Our third day on the hike was my favorite because it was an easy (relatively) day…
On Day 3 (September 3), we didn’t have to wake up until 6am, woo!! You probably can guess what happens after breakfast, right? Elvis told us it was going to be a short day today, only hiking before lunch, and then rest in the afternoon and an Inca site before dinner. And the hiking we would have to do would be mostly downhill too.
We saw our first llamas on the hike today! I think we were all way more excited than we should’ve been over llamas, but considering we are all Americans, maybe that’s normal…
We took a snack break at this gorgeous cliff top, where we applauded our porters efforts as they came throught the forests and over the hill. We also got to snap some group photos with those guys.
We walked on for about three hours more, until we reached Phuyupatamarca (about 12,000ft above sea level), which was used for worship and other religious ceremonies. We were lucky in that it wasn’t cloudy that day, so we got to see pretty far.
We also visited these terraces, where the Incans experimented growing different crops on different levels (which varied in temperature depending on the the terrace level).
Then we hiked to the campsite, ate lunch, and napped. Greatest siesta ever… Although it was slightly more warm because we were in the cloud forest/rainforest. But still, to not have to rush and to be able to lie down and sleep in the middle of the day was amazing.
Then, around 430p, we walked maybe 5 minutes over to another ruin near our campsite (Winay Waya), consisting of ruins, terraces, and llamas, all in front of a most gorgeous sunset made all the prettier with the knowledge that we were 75% done with one of the hardest hikes ever. Perf.
Dinner that night was a feast! The chef even carved cool things out of the ingredients, like our cucumber condor! The chef also made this delish cake and Jello pudding to end our trip. Amaze. After dinner, Elvis introduced all of our porters to us (we were suppose to have met them earlier, but it was impossible with all the delays). I must admit, I teared up a little. I was feeling very grateful and appreciative of their help, and I think with all of my pent up anxiety with the hike and the relief of finishing the hard part, I was just happy with tears. We learned all their names and ages (two young guys at 19, and the oldest guy at 48.. Or was he 50-something?). The chef was only 28, but he has been cooking on the trail for 18 years! A few of the men had been working on the trail for 20+ years, which is insane!! Maybe I am a really sentimental person, but I really enjoyed learning their names and brief histories, and I wished we had introduced everyone earlier so we could’ve interacted with them more. They were so nice to us/me. They always greeted me with an enthusiastic “Hola, senorita!” whenever they passed me on the trail, and they always made sure I had everything I needed once I arrived at camp (juice, hand washing water, towels, etc.).
That night, we went to sleep (Winay Waya, 9000ft) asap after dinner in order to make sure we would be well-rested for our home stretch to Machu Picchu!…
A House Rises 