machu picchu

the morning of our final trek to machu picchu was yet another early wake up call, 3:30 in the morn to be exact...blech...tour groups sorta jockey for position and rush to the final permit check point the morning of machu picchu. i believe we got there 3rd and then we had to wait in the cold, damp darkness until 5:30, which is when the permit station opens the trail to the sun gate overlooking machu picchu...

...once that gate is open it's an all out mad dash down the 1 hour trail to get there before sunrise. the sun has technically 'risen' but it still has to rise over the towering mountains and shine through the thick clouds before it will shed light upon machu picchu and that is the part you want to witness firsthand. i got a burst of energy and we began hauling ass and passing people like crazy. i needed to redeem myself from the crappy performances from the previous days i suppose, haha. towards the end there is this staircase where you need to sorta crawl up using your hands. kinda felt like an obstacle course. then comes the end where you see a little doorway and some ruins, or the famed sun gate. the second you go up that last little slope and cross through the sun gate, you see machu picchu in the distance below...it all becomes so worth it.

looks so tiny from the sun gate, but it really is huge!

group effort

good job babe!

we were super sweaty but just so excited to finally be at the end. we trekked down the hillside to get in a perfect viewing spot for the big moment. perfect timing as sun beams began to poke through the clouds and creep towards the ruins... 

let...

there...

be...

light!!!

ahhhhh yeah, oh happy day!!! it was gorgeous! beautiful! machu picchu is honestly so surreal in person. absolutely amazing and a dream of ours to see for a long time...towering lush mountains surround the site from all sides. we had made it! high fives all around!

stoked!

excited!

happy honeys!

used to the view of...

...natural beauty!

stellar!

we were told by friends who had been here to take as many photos as possible the second the sun came out because it usually doesn't last long...and they were right! i think we maybe had an hour at most before the black clouds rolled in and it started dumping rain! we had already gotten our signature shots in the sun so the rain was no biggie and actually added to the ambience of the place.  low lying clouds and misty fog filled the surrounding mountains and even some of the ruins.

the rain eventually stopped and we just wandered the massive ruins for a few hours. it is pretty easy to get lost in there!

such a great day for us and sad it had to all end, we bid adieu to machu picchu, caught a bus to aguas calientes down the road and had celebratory beers and grubbed with the rest of our group for the remainder of the day. said our goodbyes to the guides which was a total bummer and before nightfall, we all took the train back to cuzco.

still were several hours from cuzco when we left aguas calientes and by the time we got back to our hotel, jimmy and i were so utterly exhausted we accidentally passed out and missed going out with the group and even missed our 7:30 a.m. bus to puno the next morning. whoops... not so young anymore i guess!