Day 2: Trek to Machu Picchu

We woke up around 6:30, ate breakfast (warm pancake with no syrup!!) and then set out. The first half of the day was fairly easy, as we followed a water canal around one side of a mountain. After 4 hours of walking, we ate lunch in a large valley where I saw great views of the surrounding snow-capped peaks. Our team of porters and cooks setup the dining tent in the middle of this field where we had rice, soup, and some cooked veggies. We rested for about 30 minutes after lunch, as we had quite a trek to our next camp.



The worst part of the afternoon was the temperature - the sun had vanished behind clouds, and the wind was gusting. I had all of my layers on, and my hands and feet were still cold. When we reached camp, we were at approx. 4200 meters. I jumped inside my tent, put on my thermals, an extra t-shirt, wool socks, a hat, mittens, and both jackets. Because it was so cold, we didn't have our late afternoon tea and snacks. Instead, we stayed in our tents and tried to stay warm until dinner time at 7:30. I wrote a bit in my journal and then stayed inside my sleeping bag trying to get warm.