18
Location: Aguas Calientes
We woke up at 5:30 to get to breakfast so that we could meet in the downstairs lobby at 6:10 to leave for the Machu Picchu hiking trail. When we reached the hiking trail, we had two choices: go to the sun gate, which was a 1-hour hike, or go to the bridge. We choose the sun gate. During the hike, we saw hikers that were hiking for days. When we finally reached the gate, we had a beautiful view of Machu Picchu. When we hiked back down, we went to the different archaeological sites to get good views and amazing explanations. After viewing Machu Picchu from an amazing level, we went to see it up close and personal. The place was amazing. It was like going back in time. We saw Incan houses, a place where the sun comes through the window to cast a shadow to make an Incan cross, and even a couple llamas! After this amazing experience, we headed back down the mountain so we could catch our train back to Ollantaytambo. When we got back, we headed out to dinner and came back to have one of our “family discussions.” We discussed what we could take back home from our experiences here in Peru. It was one of our best talks yet. We had an amazing day, and it ended with an amazing night!