The Canadian Sscouts - Day 3 of the trail (Unforgettable Section)

This morning we all woke up looking forward to our shortest hiking day yet- we expected to be at our campsite before lunch, giving us a nice afternoon of rest. The hike to the third pass proved to be a walk in the park compared to yesterday’s climb, but still took a good hour of uphill climbing to reach. After this, we had 3 hours of downhill to look forward to. (Or, in the case of some, dread.)  No matter how hard on the knees many found it, all could agree that it was a nice break to be able to breathe more freely.

Another advantage of the downhill hike - it brought us down out of the clouds, and the lower altitude welcomed us with some of the most stunning views yet. Down below was the valley where the town of Aguas Calientes, our final destination, sits. Soon we could also see the terraces of Phuyupatamarca, the “city in the clouds”, which we were looking forward to exploring before we finished our hike for the morning.

 After admiring the gorgeous views of the valley and river below, and taking advantage of the ample opportunities for photos at Phuyupatamarca, we continued on for one last 15-minute hike to our campsite. We arrived to find our tents set up neatly in a line - with the openings each about a metre and a half from the edge of a small cliff. Our porters served us warm juice as we carefully organized ourselves into our tents.

After lunch, we had some much-appreciated down time, and some even took this opportunity to have an ice-cold shower at the provided facilities. We then continued our day with a visit to yet another set of ruins, Winay Wayna (meaning “forever young”), which were as beautiful as we were promised they would be. The tour guides showed us the site, telling us the stories of both its discovery and its historical significance. We the had some time to explore the ruins, which had nearly all to ourselves.

We arrived back to our campsite for teatime, which came with an extra special surprise. The chefs had managed their most incredible feat yet: two beautiful (and delicious) chocolate cakes. Our dinner, which included, among other things, a tray of kebabs stuck into a half pineapple in a very creative porcupine sculpture, was accompanied by a rousing chorus of camp songs. Even a few of the porters stuck their heads in to listen.

At the end of dinner, there was yet another surprise for us, this time in the form of IntiSun Trek T shirts, “I hiked the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu” emblazoned across the front. After dinner, we brought the whole IntiSun Trek team into the dining tent along with us to say goodbye. Going around the circle, we learned what each of our porters had been carrying. We thanked the team for all of their efforts, giving each group their tips. The guides then informed us that the porters had greatly enjoyed our singing at dinner, and requested another song. We happily agreed, and all joined in on a round of the Titanic song. The porters, in turn, entertained us with one of their native Quechua songs.

 After all of the festivities, we headed off to bed, as we needed to be up at 3:30 a.m. to join the queue to enter the trail to Macchu Picchu (yet another check point).  It was hard to believe but after three days of arduous hiking we were finally on the precipice of our goal, wonder of the world since 2007, Macchu Picchu.