The anticipation built right from the time we awoke at 3:30am. We had to line up with about 500 other hikers until the gates opened at 5:30am. We had only a 2 hour hike to Sun Gate which was very quiet, a time to reflect on what we had achieved the last 3 days.
We reached Sun Gate and our first view of Machu Picchu. I was gobsmacked, I've seen the pictures and dreamt of visiting this place for a long time but that first time you see it leaves you speechless. Luckily for us the terrible weather that we had experienced the previous two days had turned for the better. It was a glorious day. We stayed up at Sun Gate for about 45 minutes snapping photos and just taking in the awe that is Machu Picchu. I said to one of my fellow group members that even if Machu Picchu wasn't there, it was an amazing view anyway.
We strolled down to Machu Picchu where we met up with Kel and the other group members who hadn't done the hike. I was so happy to see her, we hugged and I didn't want to let her go!!
We then had a tour with our guide Cheo for about two hours which was wonderful as he explained a lot of the history of this amazing site.
We had done it. It was a hard slog in places, but would I do it again, absolutely!!!
The view from Sun Gate
Me and Cheo, our great guide
The gang at Sun Gate
This one is for Len Thomas :)
Kel and the girls
Me and the lads
Looks fantastic, hope this old fart can do it one day. 'My' picture is great, its going straight to the pool room. Take care.
ReplyDeleteNinja Man says hi. LDXOX / Len