Today is Machu Picchu day. We got up early. I pulled open the curtains like I do every morning, and gazed out onto the street and into the hazy bustling morning of Cuzco. I was excited. I got everything together for the day and met everyone downstairs. We were all groggy but eager to get started. Patricia and our van were waiting for us - very chipper. We had a 2 hour bus ride ahead of us, followed by a 2 hour train ride, and then another bus ride to the entrance of the walled city. I love early mornings and although my head told me I should sleep in preparation for the hiking, I couldn't keep my eyes closed for long in fear of missing something.

We drove through snow capped mountains. Patricia told us this was rare in this area. We saw huge pigs and sheep on the sides of the roads. We also saw some hitchhikers which we were told was also commonplace. We were driving up to 12,000 ft and then back down to 8,000ft. We stopped on the way at a common tourist spot. We got pictures with llamas, snow capped mountains, and some small ruins on the side of a hill in the distance. We also saw the beginning of the only path to the jungle, Inca trail, and train station. As we drove Patricia pointed out a good luck charm - Chicha on one side, water on the other, placed on the top of a house. The soil in this region is very rich and they grow corn and cherries. My hair still hadn't dried from the shower that morning.

The train we took is only for tourists. The locals never travel on it. The train station bathroom had Kholer toilets and Kimberly Clark toilet paper. While on the train we passed a hydro-electric dam. It dumps water through the mountains. The smell of gas is strong. We chatted about how to bring this back to everyone back home. The train was very fancy - like an Amtrak in the states. Seating was in groups of 4 with large windows and center tables. They served little snacks of beans, chips and cookies. They also gave us a map of the Inca trail. A cart came through during our ride that sold everything - tshirts, pens, mugs, ponchos, etc. We passed pink ferns, banana trees…Angela said it felt like we were on the Disney jungle train - "unreal".

We arrived in the bustling town below Machu Picchu. While we were waiting in line for the bus to take us up the winding mountain, a gentleman hit on Caro and offered her some Pisco Sour - which is the way into her heart, but she declined. The buses were like grayhounds - cushy and air conditioned, although they really didn't need to be. Angela sat in the front of the bus on an aisle seat. We were all excited to see how she handled the twists and turns of the short ride up. Caro got hit on again by her seat-partner on the bus. The driver was a pro. It did feel a bit like an arcade game you can't win at - single lane road with busses going 2 ways, up a steep mountain taking a turn every once in a while to decrease the grade of the incline. We made it safely, as did everyone else before and after us. It didn't feel steep in the bus, and then you looked down, and realized how straight up and down you were. And everything was so green and alive and flourishing.

We had the ticket takers punch our ticket and headed toward the bathroom. It cost 1 sol to use the restroom and I kept the receipt. Patricia started our ascent into Machu Picchu. We did a few stairs, hiked for a bit, and all of a sudden this incredible and miraculous view was in front of us - after not even 15 minutes of hiking. Everyone was amazed at how quickly we arrived. It hardly seemed like any work at all. From a far, we learned that there are urban and agricultural areas built into the walled city. Machu Picchu was built surrounded by 4 mountains, with the river that snakes around them. There are soil terraces built for farming and medicinal purposes. It was uncovered in 1911 by a professor who was Hawaiian. He was looking for the lost capitol of the Incas. His name was Hirambinga.

He left and eventually came back with more people and tools. He met with the Peruvian president who gave him authority to excavate. He paid farmers to burn down trees that covered the ruins. People were looking for artifacts and jewels. The found some stuff under "hanging rock" with a princess who was buried. They found her tomb. Everyone else was buried everywhere - mostly women and children. The men had left to fight the Spanish. They found 216 different buildings - 4 types. Criminals worked here - they didn't get sent to jail. They just re-opened a certain part in the last 2 years. You need to book your trip in advance because they only allow 2500 people to come through daily. There is a hotel in the area too - the most expensive one in Peru at 1000/night. It is lavish and has a great view of the walled city. Rom 1911-1944 it was abandoned. It became overgrown again.

In 1926 a railway was finalized which brought more tourists to the area in 1970s. Peruvians have to pay to enter, and it's too expensive for them so they don't come very often. They would rather go somewhere else on vacation. People who live in Cuzco can visit on Sundays for free. The train is owned and operated by a privatized company.

There was no handwriting in Machu Picchu. There were only knots for math. To think they created something as enormous and powerful and amazing as this without script or calculators… The Inca Trail leads people from Cuzco to Machu Picchu. It takes 4 days to hike the whole thing. Machu means old. Picchu means mountain. The Incan Empire lasted 120 years and spread from Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Chile. The Inca would ascend the surrounding hills and provide offerings. There are 7 trails up mountains - 2 were found recently so who knows how many more are yet to be discovered. Part of the ruins were only discovered 20 years ago.

There is a temple of the sun - and an astrological temple with a sun dial. The sun dial also helps tell the seasons. There are 16 different domestic water fountains. There is still running water here as well. 40% of the walled city never had to be restored. It rains a lot from September through April. There was never any evidence of furniture, but there are little closet-like cubby holes. All of the buildings had thatched roofs. There are exterior pegs on the sides of all of the roofs to attach the thatch to them. They shaped some of the stones like the mountains in the foreground so they wouldn't have to trek to that mountain all the time. They just paid homage to the mountain-shaped stone. They used big stones to build the temples and smaller stones to build the houses and domestic quarters.

Sometimes other villagers and porters would come to visit. Their faces would be sunburned because they are constantly so close to the sun. It's a 3 day trek for them. They were great astronomers and calculated to within 13 degrees of the equator. While we were looking through the buildings, we met the Q'eros community. They were dressed in bright clothing and their faces were stained from the sun. They had 2 white girls with them. We found out the girls were working with the Sacred Knowledge Project. The girls were from Madison, WI. 60 years ago the Q'eros community was enslaved. 2000 people and 12 communities. They bought their land from their captors. Hannah is the girl who has been working with them. Her friend came to visit. www.challinaschool.org www.sacredknowledgeproject.org

The hydro-electric plant is expanding. There is a meditation room built into the walled city. Tourism is expanding which means they are making more money but tourists don't have to pay taxes. Foreigners don't have to pay taxes to live in Peru. There is a "temple of the condor" which served as the messenger between the present and the future. The temple sort of looks like they shaped the stones into the head, beak and collar of the condor, carrying bricks on its wings. Machu Picchu is a very spiritual experience for some.

Coming out as our day ended - I thought it would have been bigger. I wasn't winded like I thought I would have been, I actually took it all in really well. I did so well I carried other peoples' backpacks. I think I was mentally prepared for something much more taxing, bigger, longer, hotter, steeper. The experience felt underwhelming, although Machu Picchu itself was still breathtaking. They stamped our passport on the way out. It was my first stamp in my new passport outside of the flight to Lima.

On our way back, walking, then on the bus down the mountain…Ka'ohe started talking to me about a position open in Snohomish. They were hiring for a "director of D&I and community engagement". I was definitely qualified and flattered she approached me about it. It's something I might do at a different time but decided to coach her toward it instead and focus on my current situation in Chicago.

Patricia left us at the bottom of the mountain at a restaurant for a late lunch, with hours to kill until our train ride back. It was a buffet. They served water con gas and sin gas, and also with sugar here which was a new development for me. I wasn't very hungry. I was tired, not from hiking just from lack of sleep, and I was disappointed we couldn't stay at the top of the mountain instead of killing time in town. I think Patricia had matters to attend to in the city. But I was angry because we paid her for this experience. I felt short-changed. The food at the buffet was ok. None of it was overly appetizing to me.

After lunch we walked around town. I discovered that I got a sunburn while on the top of the mountain. I had done all this preparation weeks in advance, and forgot to bring my sunscreen up. My arms and neck were scorched in that weird way I've been getting burned lately. The group split up after lunch. I headed down one street with shops and restaurants. I still had to buy for Dana's parents, but wasn't really in a shopping mood. I found cigarettes in one of the shops and discovered that all cigarettes in Peru were mandated to have pictures of what could happen as a result of smoking. There were pictures of surgery patients, dead babies, etc. It was quite graphic. We also saw another hairless dog wandering around. If you didn't know it was supposed to be hairless, you would think it was a mangiest looking stray ever.

I also found several trinkets, artifacts, keychains and posters that were sexualized. It seems sex was a regular and important part of Incan culture. It was super interesting to me. It made other people uncomfortable and giggle. There were different positions and graphic faces and sizes. We stumbled upon a large market that was like a little connected city. It seemed to stretch on forever. This city was built between hills, around a river and train station. It was a winding maze.

Eventually it was time for us to board the train back home. We were all tired. Many journaled or fell asleep on the way home. It was pouring when we arrived to our van - and it was pitch black. We found our van and everyone piled in. People definitely slept the 2 hours back to our hotel. We got in fairly late. A few of us were hungry and there weren't many places open. Ka'ohe Cristina and I headed to the friend chicken spot. It took a long time to cook up and the staff was really rude to us. We had a beer in the lounge of the hotel catching up with loved ones online before heading to bed.