Another early start in torrential rain slightly shattered our faith in the mountain Gods. It was so wet, the tents started leaking and we started to lose amusement with the mountains.
Today was to be the easier day, the relax, post Dead Woman and her little sister, a gentle walk through the jungle around the mountain to the last camp site. Well that was until the rain came and Plan B!
The morning was relaxed for about 1 hour. It rained but our ponchos worked and kept us warm, the scenery was gorgeous and we walked together which was really lovely. This was the beginning of the Trail laid by the Inca´s, where we were finally going to explore some of their mysterious ruins. Standing in the mountains studying an incredible, beautiful and precise structure built in the 15th/16th century was inspiring. The following 3 hour decent down 3,800 steps was not however. This was seriously hard and an absolute killer on your knees. It was imperative to force yourself to look out across the valley at the clouds to remind ourselves what we were doing this for. Our final lunch spot was sunny. We were so tired and to be honest I had certainly had enough, oh and as for plan B...........
3 further hours walking in the afternoon instead of stopping for the night, eventually brought us to the Sun Gate. Wow.......... This is what we were waiting for, an amazing clear sunny moment, looking across the valley to Machu Picchu. It was ore inspiring, absolutely gorgeous and so incredible. In the middle of this enormous killer of a mountain range is a clearing in the forest right on the top of a ridge and the most intricate and beautiful deserted shell of a once powerful and prosperous city, deserted and abandoned for no obvious reason. Machu Picchu was our goal and we had reached it, pushed on by our incredible guides, one day early and in the sun. Breathtaking.........
