With some prodding we walked out the front gate at about 5:50am. It didn’t take long on the windy up and down streets for Lisa to get car-sick on top of her pounding headache. I couldn't watch but the kids were busy counting stray dogs; there were so many the counting didn't last long. The dogs did prompt Mack to say," I'd rather have raccoons eating out of my trash than dogs." I tried to fill out another round of paperwork with passport numbers etc in the van while Lisa was pretty much incapacitated. She was unsteady but thrilled to get out of vehicle at the Poroy train station after perhaps 30 minutes. Oswaldo stopped enroute to buy us some water bottles to use for our hike to Mach Picchu. Oswaldo was accompanied by a 2nd guide, Marilyn. As we unloaded Oswaldo asked if we had brought our face shields—oops, we thought those were only necessary on the planes. He returned after several minutes with 9 face shields. He thought they would serve food on the train, but service was suspended due to COVID so we grabbed some crackers from a vendor on the corner. The train departed on time at 6:40 kicking off the next phase of our adventure. The train rocked slowly but not quite gently side to side the entire way. Within minutes the rising sun illuminated our surroundings and we passed gradually through towns into more rural agricultural lands. By most appearances the Peruvian Andes are farmed by hand and animal pulled plow. Eventually we reached a series of switch backs where the caboose and engine took turns leading and following as we descended into the Sacred Valley of the Vilcanota or Urubamba River. It became apparent why the train departs from Ollantaytambo during the rainy season—the steep pass is subject to rock slides that would easily strand the train. We passed the famous Skylodge Adventure Suites—transparent walled hotel rooms built hanging on the cliff face that must be reached by rock climbing.
A friendly conductor named Francsico struck up a long conversation with us in English he had learned while living in Arizona. He called himself a “dry Mormon” and said getting married was his only obstacle to being baptized. He had been a supervisor but those roles had been eliminated in the tourist drought caused by COVID. He had opened a restaurant in the meantime to supplement his income. As we proceeded down the valley we saw the prominent snow-capped peak of Mount Veronica or Wayna Willka that towered over the valley at 19,334 feet. The trains are designed with glass windows that provide views of the steep walled valley. Unfortunately the impressive ruins at Ollantaytambo are hardly visible from the train despite their proximity. At kilometer 104 the train stopped and we bid farewell to grandma and hopped off daypacks and sack lunches in hand. We were feeling a bit alone as there was clearly no turning back now. We paused for a photo in front of the sign marking the stop and then crossed a footbridge over the Urubamba. A bit further along we arrived to the check point where we had our papers checked and had to don our masks and shields yet again. One final pit stop and we were leaving civilization behind. A light rain fell portending the water that would follow us for the day. The ruins at Cachabamba are small but can be intimately explored in a few minutes to provide a taste of what lies ahead and above us. Once out of site of Cochabamba we were able to remove our face coverings until Winay Wayna. Oswaldo led the way with our crew spread out and Marilyn keeping an eye out for stragglers at the rear. 
Back to the sack lunches which normally wouldn’t warrant notice. Since we missed breakfast we snacked a bit from them on the train. Mack even peeled the first orange of his life - a big day indeed. Each lunch was in a paper grocery bag with handles and had three heavy clam shell paper cartons inside, a combination that couldn’t be squished into a backpack without spilling some contents. We already had daypacks and water, but I was destined to carry four of these bags for most of the next 7 miles. I think ludicrous is a fair assessment. I began to joke that I was delivering the groceries to Machu Picchu via the Inka Trail. I should have been working for Door Dash or Grub Hub. Not surprisingly, Kate wasn’t feeling well and was sure she wouldn’t make it. She fell to the rear of the pack and I alternated between encouraging her and leaving her behind hoping she would pick up the pace without an ear to complain to. We sighted a number of new bird species but we weren’t packing the book and Oswaldo wasn’t a wildlife guide so several went unidentified. He did point out numerous gorgeous orchid species on the trail side and said that some of the bromeliads were favorites of the Andean Spectacled Bears that we hoped to see. As we climbed steadily across and up the mountain side there were periodic shaded rest areas. The weather was pleasant with enough moisture and shade to feel pleasant after our time in the Amazon. 
As we rounded a bend to our left our next destination came into view, the spectacular ruins of Winay Wayna. If I didn’t know what was in store for us at Machu Picchu, I would have been satisfied with hiking to see Winay Wayna. We could see in front of us the three sets of ruins at different altitudes, but nearly in a vertical line. Now we had an immediate goal and knew just how much higher we had to climb, and more importantly, for Kate, just how far she had to go before she would find a restroom. Before the final climb to Winay Wayna we paused at a bridge below a sparkling water fall for a family photo. Entrance to Winay Wayna comes via a cleft in the stone mountainside. The path turns and rises through the natural break and then the hillside ruins are at your feet, in front of, and above you. The main structures had windows that overlooked the valley beneath or the waterfall on the opposite side. A fountain was hewn for water to course from the top of the site down through the dwellings providing fresh water and refreshing background noise. Whichever Inca was in charge of site selection knew what he was doing. The guard on site made sure we put our masks back on as we walked the ruins and told us he had seen a bear earlier that morning! After hiking up through the ruins and across the terraces we paused at some benches to eat our lunches and use the restrooms. The restrooms consisted of a pee hole in the ground which was a memorable shock to the girls. We had chicken and a quinoa veggie mix that was actually tasty in addition to a sandwich, fruit and muffin. Even after Andrew fed loads of leftovers to the luckiest stray dog on the Inca trail we still had several grocery bags to carry the remainder of the trek. 
Can you see our trail across the mountains? Looking back on where we had come from was such an incredible part of the journey.
The rain began in earnest and within an hour had changed from refreshing to a bit chilly as we moved beyond damp. Yes, I could have brought my poncho, but that would have made too much sense. Kate kept up with the boys as they moved ahead and it was much more enjoyable to not be coaxing and coercing a resistant child. About this point Lily said that she was having so much fun she would do it again tomorrow! I then realized no one was complaining, and all seemed to be enjoying it. We had worried about how they would handle this day of hiking and it was awesome to have it be such a success. At one point Andrew picked up his pace and disappeared in the distance. Just when I was beginning to wonder or worry about him we caught up to him at a stunning rock overlook. He said he timed it and he had been 9 minutes ahead of us. The next stretch was pretty flat until we reached the final ascent to Intipunku or the Sun Gate. The skies were overcast and my anxiety increased as I imagined reaching the pass and not getting the payoff view of Machu Picchu. I wanted to be at Lisa’s side to see her expression and reaction but she stayed ahead of me. The last climb is steep, but not long, but still left me needing to catch my breath at the top. And that was before I looked down. There were clouds below us, but they didn’t obscure the Inca treasure of Machu Picchu. Speechless and breathless. We did it! Bob walked every step and the rest of the way would be downhill. Oswaldo was a great guide but not the best photographer. The family photos he took won’t be framed but fall in the evidence of an amazing experience category. It was a gift that the clouds allowed us our view that day - if we had arrived earlier or later we may have missed it entirely.
I lingered to take more pictures from different angles as the rest of the crew began the descent in a light drizzle. I thought back to when Brad and I had hiked up to Intipunku from Machu Picchu in the rain and specifically how slick some of the 500-year-old stone steps had been. Within 100 yards from the viewpoint there was a scream from below. We rushed forward to find that Lily had slipped on the wet rock trail (she later said she had been jumping and didn’t slip, but I’m not too sure about that). Andrew reached her first and exclaimed that she had lost teeth. My heart was in my stomach as I steeled myself to reach her side. Lisa cupped her head in her hands and I could see more blood than I wanted to dripping into and through her fingers. Bob wailed and opened her mouth—I’ve never been so happy to see all those scraggle teeth. It turns out she had been eating Mentos and the white candy pieces in her mouth had been mistaken for white teeth. Beneath her chin was a nasty inch wide gash, deep enough to see white flesh. If were home, I knew she would be getting stitches, or at least some super glue to close it. But what would we have here? And we were still a long way from help.
Gratefully, I'd had the inspiration to bring band-aids in my day kit. It took several but I had enough band-aids to completely cover Bob’s chin. We had a mile and a quarter of downhill slippery steps to reach Machu Picchu and then the bus ride down to Aguas Calientes before there would be hopes of more significant medical attention. With the rain and slick rock conditions I didn’t dare carry her down so we held hands and walked all the way together. I tried to comfort her as best I could and we both slipped at points and were glad we were able to help keep each other upright. Oswaldo walked quickly ahead to see what may be available at Machu Picchu. Bob cried most of the way but was definitely calmer by the time we encountered Oswaldo on his way back up a couple of hundred yards from the bus station. She was definitely being a trooper.
Oswaldo was carrying a small plastic sack that bulged with something much larger than a band-aid. He explained that it was an egg and that they used the egg membranes traditionally to seal and close wounds. That sounded interesting, but not the thing to do on the side of the trail at this point. At the outdoor restaurant we laid Bob back on a couple of the chairs and waited for Lisa before making the next decision. I was walking slow ans careful with Emily; we were also slipping and saved each other from falls more than once. Marilyn luckily stayed in the back with Kate so I could keep moving forward to catch up to Lily. When Lisa joined us Oswaldo explained the theory of how as the membrane dries it would pull the skin from each side of the wound and hold them together while it healed. We decided to give it a go. Bob was a good sport and Oswaldo seemed to know what he was doing. About 30 minutes later we were on a packed bus heading down the switchbacks of the Hiram Bingham Highway. The last hour had been chaotic enough that I didn’t dwell on my frustrations that we weren’t able to spend time at Machu Picchu that afternoon without buying another $400+ of tickets. We had hoped that Mom would be waiting for us at the bus, but Oswaldo had thoughtfully called the hotel and confirmed that she had arrived safely after her afternoon alone at Machu Picchu.
Thi is what it looked like when I took off the egg membrane.
We were relieved to meet my mom just in front of the hotel headed out to find something to eat. I found a nearby pharmacy and bought an anti-septic and some first aid tape but they didn’t appear to have butterfly bandages, or if they did, they didn’t understand my Spanglish well enough. Back at the hotel the membrane had filled with blood as the wound hadn’t closed. Oswaldo helped us find dinner to go from an expensive by Peruvian standards restaurant, but the food satisfied everyone. I returned to the pharmacy with a picture of a butterfly bandage on my phone which left me more confident that they didn’t have any. The local clinic had closed before we made it down the hill. Lisa removed the membrane and cleaned the cut and reapplied band-aids and tape to try to seal the gash. We did our best to hang our wet clothes to dry and eventually figured out that the standalone appliances were dehumidifiers, not air conditioners. The little reservoir filled up twice during our stay and had to be emptied to get the dehumidifier to turn back on but the effort was worth it because our clothes were dry in the morning (Sadly, the kids humidifier hadn't worked so well and they still had a bunch of damp clothes). Sleep came quickly to the physically and mentally exhausted. Natali's watch said she went 124 flights of stairs and 8.8 miles- the accuracy is debatable but one way or another the kids were amazing that day!
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