Machu Picchu, Peru - Day 7 - 9

day 1 - lunch
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so much to backtrack...

i woke up that morning to the worst nightmare possible just before the start of the inca trail. it was raining the entire night! i even thought about not going because i dont want to be in the rain for 4 days straight. anyway i hardly slept that night because i had to wake up before 4am for my pickup and didnt want to miss it. so maybe i slept an hour the most. by around 5am the tour company picked me up and we were on our way to 82 (i forget why its called 82...82km away from something).

we're tired...its been 42km
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still raining at this point but not so bad...we started our hike and the sun came out...yeh! the first part of day 1 was easy...flat path with some incline in between but pretty easy. then the second half of the day we went straight up for at least 3 hours...so imagine being on a stair machine for 3 hours and with all your bags and stuff on you (luckily i hired a porter to carry my bag so i was left with my day pack). by the end of day 1...we finished 16km of hiking....that was exhausting!! that night our tents were set up in base of a mountain...it was quite nice waking up the next morning seeing that amazing view. i´ve never been camping before (went once but i didnt even sleep in a tent so that doesnt count) so this has got to be the best campsite ever!

more ruins
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day 2 we woke up early around 6am or so for breakfast in the tent...i think we had pancakes that morning...sooo good! then the first half of the day was more uphill...we reached 4200m that day...so amazing! i think the altitude affected some of us...some of us were sick and i felt out of breathe most days (or thats just cuz im not phyiscally fit for trekking). the second half of the day we went down...lots and lots of steps...omg it was so hard! i thought my right knee was going to give out (i previously injured it where my femur? shifted and fell out of the knee socket/cap)...but we made it! after 12km...we made it to our second camp site. our tour guide was trying to scare us and told us creepy story of how this couple was murdered near the washroom near our campsite...and if we feel our backs were being scratched while sleeping its cuz the area is haunted...haha! i slept like a log so i didnt feel anything!

praying to sun god for good weather haha
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day 3...less hiking today because we did all the hard stuff already. we really took our time that day to see the flowers, plants...etc. in the area. we also saw a lot of the ruins nearby. by day 3, we were all pretty disgusting...we havent showered at all! at the campsite on the third day, there are showers but cold. or u can pay 5 soles to shower at the restaurant (yes i realize the sentence sounds odd but its true). a few of us paid 5 soles to take a hot shower...yes! but as soon as we left the washroom...it was raining. so we decided to head to the bar instead haha. ya the restaurant is a restaurant, bar and shower facility all pack into 1. we stayed there til dinner...ran back to our campsite then ran right back to the restaurant for more drinks. what a good way to end of day 3!

resting on day 3
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yeh last day...we all woke up around 4am that morning...ate quickly because the porters had to get back to cusco on a 630am train. we trekked for another hour before we saw machu picchu. it was the best thing ever! like what VC and JN said...the trek was hard but in the end it was all worth it. its pretty amazing to see it in person...i would highly recommend it everyone who wants to see MP. our group took a ton of pix...im sure they´re already circulating around facebook right now. i was really lucky that i had a good group...i met a lot of ppl and everyone is so nice. i also had a bunch of girls to hang out with during the trek...we were all similar in terms of speed when treking the first 3 days...we should trek a bit...talk...take photos...then trek some more. we really took our time and enjoy every moment possible. and i was so lucky i didnt get sick from food or altitude sickness...that was my biggest worry before starting the hike. everything was perfect....i already miss it!