Machu Picchu and a Marriage Proposal

This is the second installment of our Peru adventure. You can find the first one here, but if what you are here for is just the Machu Picchu proposal part, you can skip the link and keep reading on.

MACHU PICCHU

We woke up early in the morning and caught a bus into Machu Picchu. As we entered the site, the clouds still covered most of everything, which gave it a silent but powerful vibe. As we explored, the clouds drifted off, revealing more and more of itself as the morning went on.

Berty and I listened as our guide told us many interesting details about this ancient city.

Our favorite detail was how the stones were carved to fit perfectly together without mortar!

I was amazed to hear how advanced this civilization was.

It’s also fascinating how they used the mountain and stonework to work together in their buildings.

The picture below shows you how they used the natural rock to lay the foundation for some buildings. Cool!!

After touring the ruins, our next adventure was hiking Machu Picchu Mountain.

We had to get a permit to hike because they only allow a certain number of people per day.

We also had to bring our passport and sign in and sign out when we finished. I am curious about how many people were lost before they made this rule…..

This was probably one of the hardest hikes I’ve ever done. (I can’t speak for Berty -he’s been on lots).

We gained over 2,000 feet in elevation and the trail was 90% old Inca stairs.

So just pretend you are on a stair-stepper at the gym…for two hours. Oh, and did I mention the stairs were also on the edge of the mountain?

Yeah, I wanted to forget that too.

We finally made it to the top and enjoyed the itty-bitty version of Machu Picchu from 10,000 feet! We also got to see the rainbow flag of Cusco at the top of the mountain.

When we were at the top, about to begin our decent, Berty proposed!

He had kept the ring in his backpack (shockingly out of sight from me!) the entire week. We were some of the last people still at the summit because it was nearing the time that the trail closed.

After a while, he helped me up to my feet, said a few sweet things in my ear, and bent down on one knee. The ring was beautiful, that moment was beautiful, and Berty was perfect for me, so OF COURSE, I said yes!!

P.S. I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures of Berty kneeling! Our friend Aidan was busy taking a video instead! I’ve put the link here so you can watch. 🙂

One hilarious fact was that the ring didn’t fit my finger right away. It might have been a combination of the altitude and hiking because my fingers were swollen!

We met up with the rest of our group to share the good news.

We spent the night celebrating in Aguas Calientes and enjoying each other’s company! This was a fantastic way to end a memorable week in Peru with my…fiancé.