Machu Picchu... the EXTREME edition!

Sorry it's been SO long since I've written. It's been an absolute whirlwind since the moment Britt arrived. We've been to the farm, the beach, convents, museums, plazas, ruins, llama farms, AND Machu Picchu!
I can't even begin to explain the ridiculousness of our day yesterday. Let's just say it started at 3am (after arriving at 1am) with a cold, rainy, dark hike up, up, up, up, up and up to the entrance to Machu Picchu... just so we could stand in line in the rain for another hour to be one of the first 400 people to enter to get a ticket to climb yet another mountain! If you're confused - so were we! BUT after hardly any sleep, close to no food, and the hike of a lifetime we descended by bus around 2:30 pm and wanted nothing more than a shower and a bed... but oh wait, we didn't have access to any of that AND our train wasn't until 9:30pm! We made do with lunch, hot water pools, a mojito, and open chairs in the hostel!
Anyway, I would love to and HAVE to write more, but it's the last few hours I have in Peru for at least three months and I'm loving spending them with Britt and Kike. We've done some eating, some shopping, some museum going, and now it's off to mass at the plaza center cathedral and then some more eating and a lot of packing (of wet clothes mind you... ewwww)!
Can't wait to post pics and tell you more about this crazy amazing experience of one of the world's manmade wonders!
Kate

PS. For those of you who are wondering, I head to Guayaquil, Ecuador tomorrow but won't be flying to the jungle until Friday. So, I should be in touch and traveling a little around Guayaquil and Quito Ecuador this week.
Also, GOOD NEWS!!!! There IS internet at the lodge close to the community where I will be staying in Ecuador! Woo Hoo!