As we headed down into the ruins of Machu Picchu from Sun Gate the mist cleared and before us was Machu Picchu in all its mysterious glory. I can’t imagine getting my first glimpse of the magical city from any other view (the day trippers come up from under the site). As we headed deeper into the ruins we saw more and more fresh looking (aka clean) day tourists walking past us to the Sun Gate. Somehow I could not help but think that I had earned the right to be at this glorious place by completing a trek to arrive there, the same way the Inca’s did.
Image of Machu Picchu walking down from the Sun Gate as the mist cleared.
Kyle, Marky and myself prior to reaching the crowds of Machu Picchu.
As we reached the ruins that is where the magic ended for us. Not to say that the site was not utterly breathtaking, the issue was it was overloaded with tourists. It was like Saturday at the mall on a rainy day. Our wonderful guide from Alpaca Expeditions was set to give us a 2-hour tour of the site and then we would head up to Huayna Picchu, the iconic mountain on the far end of the ruins with splendid views. Before we excitedly made our way down to the guest center where I was thrilled to discover real flushing toilets that I could actually sit down to do my business with toilet paper, soap and paper towels!
Machu Picchu in the early morning mist.
Us with all the other tourists trying to get a picture.
Images of Machu Picchu.
As my luck would have it 20 minutes into our tour my tummy started to rumble. I knew what was about to hit me and I was a good 15-minute walk back though tons of tourists to the restrooms. I excused myself from the tour and rushed back to the beloved restrooms where I would spend the next hour. Jon used my retreat as an excuse to happily follow me (his idea of a nightmare is getting a tour of ruins with a ton of tourists milling everywhere). I popped two Imodium, guzzled a water as I pondered the timing of my unfortunate bathroom episode. Machu Picchu had been planned 6 months prior and I had hiked 4 days to see it only to end up in the bathroom.
Feeling like I could survive the rest of the day and determined not to miss the site Jon and I ventured back in. We were lucky enough to run into our guide who told me that he would give me my own private tour. Jon hurriedly ran off to try and find Kyle and Marky who had already stared the climb to Huayna Picchu. Yes, he would rather climb a dangerous mountain with stairs hugging the side of a cliff than go on a tour of ruins. I was sorry that I was going to miss the views but I figured a two-hour hike with no access to a bathroom was not in my best interest, or anybody else’s, at that time.
Picture of Huayna Picchu, view of Machu Picchu from the top of Huayna Picchu, view of ruins on top of Huayna Picchu, pictures of the “Inca” stairs and path leading up to the top (all taken by Jon).
Journey with Christina 