Day to Give Thanks

Thursday, November 28, 2019
TOUR IN PERU - Machu Picchu Tours Peru, Cuzco, Peru
We made it through the “night of the thunderstorm”! Most unbelievable was that Brennan said he didn’t even hear it.  The porters were up through the night checking our tents for leakage; we know they had a long cold night. Their sleeping tents (kitchen and our dining) had no rain flys and were already leaking at dinner time.
Oswaldo was waking us at 0 dawn 30 to catch the sunrise. Some of us were more ready for it than others! We were pleasantly surprised at the clear views. It was just getting light and we headed up to the highest point and were rewarded for the early wake up with coffee and hot chocolate - porters are amazing! 
The 360 degree vistas from here at the Phuyu Pata Pass and sunrise were amazing.  Oswaldo brought us each three perfect coca leaves to offer in thanksgiving for reaching the pass. This was an Inca tradition that was offered whenever a pass was summited. We laid our leaves and gave our individual thanks. How appropriate on Thanksgiving Day!
Back down at camp we packed out and had our last Valeria breakfast.   We said goodbye to the team, giving them what we thought were both appropriate and generous tips. Everyone seemed happy and we had hugs all around.
By the time we left, the clouds moved back in and we left in a light rain and started a steep descent to the Phuyu Pata Ruins. It was probably only several hundred yards but navigating the steep steps took us nearly 30 minutes to reach the ruins. The ruins were impressive and we were even greeted by several llama.  We believed they might be the same ones hanging around the campsite last night and earlier this morning. 
We descended into what seemed like rain forest with orchids and ferns. We got glimpses of the Inti Pata Ruins in the distance but it took nearly an hour to reach them. What stood out as we approached were the power lines that came up the mountain side, right next to the ruins. The lines come up from a hydroelectric station on the Urubamba River. This station provides enough power for all of Cusco and more. 
It was pretty cool coming out of the forest into the Inti Pata Ruins. The ruins rise dozens of terraces up to the structures at the top.  This, as many of the excavated ruins, served as way stations and communities along the estimated 30,000+ kilometers of Inca trails.  Some of these structures would accommodate residents, travelers and military garrisons.
About an hour out from reaching the Sun Gate of Machu Picchu, we had our last check point at Winay Wayna. This is also the last of all porters. Here they would catch a local train or bus back home.  This is also where day hikers could get on the trail for the last leg to the Sun Gate and Machu Picchu.
We thought we had already hiked a million steps; this last day seemed like a million of its own!  Steep down, followed by steep up. Oswaldo explained one section was nicknamed the “gringo killer”.  It was literally a 75 degree angle and had to be done on hands and knees. Luckily, it was short, fewer than a 100 steps. Brennan was up them so quickly we couldn’t even get a picture of him. 
We would ascend to our last pass, Inti Punku, home of the Sun Gate which served as the entrance to Machu Picchu.
It was an incredible feeling to pass through the gate and to look down on Machu Picchu, several miles below. The sad but expected reality was the number of people. Dave and Sue estimate 10 times the numbers from five years ago. Then, no problem getting pictures with no one in them, not today!
It was about an hour hike from the Sun Gate down to the heart of Machu Picchu. With our full packs we stood out from all the day hikers; we would be lying if we said we didn’t feel a little superior. It felt pretty good when people asked if we hiked the Inca Trail. 
We stopped for several photo ops and marveled at the awesomeness of the Machu Picchu Ruins. Our tour of the ruins would be tomorrow so we basically passed through and headed for the exit gate and the bus down to Machu Picchu Town, aka Aguas Caliente.
We probably waited close to 30 minutes in the queue for a bus. That says a lot about the number of people because the buses were constant and carried probably 40 people. The switchback drive down was about 15 minutes.
It started to rain as we got off the bus. We donned our raincoats and Oswaldo led us toward our hotel, Samuel’s House. Almost all of Aguas Caliente is pedestrian only and the walks were all full. Samuel’s House was only about a 10-minute walk from the bus depot. We set a rendezvous spot to meet Oswaldo for dinner and walked the last few blocks to the hotel.
Samuel’s is a small family run place with maybe 10 rooms; we had two of them.  Simple, but clean, and after four days on the trail, the showers felt wonderful.   After cleaning up we set out to, what else, shop.
Just a few blocks from the hotel was a very large covered market with hundreds of vendors.  We got a Christmas ornament to send to Tara, Sue an “I survived the Inca Trail” t-shirt, and Brennan a knitted stocking hat.
We had Thanksgiving dinner at Inka Wasi, an Oswaldo favorite.  The service, atmosphere and food were great; we could understand why it would be high on Oswaldo’s list.  All five of us got different things with all the meat groups covered and all claiming “mine is best”!  Sue got to sit in the “Queen’s Chair” at the head of the table.
Walking back toward the hotel, we stopped in several shops and Bligh scored a t-shirt.  A good night sleep in a real bed was calling and we were thankful for a truly great trek. 

Comments

2025-02-11

Comment code: Ask author if the code is blank