Well the good news is no one else got sick. The bad news is I didn't sleep hardly at all by the time that 3:00 am wake up call came around.
Abel told us to be really efficient in the morning. We had 20 minutes to get packed up.
The reason: the porters have a small window of time to get all the things packed up and hurry down to the train station to catch their ride home.
So that means we stood around the table and drank some coca tea if you want, take a snack if you want, but breakfast would be in a bag. We hustled down to the check in gate that doesn't open until 5:30!
So we sat on a bench under the shelters and waited: ate our sack breakfast, used the bathroom multiples times - One time me and Nicole and Jamie were walking back from the disgusting bathroom and Nicole was like: what are we doing? I'm going to the bathroom in a hole in the ground, in the middle of the night. What are we doing?
haha
Those morning hours were a bit twilight zone. I can't totally explain it, but it felt confusing? And a little bit miserable? Cold and tired.
Abel went to each person and confirmed: you feel ok? your tummy feels ok?
I think he was making sure there wasn't a mass contamination.
We could tell he had been awake all night taking care of the medical situation.
While we are waiting until 5:30, lets discuss some things I have forgotten:
1. One of the most important things we (Jim and Andy) brought on the trail was Axe Spray.
While we were in Cuzco, Jim was like: I don't have a good enough deodorant situation, let's find something to help with the inevitable stink that hiking for four days will bring. So we found a pharmacy and there was some Axe spray. So our tent smelled like a middle school locker room every night when we were freshening up with our green bowl of water. Then Jim would pass it out the tent flap to Andy and he would Axe bomb his locker room. They multiple times talked about how Axe was the best item they had brought.
2. When we were almost to the top of one of the high elevation passes, Andy felt a migraine coming on. He mentioned it to Abel. Abel put a few splashes of the magic clove water in Andy's hand - breathe it in three times - and the almost migraine went away!
3. I have puzzled and puzzled about why did Henry get sick and not the rest of us? I have a theory...so you know how there is just kind of fecal matter everywhere because you step on it on the trail or in the potty hole in the ground, then you walk along with your boots and you sit where boots have been. So inevitably your hands are going to get dirty. EVEN THOUGH they do a really good job of helping us wash our hands - green bowls of soap and water before every meal, after every hike, every morning. Plus there is soap and water at every toilet situation. But still, your hands will get dirty.
So the amount of times I watched Henry dip a Zyn into his lip with half of his dirty hand...Mayyybe that is why he got sick? No one else is putting their hands into their mouths every few hours.
Poor kid. When we were sitting on the grass at Winay Wayna, we were discussing Machu Picchu and he kept saying "I just want to see what all the hub bub is about."
Darn it.
4. Jose went with Henry and Jilly, the two porters and the doctors back to the train. He will get a bus back to Machu Picchu and meet us there at the main park gate.
5. So actually someone else did get sick - Jim. He caught a COLD and it manifested out here on the trail. He was congested and stuff. I'm like: how do you catch a cold in the middle of the wilderness? And then he gave it to me because (you people are all going to hate this) we shared a toothbrush every night. I would brush my teeth and literally hand it off to him. haha People always want to die when we tell them we share a toothbrush.
But anyway, I got his "cold" and I actually think its covid. Covid is going around South America right now, and it is more than just a cold, less than the flu. It's pretty intense and I am still blowing snot out of my nose miserably.
6. What kind of shoes do you think the porters wear? After the Mount Baker summit attempt, my ankles and calves were so sore, and I thought maybe I need to swap my low profile, wide and flat trail runners for some stabilizing arch and ankle supporting boots.
So out there on the Inca Trail, I was surprised to see the porters wore the most minimal shoes - like indoor soccer shoes, practically ballerina shoes. One guy had thin rubber sandals on. And I realize they wear that on purpose for agility. They practically dance around on the rocks, stepping lightly from one stone to the next. Abel says in the rainy season they mostly wear the rubber sandals for better grip.
7. A few things said over and over by Jamie: Can you believe we are in Peru together? We are hiking in Peru together!
And by me: I need to make oxygen choices.
(You know the show Walter Mitty when he's hiking in the Himalayas and he gets a phone call and says "I can't talk long, I have to make oxygen choices".)
So things like talking, eating and drinking water are major oxygen choices past 11,000 feet.
OK! It's time!
We line up to get our passports checked AGAIN and make sure we are entering with an official guide...
and on we go!
Headlamps on as the sun begins to creep over the mountain range.
Before you know it you can turn your light off, and the sky continues to illuminate.
It's only about two miles to the Sun Gate.
This morning was so so pretty. I wanted to slow down and savor it, but we were all walking so fast because we are SO CLOSE!
We are about to see what all the hub bub is about.
These steps are called "Gringo Killers",
the last set of Inca stairs that lead to the Sun Gate...
We cross over and there it is! You can see Machu Picchu from here!
I was the last person in our group, and I came upon them lined up:
"ok wait, everyone say cheese!"
This whole morning was just so so amazing. As we walked down, the light kept changing and everything was just so beautiful. The mountains all around are what makes it so unforgettable.
We had to wait at this ruin for the park to open. We watched the light continue to change from here.
We kept taking pictures of the same thing, but you can't not.
You want to remember every shade the sun throws on it.
As we got closer, there were the llamas.
Guys! We made it!
There are a thousand ways to have this moment ruined, but we avoided them all, and here we are!
It was the best. You are kind of speechless.
Ok, so then after a million zillion pictures and all the breath is taken from you,
we had to head OUT of the park, then enter back IN. You have to show your passport AGAIN, and prove that you are with a guide AGAIN.
Outside of the park is the only place there are bathrooms and the only place you can eat snacks.
We were down at the main gate suddenly with all the normy tourists. We are dirty and stinky with packs on as we buy a use of the toilets for 1 Sole.
Ok, we head back in, to Circuit 3. They have made it more streamlined for all the tourists. You follow a circuit so that everyone is more evenly spread out throughout the park.
We walked around and Abel told us lots of stuff,
then it was time for me Jim Andy and Jamie to go hike Huayna Picchu, the big steep iconic mountain behind the ruins:
You have to pay extra and only a limited amount of passes are given. We had signed up for it months ago.
We walk over to the trail head. I am nervous because I don't do well with heights, plus that is a giant mountain to climb on tired legs. I am prepared to turn around at any time.
Jamie turns around at the trailhead because she just doesn't wanna.
But guess who I do hike with? Brittney from the first day! She is no longer sick, and she and her son met back up with us!
So Andy and Jim take off so fast, so it's just to the two of us. She is lovely company and it's fun to get to know her on this steep mountain. She is NOT afraid of heights.
So up we go!
It's not as scary as I thought it would be. It's not very exposed, but it is a CLIMB.
This is the view from the top.
This rock is the most exposed portion and I am scared.
haha get me down.
Ta da! We made it. Jim and Andy do it in like one hour. We finish 45 minutes later.
Jose is at the bottom of the mountain waiting for us.
The rest of the group has gone down on the busses to Aquas Calientes.
Jose takes us on a mini tour of the rest of Machu Picchu, then we board a bus and head down to join the rest.
Phew! We are tired and what a crazy day. It feels like such a whirlwind.
The bus goes down on the windiest road, that is narrow and dirt. I wonder why they don't use the entrance money to MAKE A PROPER ROAD. There are a million busses driving on this road all day every day.
Down to Aquas Calientes...you think you are done seeing cool things, but that little village is yet another amazing town...
