My alarm goes off at 5:30am. First thing on my mind: Need... More... Sleep...
At 6am we leave to take a bus to the train station at Ollantaytambo. We get off at Km. 104 to start our Incan Trail adventure. We were told that we would be hiking for about 3 hours until we reached our first destination. What we didn't know was the ridiculous amount of stairs made out of rocks waiting for us. Considering it is the rainy season we got really lucky with the weather. The sun came out for us and then the rain sprinkled down on us when it got too hot. The hike was a personal challenge for me because of my asthma. I felt like I was dying after each step I took. Lucky for me, I was able to have a great group of people with me to encourage me and make sure I was okay. After about 3 hours of hiking, we finally reached out first destination point, Chachabamba. It was such a relief to finally reach this location. My fear of heights definitely got to me cause we were literally on the edge of the mountain; one wrong step and it would be the end of my life. The view made it all worth it. We hiked for another 1.5 hours to see Inti Punku where we got to have our first glimpse of Machu Picchu. The view was one of those "you just have to be there" moments. Although I was exhausted, seeing the view made the excruciating hike worth it in the end.
"Surprise followed surprise until there came the realization that we were in the midst of as wonderful ruins as any ever found in Peru."
- Hiram Bingham ("discoverer" of Machu Picchu)
By: Angela Wu
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