3:31am
Just got to the entrance for the path to Sun Gate. Having woken up about 20 minutes ago, While I slept very well last night, I am still working on becoming a functional human being. The walk to the entrance talk about 5 minutes, max. Now we just have to wait another two hours until we can gain entry. There are about 10-15 people ahead of us. It seems kind of silly to have to wait here for so long, but I'm sure it'll be worth it. Sitting here for so long is definitely going to create some urgency. Brian is still recovering.
6:05am
After a short 45 minute / 1 hour hike, we reached the Sun Gate and got our first glimpse of Machu Picchu. First thought: holy shit!. The Sun Gate offers a vantage point that is several hundred meters higher than the mountain that Machu Picchu sits on. It feels like when you walk into the nose-bleed section at a sports game and the you are offered panoramic views of the rest of the stadium and the field below. Basically, the view is incredible.
8:15am
After descending into the ruins and some quick photos and selfies, Russell needed to bring us out to the front entrance so that we could properly check in and get our tickets stamped. It was at this point that you truly felt like you were back into reality. There's a cafe, a gift shop, hoards of people, and even WI-FI. We spent about 30 minutes in this area, which to me, felt 30 minutes too long. We had just hiked over three days to get here. I wanna see the ruins!.
10:15am
Russell brought us around the ruins and showed us some areas of interest. Among them were a proper house with a bathroom, the sun temple, and another temple below it. The sun temple was interesting because it had two windows built in at particular angles. One for the sun at the peak of the summer solstice and one for the peak at the winter solstice (the sun changes something like 63° between the two). Another interesting factoid was that the three main symbols of Incan culture are the condor, the puma and the snake. They laid out Cusco to look like a Puma, Machu Picchu to look like a condor, and the Amazon river that connects the two as the snake.
10:34am
Some of us had paid extra to climb Wayna Picchu mountain (the big one you see in the background of all the famous photos). This was the hardest thing I've done so far on the trip. Most likely, this is because I set a goal of getting to the top in under 30 minutes. It was difficult. On the way up, I passed many people, including an older man who had fainted. BRING WATER. The climb was insanely steep and many parts required a steel cable to hold on to. Upon reaching the top, you are met with more granite structures and a view that is well worth the climb. I spent a lot of time thinking about the maniacs that built these structures and I felt a little more safe.
4:08pm
Currently in Aguas Calientes. Just boarded the train back to Cusco. Today was excellent. Machu Picchu is an astonishing sight. The sheer size mixed with the stonework mixed with the engineering mixed with the altitude all make for such a jaw dropping experience.
