  They were wantons probably made from corn.  The dish was plenty big enough for lunch.  I had a burger of some description.  Just as we'd all eaten up we realised that one of our group didn't have his lunch yet.  He'd ordered guinea pig.  Maybe they were still catching it.  It eventually arrived. What a plate full.  The guinea pig taking centre stage on the plate in its entirety from head to tail and all four legs.

Lunch over. Hugs and goodbyes all around to our two guides and our two extras from Ireland and we walked down the road to check in, have a shower and change to our least dirty or smelly clothes.

The necessities completed we took some laundry to a shop to collect the next day and then found the market.  Lindsey needed some jandals as all she had with her was her hiking boots.  It took a bit to find some big enough.  The Peruvians are a small race.  Jandals in hand we went to another shop for her to het a Machu Picchu t-shirt.  The woman serving us had a young girl attached to her hip and was struggling to find the right size for Lindsey with only one hand useable.  So Lindsey collected the wee girl off her. She came to Lindsey willingly and the mother was grateful.  The girl was a real cutie.  Lindsey picked up a nice v necked tourist t-shirt for 25 Sol.

Back at the hotel we joined up with the other five in our group and  walked up a hill through a corridor of restaurants to some hot pools.  

Entry fee. 5 Soles for natives. 10 Soles for nationals and 20 Soles for internationals.  20 Sol is about 10 kiwi.

No togs with us so the seven of us were all in undies, and/or shorts and/or t-shirts.

The pools weren't that hot but good enough for a soak to give our tired muscles a treat after four days of up and down walking.

While walking back to the hotel Lindsey sussed out a likely place for a good massage.

I got straight into my pj's and hit the sack while Lindsey headed out for her massage.

It turned out to be brilliant.  She returned an hour or so later feeling much less weary.

Lights out before 8pm for hopefully a long comfy sleep.