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Published: October 23rd 2014
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Well the rain continued through the night so needless to say everything I own is wet. Today is the last day our chef is cooking for us so to celebrate that he baked us a cake for breakfast. It was a delicious white lemony cake with pink frosting. After the cake was served we were waiting for some actual breakfast food (aka eggs, toast, something) but apparently the cake was it! Nevertheless it was a great start to the day.
After breakfast our group separated, two Germans did the hike and the rest of us went zip lining. Well I went with the zip lining group but I did not zip line. I woke up with my left knee still very swollen so I knew I would not be able to do the 3 hour hike, so instead I went to the zip lining place and had 3 free hours to myself 😊It was amazing. For the first time in days I was all myself and I passed the time by reading and writing in my journal. The zip lining place had the best bathrooms too! Not only were there porcelain toilets with TP, but the entire back
wall of the bathroom was missing, so while sitting on the toilet you looked out to the canyon and watched people zip line (at a high enough height that they didn’t get anything of course). Kelly zip lined and loved it. Although on one zip line she tried to do the “Spiderman” and her safety harness almost choked her to death. I was scared I would regret not going but after Kelly told me about the lack of safety procedures and the fact that you had to brake yourself, I was happy with my decision.
Next we took a van ride to our lunch distinction, Hydroelectric. Unfortunately one of the Aussies left his cell phone on the van so after lunch we spent 2 hours sleeping next to the railway line while our guide tracked down the bus driver to find the phone. Sadly they could not find the phone, but at least we had two hours to just rest. Then we were finally able to start our last hike of the trek, a 2 hour walk to Aguas Calientes.
This last part of the trek was one of my favorites, and yes it
probably was because it was the last part ut mainly because we walked completely around the mountain that Machu Picchu sits on. From this trail we were able to one building on Machu Picchu, this was a nice teaser before seeing the real thing. We also saw the Inca Bridge which is a part of a mountain trail that heads west from Machu Picchu. The trail is a stone path, part of which is cut into a cliff face. A twenty-foot gap was left in this section of the carved cliff edge, over a 1,900 feet drop, that could be bridged with two tree trunks, otherwise leaving the trail impassable to outsiders.I can't even imagine having to pass over this draw bridge. From the trail we could also see all the huge impressive mountains around Machu Micchu, including Hynupicchu.
We walked along the railway that the Inca Rail (the Peruvian rail line) drives on so every once in a while we had to move out of the way of an oncoming train. The scenery was just so beautiful, the trees and plants so green with huge mountains towering over us. At one point we stopped by a
lagoon and the Germans fished for a while. Two of the Germans had just finished visiting the Amazon where they went solely to fish; yes they traveled with collapsible fishing poles. Of course the lagoon was a haven for mosquitos so I stayed closer to the railway.
Around 5pm we finally made it to our final destination, Aguas Calientes, which is the town at the base of Machu Picchu. Here we got to check into our hotel (FINALLY). Not only did we have warm showers and real beds, but we had wi-fi as well. I think Kelly and I each took 45 minute showers… it was nothing short of magical. I didn’t even care about the dirty bathroom because at least I had a warm shower. I also made the totally worth it decision of sending my laundry out to be cleaned. Enough though I wasn’t planning on wearing my hiking clothes for the rest of the trip, the last thing I wanted to do was to pack those smelly clothes with the rest of my clean clothes. It was definitely the best $8 I ever spent.
After our amazing showers we met up
with everyone for dinner. During the meal we were forced to fill out evaluation cards for the tour group we went through. They made us write nice comments in no less than 120 letters (not characters) in order to get a free t-shirt. After dinner we laid in our beds and watched TV while we texted all of our family and friends.
While the week was no doubt the longest and hardest week of my life (okay 2
nd to the bar) after all was said and done it was worth it. Not only did I see some amazing sights but I learned a lot about myself. I learned that I am strong enough to climb over a 15,000 summit, that I can camp and rough it for a week, that I can go without make-up for a week, and that I can do anything I set my mind too. Yes a train would have been easier but if I had taken a train my journal would be much shorter 😉
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