Eyes on the Prize

The Big Day has arrived. I was up at 3:30 AM. Already had my stuff essentially packed and ready to move. After a quick bite for breakfast we March Ordered (old Artillery term) and skinned out for the checkpoint. After all, almost 400 people would have the same thing on their minds. 4:50AM. Freddie's "Family" was first to the check point. There was a steady rain and heavy fog. Fortunately we had a little shelter at the checkpoint while we waited.

Just before the gate was opened. The line of trekkers stretched back up the Trail as far as we could see. Machu Picchu was calling...

The race was on. With the quick start our group had the best getaway. And we were flying. Even though the charts showed a gentle downhill to Machu Picchu it seemed like all we did was climb. Among our group Paul had the point. I was behind him and the two longlegged Aussies were close behind. After almost an hour we hit one last climb. I didn't realize this was the big moment, but I was trying to get this hill behind me as fast as I could. For some reason Paul stopped to adjust his pack. I went past him, all the while grousing about yet another hill. Suddenly there it was. Intipunku, The Sun Gate. The first rays of the Sun on Machu Picchu each day passed through Intipunku. And I was the first person that day to see it.

Unfortunately that day's Sun was of liquid variety. The clouds and mist pretty much wiped out the view. But, for about 30 seconds I stood alone. Machu Picchu lay before me. The Quest was over. It was a powerful moment.

Others soon began arriving. The "Family" caught up and together we strode down the path into the fabled city. Those of you familiar with images of Machu Picchu may have a general idea of the view. The ruins layed out below. The tall mountain, Huayna Picchu in the background. What I call the "money shot." Four for days we had slogged over steep mountain terrain to reach this spot. Here it is:

Not exactly what I had in mind. To be honest the moment seemed anticlimactic. The place was socked in. We were soaked and most everyone was starting to get chilled. Spirits were down. But, Freddie told us not to give up hope. Pacha Mama (The Incan term for Mother Earth) would be kind to us. Hadn't we always given a small offering to Pacha Mama whenever we drank something? He was referring to our practice of pouring a small sip of liquid on the ground in thanks to the Incan God. To Freddie giving back to Pacha Mama would bring us good luck. We had enjoyed mild weather, no accidents, no illnesses, no problems. Pacha Mama would not fail us now.

Gradually the Sun began to burn off the mists. Machu Picchu was revealing herself to us.

As one of his last official duties Freddie took us on a tour of the city. Here we are below the Sun Temple. Built upon natural rock, the Sun Temple is actually a calendar used to measure the passing of the seasons. It was at this moment my camera took one last photo then went into a coma. Apparently this happens all the time. The combination of heavy moisture in the air and batteries weak from lack of charging (where was I going to get a charge?) puts many cameras to sleep. Jennifer's camera was trying to pass out, but still had a little juice. So my few pictures of M.P. were taken with her camera. Paul's camera was working well, but I won't have his pix for a few weeks yet. Anyway, here are some of the highlights.

The llamas were tame. They were put there for us turistos. Nice touch, but not the same as when I walked among the wild llamas that morning back at the first campsite.

The temple stones. Remember when I alluded to the difference in Incan building construction between the sacred and the utilitarian structures? The temples were built with fine precision. Each block was fitted perfectly together with no apparent gaps or mortar (experts actually believe some type of paste of thin mortar may have been used). The Andes is an area very prone to earthquakes. The Incas knew this. If a quake occurred the stones would simply slide apart allowing the structure to survive.

Think about that. Seven hundred years ago a people for which no written language existed, who had no electricity, no internet, no modern concept of mathematics, physics or survey; they didn't even have HORSES for crying out loud, built temples able to withstand not only earthquakes, but 700 years of conquest, nature and tourism. San Francisco was flattened by an earthquake in 1989. Parts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India were destroyed by a tsunami last year. Who were these "primitive" people?

Next to Machu Picchu is the mountain, Huayna Picchu. (Machu Picchu, by the way, means small mountain. Huayna Picchu mean tall mountain in Quechua.) We were offered the option of climbing it if we wished. Even Freddie said it was very steep and treacherous but if we wanted to do it to PLEASE be careful. I had met a New Zealand guy who had made this trek when I was in the Virgin Islands visiting Mick. He told me about this mountain. He said no one ever climbs it because it was too much after all the hiking.

Well, I guess Kiwis are wimps, because four of our group climbed it. And Boy was it steep! Yikes! You could NEVER have something like this in the States. WAAAY too much liability. There were spots where it was literally hand over hand climbing. At one point the "trail" was about 12 inches wide. On the left was a big rock. On the right was air. For hundreds of feet down. My palms were sweatin'. After about an hour of climbing we made the top. It was essentially just a pile of boulders teeming with other trekkers. The view was AWESOME!

Like so many places I've been this year and so many things I've seen, words fail to do it justice.

And that was basically it. We bussed down to the town of Aguas Caliente for some grub. Then after the opportunity to pump some life into the local economy we hopped the train for the ride back to Cuzco. After today the Family would no longer exist in it's present form. Some were off to other adventures. Several of us were headed to the Amazon Rainforest for a couple days. It's the nature of life.

But, as I remarked three days earlier after we had topped Dead Woman's Pass, we may do more difficult things in our lives. But, after this we would never be the same.

'Course, technically that's true with everything, but you get the idea.