At 4:00 am we were woken by the porters. After quickly getting dressed and packing up our belongings, we all met in the dining tent for a quick breakfast. After eating we made our way back to the trail. On the trail just past the hostel, there is another gated control station. Every trekker must pass through this control station and show their permit. The station does not open until 5:30 am, so we had to wait in a rather long line of approximately 200 trekkers. Thankfully we weren´t at the end, but I´m guessing we were around the middle of the line.

Today´s goal was to reach Intipunku (the Sun Gate) and then ultimately Machu Picchu. For several of us in the group`we also had another goal in mind: to climb Huayna Picchu, the steep mountain located at the backside of Machu Picchu. Unfortunately there is a limited amount of people allowed to climb Huayna Picchu (400 per day), so we would have to get to the Huayna Picchu control station, located inside Machu Picchu, as quickly as possible or we would be most likely be unable to get a ticket.

At 5:30 am the control station opened its gates and all the trekkers slowly started making their way through the gates. Led by Enrique, Andrew, Ross, Lawrence(an engineer from San Francisco), and myself began our mission: to get to Machu Picchu as quickly as possible and get our Huayna Picchu tickets before they ran out. Depending on a person´s speed, it can take anywhere from one to two hours to reach the Sun Gate. We literally ran the entire way up to the Sun Gate passing every other trekker along the way. After 30 minutes we arrived at the Sun Gate. What an adrenaline rush!

As we stood at the top of the Sun Gate catching our breath, we got our first view of Machu Picchu. I was speechless. It´s one thing to see photos of Machu Picchu, but to actually se the fabled site face to face for the first time, well I can´t think of any words to describe that initial feeling.

After several minutes spent gawking at Machu Picchu and catching our breath, we began the decent down to Machu Picchu, which was still a ways away. The decent from the Sun Gate down to Machu Picchu can take up to one hour. We made it down in around 15 minutes.

Although not the hardest, today would be the longest day onthe trail as we would travel approximately 15km. Today we would also have the opportunity to explore several Inca ruins along the trail: Runcuracay, Sayacmarca, and Phuyupatamarca. All of these ruins were amazing, but the one noticable thing today is that the remaining trail is the original work of the Incas. The previous portion of the trail has been restored by the Peruvian government and really doesn´t compare in quality and beauty to the original Inca path. Today´s portion of the trail is what I imagined the trail to be like, and is also what you tend to see in most photos. The trail also passes through several Inca tunnels.

As I mentioned, today was a long day. We left camp at 6:30 am. After leaving the Inca Ruins of Phuyupatamarca at 1:30 pm, we began the decent down a beautiful stone staircase into the cloud forest. Apparently there are 2,250 steps. I´m sure glad it wasn´t my job to count the steps as I would surely lose count as the scenery is so mesmerizing and dreamlike.

Two hours later we arrived at the Intipata terraces. From here you could see the damage from a recent forest fire on one of the nearby mountain sides. Then from Intipata we made our way down to our next campsite, which is located beside another set of Inca ruins, Huiñay Huayna.

We located our tents and explored the five-star campsite. This campsite was not as primitive as some of the others. In fact, I really didn´t care too much for this site as I felt it intruded on the serenity of the Inca Trail and the overall experience. Hot showers, food, and drinks are even available for purchase at the trekker´s hostel.

On a plus note, the Huiñay Huayna ruins were quite spectacular. The name of the ruins means ¨Forever young.¨ Hmmm… I wonder if Rod Stewart named his famous song after these ruins? Ross and I explored the ruins as the sun was setting. On our way back to camp we had a great view of the nearly full moon. What a site!

After dinner, Andrew, Ross, and I each had a cerveza and excitely talked about life and of course our big day the next day as we would finally see Machu Picchu. After finishing our beers we all retired to our tents. We would need the rest for tomorrow as we would be getting a wake up call at 4:00 am.

Although today was a pretty uneventful day, it was also exciting as we were travelling to Cusco, the Inca´s capital city. The bus ride to Cusco took close to eight hours and we arrived mid-afternoon. After checking into our hotel, Hotel Villa Hermoza, David took us on a walking tour of the city.

Cusco is full of Inca culture and architecture. We saw lots of the typical Inca stones, including the famous 12 sided stone. After our walk around the city, we all went to a restaurant called Jack´s. Everybody loved their meals. I had an Inca Cola and a juicy cheeseburger. It was awesome!

After eating, Andrew, Ross, and I met up with Robert and Nicola, a couple from Manchester, at an Irish pub for some cervezas. We polished off several beers and some nachos before heading back to the hotel and going to sleep. The next day would be a busy day exploring Inca ruins.