On Machu Picchu

wow so here i am back in cusco. the trip to machu picchu was amazing. i wish i had more adjectives because im sure youre all sick of reading the same ones over and over but i really cant help myself. i was so fortunate to spend my time biking and hiking to mp with great people. i have definitely forged more reliable contacts in europe. now i have a trail leading all the way from the netherlands down to spain!

anyhow mp. lets see. we woke up at 4 am and sleepily walked from our hotel down the road to begin the hike up. pitch black and humid we hiked up using headlamps. our goal was to reach the summit before dawn. and we did. me and avi reached the top in just over 40 minutes and were in line before they opened the gates. once they did so around 6 am it was a mad rush to get to huyanapicchu (they only allow 400 ppl on the trail all day) and we got there with no problem. lots of people were running to get there but there was no need. we got the ticket for 10 (two times are available: at 7 am and 10 am) and then set out to explore the place before we met up for a tour at 7 am. it was just incredible. i was so lucky to have spent time there. just before the tour and the sun had risen over the tops of the mountains, we hiked up to the house of guardians for the classic machu picchu photo then we hightailed it down to catch the tour. i took the spanish one just bc the english one was overcrowded. after listening for 15 minutes the sun had risen over the mountains and i decided to bail on the tour and return to the house the guardians for more classic mp photos. i was happy i did. i got some great photos. and actually a little bit later i saw the group and met up with them halfway through the tour! afterwards we went to climb huyanapicchu. i was abit scared bc we had heard that it was dangerous but ultimately i decided to go. the other ppl from my group were wishy washy but eventually 3 of us. Me, Avi, and Kevin decided to do it. and we were all glad to have done it. the hike wasnt as bad as the initial hike into mp and it wasnt scary at all. apparently 7 ppl died on it last year. no worries, the view was amazing and we had to climb an additional 400m to the top. it took me about a half hour. it was spectacular. the photos really are out of this world. afterwards we hiked back down, got our passports stamped, and met up with Gabriel for lunch. Then we climbed back up to the house of the guardians and relaxed on one of the terraces. i could have stayed there forever. around 1 pm we met up with avi and decided to spend our last 2 hours going our own separate ways. i went to relax in the shade of a different terrace but got a whistle blown at me and i had to get off. i decided to make one last climb to the house of the guardians to say goodbye to mp properly. the view is just incredible and really just crazy. my entire life thats the one photo ive seen as has everyone else and i was there. we all were there. and it was just great. at 3 pm we met up at the entrance and walked back down to aguas calientes where we picked up our train tickets and grabbed some dinner. we got back to cusco around 10 pm and now im here today planning my exit from peru and the continent. just about 5 days left. incredible. for now i am out. talk soon. take care.

zach