Such a rewarding experience! After seeing the flocks of tourists in Aguas Calientes lining up to buy their bus tickets for the next day, we decided it would be a more ¨grounding¨ experience to hike it. We knew it would be hard for us to be in such a touristy place (although here I am with my sunhat, camera around my neck, oh wait a fannypack? and of course Chris has a map open...) so we decided to do everything we could to try to connect with the site in our own way. 3:30am, we set out with our new side-kick, Jason who we adopted for the weekend, for the half hour trot to the bottom gates. With our headlamps, we walk around huge landslides and struggle to hear eachother because of the rushing water of one of the most powerful rivers I have ever seen.
There was already a line forming at the bottom gates! The first 200 people to reach the top get a special ticket to hike Waynupicchu; the mountain that overlooks Machu Picchu. Of course we were determined to hike this mountain, and so was everyone else waiting here in the rain at 4am. Very interesting situation. Everyone was young, fit, and from countries all over the world. So funny watching people trying to size up their competition when everyone is wearing ponchos! So our spiritual ¨connecting¨ hike up the mountain ended up being a rat-race, but comical to say the least. The guard opened the gate and reminded everyone (frothing at the mouth) that this is a spiritual place and we all need to walk with respect. Single file in the order that we arrived, and no passing on the trail because it is also very dangerous. The first 200 to arrive can go to Waynupicchu. HA! I was amazed at our speed on this almost hour long march up the mountain, competition setting in. The path was mostly steps made of stone going STRAIGHT up, some were so high that the next step was up to my waist! People were dropping like flies, asthma attacks, stepping out of line because thay just couldn´t keep up... of course we marched on. Everytime I thought I was going to die, I thought of Vallunaraju and this path felt like a piece of cake! We arrived at the top gates around 5:15am just in time for the sunrise. We were numbers 3, 4 and 5 to hike Waynupicchu.
Being some of the first to enter the park, and well before the bus loads of people arrived, we witnessed Machu Picchu at its greatest. The sun was still rising, the rain had stopped, and the fog hung around the ruins adding such a mystical feel.... I love the fog so much! It was incredible, the way I felt with the first glimpse of this Incan paradise, I cannot explain in words. It was so crazy to imagine this place in its hayday, thinking of the people that have walked these paths so long ago. What kind of tool did these people have? These structures are amazing! Aligned perfectly with the sun, every stone chizzled so evenly. This first hour was the most amazing time spent within the walls before it became littered with tourists, crying children, screaming parents, littering teenagers and Australian bloques talking about girls in the bar last night. Grrrrrrrrr, unfortunately it was difficult to experience the site in the same way with all the distraction that came later on. It felt like Disneyland.
At 7am, we began our hike up Waynupicchu. It took us less than an hour and again was STRAIGHT up. Unfortunately, the mountain seemed to be a little too tall and we ended up ABOVE the clouds. We were hoping for an aerial view of Machu Picchu from the top but all we could see was WHITE. What we learned on this hike was that it ended up being not about the view at all, but the hike up the mountain. I guess it was kind of like "It´s not about the destination, it´s about the journey". Exactly. The clouds were beautiful, we sat on the edge of some ruins at the top and just looked out into nothingness. Peaceful. It rained for a while, so we huddled under our ponchos and shared snacks with Jason, it didn´t seem to bother us one bit. When the rain let up, we hiked back down to the main site. We felt so priviledged to have reached the top of that mountain, even if we had to throw a few elbows to get there...
The experience was incredible, even though it pretty much emptied our wallets (NO way to do this voyage on a budget, NO way). I think we will appreciate it even more with time as we reflect on our photos and read more about the history of the Incas. We do realize, and have vowed never to forget how fortunate we are that we have been to all of these places. We will never take for granted these amazing opportunities and are forever grateful.....
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