Life's a journey (Machu Picchu Day 4) - 19 March 2009

It was a cloudy, rainy morning (as opposed to a dark and stormy night) and thankfully Oscar let us sleep in. So much so, in fact, that we were the last people to leave the camp site. When we got to the gate that marks entry to the last section of the Inca Trail we had to wake the guards up, since everyone else had passed through so long ago.

Here's Jeremy, just after passing through the gate:

Due to the clouds, there's not a lot to show you from finishing the trek. There were some pretty flowers along the way:

And there were stairs going up, of course:

We made it to the sun gate (or Intipunku) which has a great view of Machu Picchu on sunny days. Here's what we got:

When we finally made it to Machu Picchu, things weren't much better. Here are the three of us at the "postcard" rock, with Machu Picchu in the background:

Oscar took us on our tour and thankfully the cloud cover burned off. Here we are at the exact same spot a couple of hours later:To be honest, Machu Picchu is a bit of a let down after the trail. It's crowded and commercialized, so much so that we debate whether to come back early tomorrow over lunch.

After our tour and some free time we take a bus into Aguas Calientes, the nearest town. Jeremy has the good fortune to end up next to a woman who is on a "spiritual journey" with 12 other people and their shaman. Jennifer and I studiously avoid eye contact, lest we get sucked into the conversation.

Dinner was at the only Chinese place in town. Jen and I think it's pretty good. Jeremy, who works a couple of blocks away from Chinatown in San Francisco is less impressed. It's amazing the difference context makes.

After much discussion, we decide to go back to Machu Picchu first thing tomorrow morning.