We woke up about 4:30 and got dressed. Fernando woke us up about 5 and the porters arrived at our tents with coca tea or coffee for us to drink. They also brought more hot water to wash in. We packed up our stuff and were off to hike without breakfast. We were the last out of camp but quickly caught up with the pack. Fernando and a porter had to take Katherine back to the beginning because she was sick, but she'll spend another night in Ollantaytambo and one in Agua Calientes and meet us at Machu Picchu on Saturday. Ryan, Me, Franzesca and Chenine broke away from the group and were hiking ahead. At our first break Ryan went ahead on his own. Today's hike was almost all uphill. We were in the cloud forest, which was full of waterfalls, streams, llamas, and trees.
The hike was hard and we finally saw a campsite, but it was a false alarm for our breakfast stop. Luckily, the next stop was the breakfast point, because we were tired. We arrived only a couple of minutes behind Ryan, at 7:24. As soon as we stopped we were freezing as our sweat cooled and the clouds rolled in. Not above us, because we were high enough we were in the clouds! Ryan took off his shirts and only wore his fleece, but I layered with everything I had.
We had to wait about 20 minutes for Tom, Sylgie, Miami, and Betina. David, Bernie, and Martine showed up after that and we washed up and sat down for breakfast. There was hot water for tea, although this time I had 3 scoops of chocolate powder and one of instant coffee. It was like a camping mocha! Ryan had coca tea and we ate thick break that tasted like Hawaiian bread, or pound cake only not as sweet. It was really good if you spread honey on it. Next was porridge with apples and then pancakes! I had warm caramel on mine. We used a toilet that was a porcelain hole in the ground, and then were on our way up to Dead Woman's Pass at 4200m!
This section we stayed closer to the group, with a slower pace and more breaks, it was very very steep! The 4 of us still ended up out front! I was the first to the top of the pass, it was freezing as the clouds and wind came pouring over the top. We sat and rested and waited for the group. When Kim and Cesar got close , Ryan and Chenine went down to encourage her the rest of the way. She started crying when they got there! Everyone started singing "She's a Lady" when she reached the top. After Kim rested Cesar pulled us into a circle on the top of the pass, congratulated us for making it and said he had a present for us. He pulled out a bottle of whiskey, poured a capful, and blessed the mountains and the places we'd been. Then he went around the circle and poured some into each of our mouths! Sebastian got several mouthfuls since it was his birthday. Ryan wiped his chin on Cesar's back, and we took a group pictures in front of the marker on the top of the pass. We gathered our stuff and headed down the other side of the mountain. It was steep and tocky stairs, but not too long so we made it to camp in a few hours.
I ran immediately to use the bathroom - which had toilets that flushed! And sat down at camp, which was relaxing. I changed into my long underwear and then it was time for lunch. The porter's served us hot tea, coup, then mashed potatoes, a peruvian grain that is like cous cous but isn't, and steak in a red sauce and salad.
After lunch most people went back to their tents to sleep but Ryan and I just rested. He fell asleep for about 1 minutes then he tickle-war'ed me and steamrolled over me in the tent! He heard Sebastian out frolicking with wine so he went outside and went with him and Tom to look through the other camps for British girls. It was rainging though so I stayed in the tent, and no one was out. The rain stopped after awhile and I ventured out to the bathroom and it was time for tea. More biscuits with jam and honey, which prompted a discussion over the usage of the words biscuit/cookie/cracker, etc. There were also things like fried wontons with cheese or apple filling inside. After tea the group was standing around talking and we decided to play limbo for Sebastian's birthday. We used a hiking pole and on the second round we convinced 2 porters to play with us! David had a great running start technique, Sebastian looked goofy, Tom almost broke his back and Betina looked like she was gumby! I won the first round and Sebastian and I made it to the finals of the second. After that was dinner, more tea sounp and spaghetti noodles with meat and a sauce that looked like stroganoff. There was dessert! The porter chef baked Sebastian a birthday cake and used the caramel sauce from the pancakes for frosting! All the porters came down and we sang Happy Birthday in English and Spanish. There was also chocolate pudding. Ryan thought he was getting a migraine but some chocolate, coffee, and ibuprofen headed it off.
It was colder than the first night so Ryan and I took a trip to the bathroom using his headlamp. It was slightly scary scrossing the wet wooden bridge across the creek made by the waterfall. Then we snuggled into our sleeping bags but it started raining and we were worried about the tent leaking because the sides were wet, but the porters tied the side of the tent to another tent so at least my side stayed dry. When we woke up in the morning only Ryan's hat really got wet so it wasn't too bad.
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