Day 8 – Inca Trail, Day 4, Phuyupatamarca to Machu Picchu


We woke up at some unsavory hour…maybe 5:30am? Breakfast was at 6am.

When I arrived at the mess tent, folks were talking about politics. Egads! And, not British politics, US politics. Normally, I wouldn’t mind a little banter, but at this time in the morning and with our current political environment it was just not cool. I posed the question, “Would you talk about your Grandma’s funeral at this time of the day?”. To me, it just seemed inappropriate to start the day off with such seriousness. Especially considering the amazing place we were…the Inca Trail, in Peru! Why not talk about the Inca?

Thankfully, the group indulged me and switched topics. (It didn’t help that I was cranky from not sleeping all night. Our tent was not flat at all, there was an 8 inch difference between one side and the other, so I kept rolling one direction.)

After breakfast, we had a big ceremony to say farewell to the porters. We also gave them their tips. It was rainy and foggy as we left our beautiful campsite. Sigh! I said goodbye to the mountains and headed down the 2,500+ steps towards Machu Picchu.

My boots were still damp, so I thought I’d do another day in Chacos. If at all possible, I would recommend hiking the Inca trail either in sandals (as the Inca did) or even in VFFs. Carlos was really nice and let me do it in Chacos…so maybe other guides would too!

We hiked for about 30 minutes when we got to the site of some ruins where a water god was worshipped. There was a natural spring there and we learned this spring was the source of our water last night. So, the porters had to hike down 500 ft to get our water, and back up!

We stopped for a big lunch at another nice area, near Intipata. We walked for 20 minutes from there, to see the extensive ruins of Winaywayna. I didn’t take many pictures because my batteries were now running very low. I wanted to save some juice for Machu Picchu!

After lunch, we climbed down more steep steps. Approaching the Sun Gate (Intipunku!), we finally had some uphill and it actually felt nice to flex those muscles.

There was a very steep set of stairs to climb in order to go through the Sun Gate. Some people used their hands, so I’d say it was a very neat and trim 3rd class ascent. I raced up the stairs, at Steve’s goading and was surprised at how quickly out of breath I became, it was only 8,914 ft elevation…compared to our campsite at 12,070 ft!

Finally, we all stood gaping at the view from the Sun Gate. The sight before us was amazing. The ruins of Machu Picchu stretched out and the visibility was fairly good! We got lots of pictures and took a little break.

We walked down to the ruins proper and then took a bus to Ojos Caliente. From the bus stop to the hot springs it was probably only 2 miles, but I could feel a certain amount of fatigue. There were many towel rental shops along the way, so that was uber convenient. It was pouring outside, so we grabbed the towels. Clutching mine under my poncho, I trudged uphill to the hot springs. Brenda and I were sooooo excited. It was going to feel so wonderful to soak the joints after 40 km of hiking!

The Ojos Caliente hot springs required another half a mile walk from town, but then, we were there!

We changed in the bathroom and found some hot showers to rinse off prior to entering the springs. We found the hottest pool and it was amazing. I split a Cusquena beer with Fiona; there’s nothing quite like the combination of a cold beer while soaking in hot water.

Brenda and I soaked for about an hour and then we went in search of dry outfits to sleep in…most of our clothes were dirty and damp by this point, so we just wanted something clean and comfy!

We picked up t-shirts and these neat loose fitting local style woven pants for a bargain at a local market. Later, we met everybody at a restaurant for dinner. There, I had a veggie omelette, tomato soup, an orange cake, and a pisco sour. A very filling and abundant meal for only 80 Soles.

Walking to the campground, slightly toasted and in the dark, was a bit of an adventure. It was only a mile, but it felt like 10! Finally, I arrived at our marshy field and sank into the tent. Sleep that night was solid. I was out cold and it felt great.

Tomorrow, we would tour Machu Picchu!!!

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