18
Location: Aguas Calientes
Today we woke up before the sunrise at 5 AM. Even though we were all exhausted, we were even more excited to see Machu Picchu. When we finally caught a glimpse of the ruins and the gorgeous surrounding mountains, our breaths were taken away. We hiked around the ruins and our tour guide, William, taught us about the history of the ruins. When the heat and hunger finally caught up with us, we headed down the mountain where we grabbed a delicious lunch. We then took the train back to Ollantaytambo. The train ride was interesting as a traditionally dressed man danced through the aisle (scaring many of us). We then cheered on some of the train employees as they modeled alpaca sweaters. Finally, we headed back to the hotel and ordered dinner. Evan ran to a cool area nearby with a few of us that wanted to see the stars on the last night, and they were incredible. On their way back, the stargazing group grabbed our chicken, meat, and veggie arepas from a cool Venezuelan restaurant in the square.