Ouch!!  That 5:30 wakeup call really hurts plus I'm not sure I'm ready to get out in the cold.  We bundle up, step outside with our headlights on, and head up the steep trail to a vantage point at the top to wait for sunrise.  Fortunately, we get hot chocolate at the top, which helps a little with the cold.  The views are nice, though.

Sunrise in the mountains 5-29-2008 @ 6:00	Beth watching the sunrise 5-29-2008 @ 6:00	Sunrise in the mountains 5-29-2008 @ 6:00

     This is our last breakfast on the trail.  Our porters and cooks are taking a different route to the bottom, so we won't be seeing them again.  In keeping with custom, they dress in traditional Peruvian clothing and sing us a song to celebrate the end of our hike.  Then it's our turn to sing a song to them.  Our song praises their amazing strength in carrying all the gear they do up and down the steep trails.  We collected money from each member of the group so we can give a tip to the porters, cooks, and Ramiro.

Our last breakfast on the trail 5-29-2008 @ 7:26	Our porters and cooks the last morning 5-29-2008 @ 7:51

     As soon as the sun is up a bit, it's back to shorts and T-shirts for the hike.  It is surprising how quickly the temperature warms up.  Just a few minutes after leaving camp we reach the Phuyupatamarka ruins.  It is believed that these ruins were used for ceremonial purposes only.

Phuyupatamarka ruins 5-29-2008 @ 8:24	Phuyupatamarka ruins 5-29-2008 @ 8:27	Phuyupatamarka ruins 5-29-2008 @ 8:31

     In another half-hour, we can see the Winaywayna ruins in the distance.  The terrain is quite steep there, so building the terracing at the ruins must have been an engineering nightmare.

Winaywayna ruins in the distance 5-29-2008 @ 9:02	Winaywayna terracing in the distance 5-29-2008 @ 8:53

     The flowers are again gorgeous.

Orchid 5-29-2008 @ 9:50	Flower 5-29-2008 @ 9:54	Flower 5-29-2008 @ 9:56

A budding flower 5-29-2008 @ 9:58	Orchid 5-29-2008 @ 10:20	Orchid 5-29-2008 @ 10:32

     We later reach the Winaywayna ruins.  They are large and the terrain around them is as steep as it looked earlier.  This spectacular place was a ceremonial site and agricultural center.  We explore the ruins for a half-hour.  The terracing retaining walls are bigger than these pictures make them seem.  Their construction must have taken a long time.  To aid in getting from one terrace to another, the Incas built protruding steps into the retaining wall.

Winaywayna ruins sign 5-29-2008 @ 10:31	Winaywayna ruins terracing 5-29-2008 @ 10:34	Richard & Beth at Winaywayna ruins 5-29-2008 @ 10:41

Winaywayna ruins 5-29-2008 @ 10:57	Terracing wall with built-in steps 5-29-2008 @ 10:47	Winaywayna ruins 5-29-2008 @ 10:59

     With our porters and cooks gone, we are having lunch today at a restaurant near the Winaywayna ruins.  Our meal is roast beef and mashed potatoes.  It is excellent.

Winaywayna restaurant sign 5-29-2008 @ 11:32	Winaywayna restaurant 5-29-2008 @ 12:06

     Back on the trail we come to more flowers.  Wow!  And I thought the flowers couldn't get any better.  Boy, was I wrong.  It's hard to believe that there could be this many different flowers and orchids in such a short distance.

Flower 5-29-2008 @ 11:24	Flower 5-29-2008 @ 11:28	Geranium 5-29-2008 @ 11:29

Orchid 5-29-2008 @ 12:23	Orchid 5-29-2008 @ 12:32	Orchid 5-29-2008 @ 12:32

Orchid 5-29-2008 @ 12:33	Orchid 5-29-2008 @ 12:34	Orchid 5-29-2008 @ 12:37

     For the next hour, we walk through another rain forest.  Lush plant life is everywhere.

Rain forest plant 5-29-2008 @ 12:47	Tree moss in the rain forest 5-29-2008 @ 12:50	The trail through the rain forest 5-29-2008 @ 12:54

     Before too long, we are climbing the final steps to the Sun Gate, a place that overlooks Machu Picchu.  The Incas selected the Sun Gate's location so that the rising sun would shine through it and onto Machu Picchu.

Steps leading to the Sun Gate 5-29-2008 @ 1:30	The sign at the Sun Gate 5-29-2008 @ 1:42	Ramiro at the back of the Sun Gate 5-29-2008 @ 1:41

     The view of Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate is incredible.   

Machu Picchu viewed from the Sun Gate 5-29-2008 @ 1:43	Machu Picchu viewed from the Sun Gate 5-29-2008 @ 1:44

     Our group rests at the Sun Gate and takes in the great view of Machu Picchu far below.  Ramiro uses John's camera and takes our group picture with Ruben.

Some of our group at the Sun Gate 5-29-2008 @ 1:52	Our group at the Sun Gate with John's camera 5-29-2008 @ 2:03

     After our break, we start the long descent to Machu Picchu.  The trail is smooth and easy walking.  At one point near the start, Michael slips and falls near the edge trying to get pictures, all of which gives Ruben quite the scare.

Richard, Beth, and James 5-29-2008 @ 2:23	Richard above Machu Picchu 5-29-2008 @ 2:26	Beth above Machu Picchu 5-29-2008 @ 2:36

     There are some small ruins on the trail down to Machu Picchu.  Just past the ruins, Beth finds a lizard sunning himself on a rock.

Small ruins on the way down 5-29-2008 @ 2:21	Lizard sunning himself 5-29-2008 @ 2:33	The trail looking back to the Sun Gate 5-29-2008 @ 2:45

     We arrive at a great photo spot just above Machu Picchu, which means "Old Mountain" in Quechua.  The view is spectacular.  This place is huge.  There are many more buildings here than I originally thought.  Like many of the Inca ruins, the topography here must have made construction quite difficult.

Machu Picchu 5-29-2008 @ 2:55	Machu Picchu 5-29-2008 @ 2:55

     Beth, James, and I get our pictures taken above Machu Picchu.  This is indeed a Kodak moment.  Our tour tomorrow will be in the ruins themselves, so we will not be returning to this great vantage point again.

Richard, Beth above Machu Picchu 5-29-2008 @ 2:57	Beth above Machu Picchu 5-29-2008 @ 2:56	James and Beth above Machu Picchu 5-29-2008 @ 2:59

     After taking all the pictures we want of Machu Picchu, we climb aboard a bus and head for the bottom and the town of Aguas Calientes.  Our hotel is very nice.  Ahh, this means we get our first shower in four days.  I do some last minute shopping downtown and then Beth, James, and I go to the hotel restaurant for dinner.  Some in our group visit the hot springs and thermal baths where the city gets its name (hot waters).  Tomorrow we are getting a tour of Machu Picchu and the chance to climb Wayna Picchu, the steep mountain at the back side of Machu Picchu.

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