Salktantay Day 5 - Macchu Picchu & Huayna Picchu

Salkantay Day 5 - Macchu Picchu 

3:30 am wake up

4:00 am breakfast with the group and at 4:30 one of the other girls, Marlie and I headed to the bus stop. Yes, we paid $9 US to take the bus from Aguas Calientes up to the entrance of Macchu Picchu. If you had blisters on your heel as bad as hers or 25 bites on each of your legs calf down like I did, you'd take the bus too. A beautiful windy ride up on an air conditioned bus.

The rest of our group headed out to walk from the bottom up. It was a twenty minute walk to the start of the steps and then an hour straight up and met us at the top at 6:00 am just as the bus pulled in to the drive way.

Entering Macchu Picchu is exciting because it's an ancient city that has been photographed, videographed and studied for so long. I have to say though, being in Macchu Picchu wasn't as exciting as the journey to actually get there. We watched the sun rise as one of the first groups to arrive but it quickly turned into the daily bustle of up to 2,500 visitors. After our tour of Macchu Picchu and saying goodbye to our wonderful guide, Nicco, we had two hours before entering Huayna/Wayna Picchu, the mountain behind Macchu Picchu that gives you an aerial view.

We found a sunny patch behind the guard house (where EVERYONE takes the iconic photo from) to sprawl out and kick off our wet, stinky shoes from the week's trek and enjoyed an hour's quiet time before we were asked to leave as a camera crew came through. It was nearly time for us to make our way to Huayna Picchu anyway, so we packed up and headed to the entrance. Everyday only 400 people are allowed to enter Huayna Picchu. 200 at 7:30 am and 200 at 10 am. It's a 45 minute hike up to the top through a little cave and some steep steps. At the top are giant rocks for sitting on, taking photos of all the andes around and Macchu Picchu, which is shaped like a condor, one of the three animals of the Andean symbol Chakana (Inca Cross). The Condor represents the heavens, the world of gods. The other two levels of the cross are the Puma, representing the human world and the Snake, representing the underworld. On the grounds of Macchu Picchu, there was a rock half shaped of the Chakana and when the sun shone on it, it would create the full symbol.

Reference to the Chakana and it'smeanings. 

Climbing down from the top was a little scary as it's nearly vertical and I was grateful for the older man climbing down with me. Taking care of his nerves and talking to him made it easier for me to forget about my own nerves. It's true what they say, when you care for someone else, you're caring for yourself. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking down hill and back into Aguas Calientes. They said it was about 45 minutes, it took us nearly 90 minutes to get back into town going straight down the steps. The alternative route (if you're not taking the bus) is to follow the winding road down but it takes about 2-3 hours. Once back at the hostel, we had a much needed shower and a bite to eat before our night train to Ollantay. There was a man with a van waiting to take us back to Cusco, only we couldn't find him til later because of all the other people coming off the train looking for their names in the dark on bits of paper everywhere. 

Bottom of the hill!

This trek showed me that when you're committed to something, you have to go through with it and in my case, there was no turning back when I faced my fears and I over came them ALL. I also learned that I have an incredible man at my side who is willing to give up his fears, to help me get over mine. We will never forget this journey and how we both made it across the Andes together and into the sunrise.