Birthday in the Clouds

Most women fear their 30th birthday. Thirty means you’re old. A bonafide adult. An old hag.

Ok. Maybe not an old hag, but definitely no longer cool.

So from the minute I entered the last year of my twenties, I started planning a distraction. How would cool / hip twenty year-old me want to end the decade?

An adventure to the top of Machu Picchu sounded spot on.

I spent months planning the entire trip to South America with the goal of reaching Machu Picchu by my birthday. I even convinced my boyfriend, notorious homebody, to come with me.

Finally reaching our destination and looking out over the ruins of Machu Picchu, over 8,000ft above the rainforest, was indescribable. I sat there at the peak for some time – experiencing wave after wave of emotion – thankfulness for the opportunity, wonder at the human ingenuity, but mostly awestruck by the natural beauty. It was truly an amazing experience.

Our guide also made the day extra special – not only showing us to all of the highlights of the city, but also taking us on side excursions that are typically not possible. I got to pet the baby llamas living there in the ruins, saw one of the rare wild chinchillas up close, and even had a spectacular double rainbow over the Andes to end my day.

While this wasn’t my first birthday abroad, it certainly was one of the most magnificent.

// Onward & Upward //

~ K