Poly GIP Peru

Inca Trail Day 4 - MACHU PICCHU!

Wednesday 6/19 (Gianni)

We were all prepared for this day. We woke up at 3:30 o beat the other groups to the checkpoint. It opened at 5:30, but we wanted to get there early to ensure our place in line. We were all ready to go, and many of us literally sprinted after the first group. After a tense period of about five minutes, someone in the group in front of us slipped up and we passed them. Our group continued to run, and tried to get to the Sun Gate as quickly as possible. We ascended the steps, also known as the “Gringo Killers” with gusto. The Sun Gate energized us, and we were the first people on this particular morning to lay eyes upon one of the Seven Wonders of the World. We took some pictures with the group, and later walked down some of the steep steps to get into the site. We took pictures on the grass overlooking the citadel, and then went down to registration, stamped our passports, and got out tickets. Cesar led us on or tour of Machu Picchu, and we toured the Casa Inca, the exterior of the Sun Temple, and some of the residential areas. All of us were amazed at the scale of the site. The tour lasted about two hours.

We took a bus down to Aguas Calientes and ate at a restaurant called Apu Salcantay. The food was good, and the went to the soccer field and went around the town. A soccer team arrived at the field, and we played them in a pickup game with them. We headed to the gym to play basketball. I was on a team with Gustavo against Harry and Thibeaux, and Gustavo’s great shooting enabled us to emerge victorious.

The train ride to Ollantaytambo was very long, with an approximately, thirty minutes because we waited for another train to pass. We arrived in Ollantaytambo, and after a few brief delays, ate pizza on the bus and watched as it was devoured before our eyes. We arrived in Cusco around 8:30, and walked to the hotel. We were all very tired, and retired early, ready to wake up in the morning for our last day.

At the Sun Gate. About to start our descent to Machu Picchu.

Harry, Duncan and Gianni at Intipunku, which was once a fortress of the sacred city, Machu Pichhu. It's the name of the final section of the Inca trail Between the Sun Gate and the citadel of Machu Picchu. The rising sun would pass through the Sun Gate each year on the summer solstice.

Machu Picchu. One of the New Seven Wonders of the World

The group listening to Cesar's history talk about Machu Picchu.

Listening to Cesar's history talk about Machu Picchu.

Above the Urubamba river. Machu Picchu serves as evidence of the Inca Empire at the peak of it's power in the 15th century.

Inca stone work is precise but artful. The incas were engineering masters.

Inca Trail Day 3

Tuesday 6/18 (Duncan)

Today was the really, really long one.

At the top of a mountain, we made an offering to the gods and honored the four apus. Then, we walked down, then up, then “Inca flat” until arriving at an Inca ruins where some of our fellow group members were kicked out because they were shirtless. We then entered a beautiful rainforest-like stretch, where we encountered a family of llamas wandering down the path. We walked for a while longer than arrived at our lunch spot, where we had a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains and saw a large bird called a caracara. We rested at the spot for a while. Following lunch, the group divided into three smaller sections. One went on ahead very quickly, leaving the second group behind with the porter bag, and a third group taking their time at a lovely Inca site and starting the next leg of the trek much later than the other two groups. At the end of the day’s hike, we arrived at the another Inca site, then we arrived at camp, which was definitively not as good as the previous camp, and decided to go on an extra excursion as a group to an absolutely amazing Inca site. Following that, most of the group then ventured to the waterfall where “somebody” slipped and fell and scraped their arm and had to get a bandaged, but was okay. The campsite was crowded and the bathrooms were unfortunate, but the food that night was really good. We had pasta and cake, made by our amazing chef Cristobal. We then had a bittersweet ceremony where we jointly honored the porters and cooks that helped us survive the week and thanked them for all they did for us. We went to bed early in preparation for the 3 am wake up time the next day.

Lunch in the tent. We enjoyed delicious meals every day during the trek.

Some of our porters. We had the best!

Getting to Runkurakay pass (3,990 meters / 12,960 ft). Our lunch spot.

We had 360 degree views

Wiñay Wayna ( Quechua for Forever Young) was built into a steep hillside overlooking the Urubamba river. Photo taken before going to the waterfall. We camped here this night, at Winay Wayna campsite at 2,700 meters (8,900 ft).

Our wonderful cooks truly did magic! Not only did they cooked healthy, gourmet meals every day but then on our last meal surprised us by making a cake on a camping stove!

Inca Trail Day 2

Monday 6/17 (Madelena/Molly)

On this day, we climbed Dead Woman’s Pass named for the woman who died there trying to climb up (Not actually, it’s really called that because the mountain looks like a dead woman laying down). It was horrible, and we almost died as well. Though we all completed the hike under the expected time, the hike was mentally exhausting and physically challenging. We would have had an amazing view following the multitude of uneven stone steps hiked, however the thick fog not only consumed the entire sky, but also froze us to the very bone. That day, we encountered a handful of groups hiking the same trail. There was a purple group that was “really annoying.” And a group from Costa Rica that was friendly and cheered for us (we cheered for them in return) as we reached the summit of Dead Woman’s Pass. The two were an excellent juxtaposition of the pleasant and unpleasantness that can be found in groups of strangers. In all, we hiked 3 miles up the stairs and 2 miles down, and passed through cloud forest and alpine tundra. Upon finishing our hike, we arrived at the definitively best campsite. However, Audrey and Ms. Hamilton saw someone peeing in the beautiful, nearby river which was a deep disappointment. Yet again, the food exceeded our expectations, and also there was a small waterfall.