Day 3 Afternoon - Hike to the Sand Gate

Day 3 Afternoon: After lunch we traveled to the top of Machu Picchu to walk the Sun Gate trail. On our way up, we were accosted by the spectacular view of Machu Picchu from the iconic, postcard position. The trail began, and inclined slowly upward. 

After ascending through the terraces built into the mountain by the Incan people, we encountered a pooping llama above our heads. Don’t worry though, he missed us, and so many photo ops ensued.  

Following our distraction the “gradual incline” ceased to be so gradual.  Thankfully a tropical rainstorm cooled us off, just as we were regretting our rain jackets and sweaters. After roughly half an hour, we finally reached the much heard of Sun Gate, built on top of several terraces and presenting a beautiful view of the entire valley surrounding and including Machu Picchu. The Sung Gate also lies 9,000 feet above sea level, though with the fog shrouding everything, only the barest outlines were discernible.

Once at the gate, being the teenagers that we are, we started climbing around over the terraces and taking selfies. Thankfully however, when the last of the group made it to the top, including our brave group member who triumphed his fear of heights, the clouds cleared revealing the entirety of Machu Picchu. The climb down proved to be less arduous. The previous llama had disappeared, but a rare baby alpaca took its place in view of our trail. Once we reached the bottom, we embarked on a bus journey down  into Machu Picchu town.

After a series of hairpin turns and breathtaking views we reached the Pachakutek hotel. Allowed to roam the town on our own many of us explored an ancient earthquake escape route that lead into the woods. Others enjoyed the many markets and handicraft stores available in the village. 

Before we headed to dinner we played a few rounds of card... even Maggio played a hand of Mao.  Dinner at the Kintu was comprised of a grape and corn piece concoction as well as vegetable soup and a series of main courses.  

                After dinner, we had the pleasure of being let loose on the town, a small place comprised of two main streets parallel to each other and countless little cross streets going in between the two. While some of us took this opportunity to retire to the hotel and play cards, many more of us went shopping, and explored the city. Eventually, the large majority of us convened in a little square, and organized a smashing game of manhunt, which involved 20-ish kids running through the streets chasing each other. Don’t worry though, there are no cars or bikes in this town J.

                Well, we were able to thoroughly exhaust ourselves with manhunt, and when 10 O’clock rolled around we were ably to pass out comfortably in our odd hotel rooms. A note about the hotel - it is a warren of rooms, oddly jumbled together without any particular order (so the 2^nd floor spanned several floors). The whole place is covered in linoleum, so sound travels crazily, up down and all around. The hotel was so fascinating, that it was almost as much fun exploring the many hidden staircases, hallways that ended in the open outdoors (with no barrier) and the carpeted walls and ceilings of the bedrooms.

                After having exhausted ourselves running around the town, and exploring one of the seven wonders of the world we had a deep sleep punctuated by dreams of Machu Picchu.