Monday, April 23, 2012

Machu Picchu



The familiar knock on the tent comes at 2:30am, a groggy, not so eagerly consumed breakfast at 3:00am, then a quick slog down through the muddy campsites takes us to the locked gate which leads to the path to the Sun Gate and Machu Picchu.  It is 3:45am, we are indeed first in line, and I am not surprised. I am pretty sure Marco, our guide, is always the first one there.  As Marco would so often say, if you are not first, you are last.  All the other groups were indeed last, the second group to saunter down shows up about 15 minutes after our arrival, with others starting to trickle in after that.  The night is still in full effect, an overcast sky and light drizzle ensure minimal moon and star light make it through.  We settle down on benches, the ground, wherever we can find dry space under the queue areas roof covering.  A trip back up the short trail to the campsites to use the toilets reveals that the line is quite long, and there is a growing energy as 5:30 approaches.

When the gates finally open, there is a cheer amongst the crowd, our group is the first through.  The feeling is that of the start of a race, everyone seemingly wants to be first to the Sun Gate, the first to witness Machu Pichu, the first to finally see the reward for our three days of trekking.  Headlamps on, we took off in the dark at, compared to the other days, is a intense pace.  The sun starts to creep up, the temperature starts to rise, and our pace quickly made many of us regret having on so many layers below our rain gear.  I try to fight through the overheating and just make it to the gate, but my poncho feels like a sauna, add rain pants, a fleece jacket and rain jacket, I have to stop to shed a couple layers.  A few from other groups have passed me so far, and now I just accept the fact that I will not be among the very first to the Sun Gate.  Alleviated of my sweat inducing layers I continue on. After about an hour of hiking we arrive at the Sun Gate, and we enjoy a few minutes taking photos of the mountains and ruins laid out in front of us.

Machu Picchu 

 We continue on the path which takes us ever closer to the main site.  The drizzle continues and clouds roll through the valley at times obscuring the view of Machu Picchu.  On this trail down, we encounter a few people walking towards the Sun Gate from the ruins.  It was immediately clear these people were very different from the rest of us.  They were wearing clean clothes, were clean shaven, and when they walked past, you could smell the shampoo and soap they had used in a presumably hot shower that morning.  I would love to hear their observations from the other point of view, quite the opposite of ours I'm sure.  As we continue closer, we encounter more and more tourists fresh off the bus.  We arrive at the standard overlook area where some fantastic shots have been taken of Machu Picchu, if the clouds and sun cooperate, the lighting can be very dramatic and beautiful.  Or, if you are there during wet season, as we were, it can be very dull and drab, not a whole lot of contrast.  I make the best of it, snap a couple photos, we take our obligatory group photo sporting our Llama Path t-shirts, and continue on.

Machu Picchu

We take a bathroom break at the first normal sit toilets we have seen in a few days, grab a hot chocolate, then huddle under patio umbrellas as the sky opens up on us. During this break I find my scowling and general disdain for the clean clothed, fresh smelling tourists is something we all feel. They have not earned this, they did not hike for over three days to be here.  They sat on a bus and rode up.  We all conclude that Machu Picchu's first couple hours in the morning should be reserved for the trekker's.  Perhaps a bit arrogant and unrealistic, it is hard not to be annoyed by the mobs of people.  Most of the other ruins we visited we were the only ones there, now, we have to share and wade through thousands of tourists.

Machu Picchu


The first part of the morning at the ruins is a bit wet, we plod along,  trying to enjoy one of the most beautiful places in the world.  After our tour around the ruins with our guide, we are given a couple hours to wander around on our own.  The skies are finally starting to clear, the rain has stopped, and we even see patches of blue sky.  The weather got warmer, and the couple of hours we had were quite pleasant.  I scramble around from place to place trying to get some decent shots as well as some timelapse sequences.

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Llamas freely walk around the site and keep the grass nice and short.  I usually fear being spat on, but these look to be very use to people being around and just kind of ignore everyone.

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu



Machu Picchu is an incredible place.  It's beauty is rivaled by few places elsewhere in the world.  Even so, I still say that Winay Wayna was my favorite place on the hike.  The solitude and beauty of it was magical.  Machu Picchu on its own is definitely worth the trip, even if you are not planning on doing the Inca Trail hike. Should you decide to take the bus up, just be ready to be scowled and scoffed at by the trekkers.

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