Monday, April 9, 2012

the hike to Machu Picchu

At this point we have been awake for almost 2 hours and it is only 6 in the morning.
The start of our hike.  It was a HARD hike!!!

 
 The flowers were incredible!  Most of these are orchids!!
 This hike was pretty much all stairs.
 First look at Wina Wayna.  How the Inca's built these cities on the side of a steep mountain is beyond me!!!






 Imagine that this was your view!!! WOW!
 I want to garden these terraces so badly!!  Imagine how it must have looked with all their crops growing.
 Justin had to drink his Inca Cola on the Inca ruins.
 Folks ... this is what a passion fruit looks like.  Despite it resembling fish eggs this puppy tastes soooo good!!!  Just slurp up the seeds and enjoy!
 like father like son????

My pretty feet got me this far, I know they can make it the rest of the way.  This was the perfect place for our picnic lunch!
 Are we sure we know how to use this thing?
 Go pee in a hole in the ground .... check!!!
 Did I mention it is on the edge of a rain forest???
More stairs .... these ones so steep that you literally had to climb up on all fours!
 And Finally my favorite part.  Climbing your final hill through the sun gate and this is your view!!!!
Machu Picchu in the flesh!  I still can't believe that I have had the privilege of being there in person.
This hike was amazing and if I EVER go back, I will definitely do it again.

(See how far away Machu Picchu still is?  We had to hike all the way down to that winding road where we met the bus.  It was great though because there were ruins all alone the path.  Machu Picchu is HUGE!!!  There is only a small portion that has been cleared). 


5 comments:

Fred ... said...

Very cool. Thanks for the pictures. What a beautiful view. It is amazing to think that people actually used to live there. I want that room with the beautiful view out the window. How would it be? Probably not too fun in the winter.

Maren Romney said...

Yay for you guys!! That looked amazing! I'm glad you got to go (and, uh, jealous too).

Miss you!

Dorienne said...

Looks amazing. What a great opportunity.

Peter and Mandy said...

Awesome! Peter is so jealous, he really wants to go there.

Spencer and Melissa said...

Yum!! Passion fruit is my favorite! We used to pick them off the trees in Hawaii and eat them. What beautiful pictures!!! That does look like a very hard hike, but so worth it! I am glad you had such an amazing experience!