Cusco Part Two: Macchu Picchu

Come nightime we end up running past downtown to try and find the hiking office realizing we're mapless then back to the hostel and back to the hikers office in a matter of minutes, sit through orientation and then start scrabbling to replace all the warm clothing I had lost over the course of 3 different airports. We then crash out late and get ready for our 6 am departure to km 82 the point where the inca trail starts.
Day one:
Starts with copius amounts of Coca Leaf that apparently you're not supposed to swallow. (Coca leaf is a Peruvian "super food" that is supposed to help aclimate you to high elevation... it's also what cocain comes from. Hopefully we don't have drug tests coming up) Our hike this day is totally cake but we still manage to lose the san franciscan photographer from our group for at least an hour. WE got to stop at a couple Incan sights and then we roll into camp and eat our typical 4 course meal and hang out with a strangley friendly ferril cat that won't detach from the dinner table. Minus the poopoo flooded bathroom even our first night was surprisingly gorgeous, we saw more stars that night than ever before.
Day two:
We wake up at the crack of dawn to start the hardest day of the trek. I remember reading multiple blogs about "day 2" not to mention the stories from our porter. It is the day that is straight up a mountain for 5 1/2 hours. They serve you coca tea every morning and then you get to eat another amazing meal from the chef, chef outfit and all. Of course I (Jordan) wake up barfing with altitude sickness. Now Jef and I were planning to aclimatize when we got into Peru for a couple days but since we missed our flight we weren't able to. And now at 10,000 ft my body was not happy. We got introduced to the porters, who carry 100 kilos up the mountain in sandals basically at a run while carrying on a conversation. Jef and I are carrying packs taht are way above the suggested weight limit for this trip but since the first day was ok we thought we could tough through it. Turns out that I can't...I am puking and falling over in the first 2 hours and am getting the "windows". That was by far the worst I have ever felt, and I couldn't enjoy the scenery without getting vertigo and being on the verge of passing out. So after multiple hours of pestering me to help take on some of the weight of my pack Jef again comes to my rescue and carries my ENTIRE pack for me. I mean come on who is so wonderful that they would carry two full sized ridiculously heavy packs up a mountain on the hardest part of the trek? Well Jeffrey Coleman Jackson, who set a completely new level of manliness, selflessness and perfect boyfriendness. I still had to stop every tweny meters to throw up and breathe while the porter is making my inhale some local alcohol that supposedly settles the stomach. We became the famous couple throughout the groups on this trek. As either the Californians, the sick couple, or the sick girl with the amazing boyfriend. People kept cheering us on and taking picture and videos of us as we climbed and eventually reached the top, surprisingly not last or to far behind the rest. Aparentally amongst other groups those who got altitude sickness just fell over and either couldn't continue or had to get a porter to carry their stuff. Once I got to the top though, then my porter decides to offer my altitude sickness medication which is a total god send uxcept it makes your hands and feet tingle. Those pills got me through the nest couple days.
Day Three:
This is the longest day, 10 hrs of hiking with lots of Incan remains along the way. Most of it downhill so it destroys your knees. But thank the Lord I chose to get a pair of poles so Jef and I both took one. The Andes are by far the most grogeous thing I have ever seen. It is no surprise to me that the Incans thought them to be gods because everytime I stopped ot look at them I couldn't believe how terrifying and magnificent they were. The plant life is so different than in America that it made me feel like I was in Jurassic Park or Jumangi. We got a porter for this day to arry one of our bags and the day was one of enjoyment. At night however not so much, I started getting sick again and fell asleep at 5 and slept til 330 the next morning when we got up to hike into Macchu Picchu.
Day Four:
We wake up and frantically hike to the Sun Gate entrance to Macchu Picchu before the sun rises. My this point all the groups that are on the hike are really close and you see familiar faces everywhere, and once we finish hiking up "The Gringo Killer" (stairs that are seriously straight up) you see the Sun Gate and it is suddenly the most beautiful thing you have ever seen. Once we're there we can see Macchu Picchu down in the canyon, more massive and beautiful than we could have imagined. We hike down as the sun rises and the birds sing and then stop and stare, finally feeling the "we did it". From the pictures you think that Macchu Picchu looks big but my god it is massive. It seriously is an entire city with a convent, a school, housing, temples and 1000 terraces. It is surrounded by moutains that seem to never end and was built in only 30 days then abandoned when the Spanish arrived in Cusco and news got to the hidden city. Although we were exhausted and I felt like I was on my death bed we didn't want to leave this magical place, that was covered in wild alpaca. We finally got some peace from the chaos of Peru.