Day 6

4am came very early. This last night Josh and I slept better than we had all trip, but still not very soundly. The ground was very hard each night and the mat was not very plush. We pretty much tossed and turned every 30 minutes or so to give our sides a break.

Anyway, it was still pretty dark, so we quickly tried to pack and get to breakfast. They served pancakes!! We got in line outside the entrance to the hike down to Machu Picchu, which opened at 5:30AM. The hike to Machu Picchu was pretty hilly, but we were finally acclimatized and able to enjoy the hills without too much huffing and puffing. We all stayed together, but really booked it to the sun gate. This was the top of a mountain where you get your first glimpse of Machu Picchu. Of course, it was pouring down rain, so we could barely make out the ruins below. After more hiking, we made it to Machu Picchu just after 7am.

The sun broke through most of the clouds and we got some fabulous pictures. Juan gave us a wonderful tour of Machu Picchu and we were in awe of the buildings and scenery. After a while, the clouds started to gather again, so we took a few last photos of each other (glam shots) and headed to the bus as it started to rain. We took a bus down the mountain to the small town of Agua Calientes. Juan was waiting for us at a restaurant where we ordered Pisco sours and pizza. Then, it was to the train for a 1 1/2 hour trip to the beginning of our hike. It felt good that it took so long to take a fast train to the beginning of our trip. From there, we boarded a bus, sans porters, and headed for Cuzco. We got the best views of the snow-capped mountains on the trip (as seen in the photos taken from inside the bus). We arrived back to the hotel at 6pm. We ran for the showers.

After showers, we headed out for dinner next door at Boheme again. It was delicious again. We went to do some shopping to kill time before we were supposed to meet the people from our trip at a bar called Ukukus. However, it was very difficult to find and when we got there, only 1 person (the person who suggested it) was there. We had one drink, gave up on the others and headed back to fall into bed. At this point, Josh was not feeling well. He had both the runs and a bad sinus infection. We slept like the dead.

Peru - Day 7