Day 1 of the Inca Trek: KM 82 to Tres Piedras (10,100 feet)

Before dawn, we were on the bus to Ollantytambo for breakfast before continuing on to Km 82, the starting point for the Inca Trail trek. Here we packed in our rented sleeping bags and pads, loaded up on sunscreen and bug spray and took our first family photo under the starting sign of the trail.

The group, smiling and happy on Day 1!

Hiking along the Rio Urubumba

Our guides were Manuel (Manny) and Pepi (Pepito), our chef was Benedicto and another 17 porters (chastkis) made up our traveling family for the 4 days on the trail. The first day was easy and hot as we walked along the river and past Inca ruins at the Llactapata and Wayllabamba sites.

Soon we stopped at lovely lunch spot where the chef and porters were waiting for us with soup, potatoes and tea. The food on the trail is amazing! They set up a tent and served us fresh and delicious food every time.

Mark protecting our packs from stray sheep

Lunch time!

Karen is not a fan of the Chichi homebrewed beer

By now, we were also starting to get to know our other trekkers who included a group of girls from DC, a couple from Florida, two from the Bay Area, a Kiwi couple living in Australia, an Aussie, a British couple and us. Everyone was very nice and excited to be on the trail. We eventually made it up to our first camp spot where most people celebrated with Cusquenes, the local beer before dinner. As Day 2 would be our most difficult, we all went to sleep by 830.

Day 2 of Inca Trail over Dead Woman's Pass (13,800 feet) to Paq'amayo (11,480 feet)

Manny and Pepito greeted us before 6 am with tea in our tents which is a fabulous way to wake up I decided. As it was our long day, we soon were on the trail again.

Karen and Erika smartly decided on using a porter for their big packs today while Mark and I tried to press on with them. Unfortunately, Mark soon started feeling worse and worse with stomach pains. I hated seeing him in pain and tried to take things from his pack but the weight was still making him hurt. Thankfully, Gavin had come back to get his girlfriends pack and she sent him further down to get Mark's since she had passed us when Mark was resting. So that helped Mark get to the second breakfast stop. He lied down and I brought him ginger tea and soon he was feeling a little better.

Mark resting and feeling much better without a pack!

We opted for a porter to carry his bag the rest of the way which allowed us to reach the top of Dead Women's Pass just as a slight rain was moving in. The view up at 3,800 meters (13,800 feet) was shrouded in clouds but we were happy to make it there.

Mirador?  Can't see anything in these clouds!

Then we continued slowly down the many, many slippery steps before arriving at camp Paq'amayo at 11,480 feet.

Mark took a nap and I chatted with Karen and Erika until dinner time. Thankfully Mark was feeling well enough to join us for some dinner but he will wisely be careful with what he eats now. 

Day 3 Inca Trail to Phuyupatamarka (11,800 feet)

Mark woke up feeling much better thankfully but another two in our group had been sick all night.  However, today wasn't as tough as Day 2.  We started with a fun introduction of our porters and chef.  The conclusions made were that they all looked about 10 years older than they were and had plenty of children (1-6 each).

These guys work so hard!

Feeling better, our crew was ready to go!

Afterwards, we started out with an immediate uphill climb to the Runkurakay ruins which were once an important vantage point over the valley for the Incas.

The never-ending steps!

Husband and wife team (wink) showing us how to make rope

We continued up and over the second pass of the trek to the the jungle side.  We walked through Inca tunnels and past Sayaqmarka ruins that are perched on a steep mountaintop before arriving at our lunch spot just as a rainstorm hit.  It passed before we finished so that was convenient.

Benedicto working his magic in the kitchen tent

The  Peruvian specialty of Lomo Saltado

We carried on along side a steep and sometimes narrow pass, with a steep drop-off on our left that faded into the fog. But soon we arrived to a beautiful camp spot on top of the third pass at 3670 meters (12,040 feet).  The rain followed us for a bit but that didn't stop us from tracking down the local llamas for a few photo ops.

As the sun started to set, the clouds intermittently cleared and we could see across the beautiful valley before us, with glacier peaks to our right, Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu town) way below us and the intensely bright stars above us. It was phenomenal!

Sunset above the clouds!

After dinner, we were surprised with a beautiful cake from our chef Benedicto who wished us 'Buen Viaje' (have a good trip) and we graciously bestowed tips upon our chef and the 17 porters who made this trek much easier than it would have been otherwise.

We shook each others hands and said Tupananchiskama which means 'see you in this life or the next.' Then it was time for sleep as we were awaking at 2:45 to start our final trek to Machu Picchu!

Day 4 Inca Trail to Machu Picchu (7,980 feet)

I got up in the middle of the night and was in awe at the beautiful stars, big bright moon and incredible views all around the valley. I knew it would be a good day but was still not super ready to start hiking soon after our 2:45 wakeup. Thankfully, we were able to leave our rented sleeping bags and pads so our bags were much lighter and we started walking down and down the numerous slippery steep steps by headlamp. 

Headlamps on, ready to rock!

We did have a few slips and trips but everyone made it down to the final campsite as the sun was rising. While it would have been nice to stay here, there has been accidents due to erosion (since all these sites were on the side of steep hills) so it was safer to not stay here.  Up and up some more stairs (seriously, they were never-ending), we started to see the beautiful mountains of this valley and knew we were close.

We began our last ascent to Machu Picchu and finally arrived at the Sun Gate around 8:30 am. And wow! The view was spectacular! All around us glistened big green peaks and down below in the middle was the iconic peal of Huayna Picchu overlooking the historic site of Machu Picchu. We quickly took photos, exchanged high fives and took another big group family photo. 

After that, we hopped up on the ledge in the sun to take some more photos. I was posing for a pic and laughing at Karen filming with the GoPro backwards when all of a sudden, Mark dropped to his knees in front of me with the biggest, sweetest smile on his face. I was surprised and incredibly happy! Mark said many beautiful words that of course I don't completely remember but I do remember him asking 'will you marry me' of which I enthusiastically said 'yes!'. We kissed and hugged and cried and it was beautiful. 

Erika, Karen and our trekking family congratulated us too which was very sweet. Now though, I was way more interested in holding Mark's hand than exploring Machu Picchu! But we gradually made our way down from the Sun Gate towards the main site.

After one last big group photo and a short and hot tour of the main sites by Manny, we had free time to explore. Machu Picchu was (thankfully) never found by the Spaniards so remained mostly untouched until an American explorer found it in 1911.  However, that means the true significance is unknown though most likely an important town and ceremonial center during Inca times.

The very happy couple!

Mark, Karen, Erika and I ventured around the site and soon caught the bus down to Aguas Calientes where we met our group for lunch and celebratory pisco sours. Everyone was happy and in a good mood as we said goodbye to Manny and Pepito and continued celebrating for a few more hours. 

The engaged couple and the 'married' couple!

The fun continued with games and beers on the train before we finally all said goodbye as we arrived in Cusco around 10. After much-needed showers, we finally fell asleep around midnight. We sure maximized our proposal day as it ended up being almost 22 hours of amazing fun!

PS- Dear friends, maybe our low-key announcement (aka- you're reading it here!) caught you by surprise but we do hope our story made you smile! We're loving the fun of sharing the news with friends as we see or talk to them but I couldn't keep it out of the blog of course! Thanks for the well wishes! xoxo, Suzy y Mark