Machu Picchu

Our morning got off to an early start. We took the 530 am bus which meant we were up at 5 havhing breakfast in our hotel with a bunch of other Americans. Now remember, this is rainy season in Peru, and it was no joke that morning. Things did not look good for us when we got there. The rain was pouring down and suddenly i began to think my "waterproof" jacket wasn{t so waterproof. and for the first time EVER, and i mean EVER, those tacky touristy parkas looked like heaven. I{m talking i actually resented all the smart people in their multi colored parkas. damn them, we needed some! it was just our luck that the hotel at Machu Picchu had 2 left! a beautiful pink one with a purple hood and a bright yellow one. haha, wait till you see the pictures of us! classic. but seriously, they saved us that day. Going over the hill and having hte first glance down at Machu Picchu was amazing. AFter two days of hiking ruins i was beginning to wonder whta could be so special about this one, but i was wrong. AT around 830 we decided to hike up Waynupicchu, the high mountain behind Machu PIcchu that you see in most photos. It{s about an hour hike and a steep and tough one at that when it{s raining, but when you get to the top it{s all worth it. we got up there around 930 adn there were about 10 other people sitting on the edge waiting until 11am when we heard the sky would clear. so we settled down too. fortunately the sun was out and it was actually pretty amazing. we were sitting so high up that we were actually sitting on clouds. Then the most unbelievable thing happened, like clockwork, around 11 am the clouds cleared and there below us was the most amazing view of all of Macchu Picchu. It{s a moment i{ll never ever forget. it was nothing short of magical. everyone gasped and just sort of sat there taking it in. I mean it was absolutely breathtaking to be sitting on top of clouds looking down at that. unreal. i just felt so fortunate. AFter staying up there for about 2 to 3 hours it began to rain again. it{s kind of crazy actually, the clouds come at you quickly and then engulf you in rain. it{s bizarre. So down we hiked praying we wouldnt slip and kill ourselves on the steep hike down. AFter lunch we went up to the top of Machu Picchu, the caretakers hut, and as our luck would hve it, the sun came out again and we got another unobstructed view of Machu Picchu. I truly felt like we were blessed with good luck that day. it was amazing.
I cannot begin to describe what Machu Picchu and the SAcred Valley of Peru are like. it{s an indescribable experience. But i know hiking through the valley and sitting on top of Waynapicchu I couldn{t help but hope that all of my friends and family would get to experience it some day.
again, thanks to Nooner for the all the excellent advice. i wouldn{t have changed our itinerary at all except to stay longer. so thank you!!