Machu Picchu!

Day One:

This morning we were up at 4:45 AM, so excited to visit Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas. We had to take a 3 hour train ride from Cusco to Aguas Calientes, the town where Machu Picchu is located. So, after breakfast, our bus left at 6 to take us to the train station. The VistaDome train left at 6:57 AM. Overall, the ride was nice--quiet and incredibly scenic. They even served us a small snack with a yummy chocolate caramel muffin, purple bread (made with purple corn), and oregano bread, which is delicious.

We arrived in Aguas Calientes, walked to our hotel, checked in and by that time, we were so ready to explore Machu Picchu! The entire area around Machu Picchu is gorgeous! There are huge mountain peaks, the Urubamba River running through the valley and lots of lush vegetation. In fact, we saw several orchids, impatiens, and begonias growing wild along the railroad tracks.

We were inside the park by around 1:30 PM, after most of the tourists had left for the day. This was so nice because it was not very crowded at all and we had four hours to walk around Machu Picchu before it closed for the day.

Machu Picchu is spectacular! First walking through the gates is awe inspiring!! The first thing you see is Wayna Picchu in the distance (the prominent mountain in most pictures of the Lost City). Next, you notice all the green grass on the many terraces around the site. Lastly, you focus on all the buildings and the Inca architecture. (Bryan also thought that the whole thing was smaller than he had imagined)

We spent our time walking the entire site with our guide. This was helpful because he gave us lots of good information about Machu Picchu and each of the buildings.

Interesting facts about Machu Picchu:

 • Machu Picchu means "old mountain" in Quechua and Wayna Picchu means "young mountain"

 • The Inca picked this location because it was close to water source (Urubamba River) and because it faced east to west for sun exposure. They were farmers and needed the light for their crops.

 • Workers had to bring soil from other areas because none is there. They used granite, gravel and soil to make hundreds of terraces.

 • The terraces were built to protect the area from erosion.

 • Machu Picchu was found by the American, Hiram Bingham, in 1911. An 11 year old farmer boy named Pablito gave him a tour because at that time, only 3 farming families lived there.

 • Bingham realized no one else had ever been there before and brought his own expedition team in 1912. He stayed till 1915.

 • All the architecture there is original and the site is only maintained. If something collapses, they do not re-build it. Given that the area is prone to earthquakes, it is such a wonder that these things have survived over 500 years!


COOL THINGS ABOUT TODAY:

--We were at Machu Picchu!!!

--We had the place mostly to ourselves, very few tourists.

--Everywhere you looked was so gorgeous, it inspired a picture. It has been said one cannot take a bad picture at Machu Picchu and I think that is probably correct.

--The vastness of the scenery. The steep mountain peaks, covered in clouds, with the valley and river roaring below. Plus, you were in an ancient city built in the 1500s!

--Learning more about the Inca way of life.

--The weather was perfect, sunny and about 75 degrees.

--Dinner in Aguas Calientes was really good. Elderberry chicken is wonderful...as are cookies filled with caramel!


YUCKY THINGS ABOUT TODAY:

--Because we were on a tour, we did not get the chance to really explore on our own. But, that is the plan for tomorrow.

--The half an hour bus ride up the mountain from Aguas Calientes. While it was very pretty, it was also super steep and very narrow roads. Ugh!

--We were sweaty and smelled like bug spray all day.

--Our hotel sucks. It's not very clean, has no amenities and no TV. We also saw some huge bugs in the lobby. Luckily, we're only here one night and we're getting up really early in the morning so Bryan can climb Wayna Picchu.


My goal for tomorrow is to pet one of the llamas that roam around the terraces of Machu Picchu.

Day Two:

Today we were up at 4:30 AM to get ready for our trip back to Machu Picchu. The first bus to the top leaves at 5:30 AM. All the people who want to climb Wayna Picchu (my crazy husband included!!) strive to get on it. Only 400 people per day are allowed to climb the mountain and the climb begins at 7 AM.

We arrived at the bus stop at 5:20 and there were already several hundred people in front of us.....and it was raining! We got on the 17th bus around 5:45 AM. About halfway up the long, winding road to the park, the rain stopped for the day. Yea! :) However, I knew that we would not be one of the lucky people to see a sunrise at Machu Picchu. (Chances are 50/50, it's just as likely to be really cloudy)

All you could see through the bus windows were clouds and mist. The weird thing was not being able to see the huge mountains you knew were there. Everything was a blanket of white.

We got in line for the park entrance around 6:05 (with hundreds of others). As soon as we got through the gates, we really quickly walked to the line to climb Wayna Picchu at the back of the park. (I only tripped 3 times....)

We were in line (with hundreds of others) by 6:30. At this point, we were very worried that Bryan would not be one of the lucky 400 to climb the mountain for the day. However, as we waited in line, a park official came up to us and asked if he wanted the 7 AM climb or the 10 AM climb. Bryan chose 7 o'clock and was waved ahead to the Wayna Picchu entrance!

We were both so relieved! Bryan was also very nervous :) They wrote a number 57 on his ticket, so I guess Bryan was the 57th person to climb Wayna Picchu that day. Because the climb is dangerous, and yes people have died, they make you sign in and out of a log book. If you have not logged out by late afternoon, they go looking for your body....seriously.

Anyway, Bryan logged in at 7:15 AM. I looked up at the sky as he enter the gate to climb Wayna Picchu and saw the first little bit of blue sky appearing through the clouds. I knew then that it was going to be a great day!

While Bryan climbed, I just wandered around the ruins. I was glad our guide had given us a tour the day before because on your own, it just was not as impressive when you are not sure what you are looking at.

I knew I wanted to make it up to the Guard House, a great lookout point over all of Machu Picchu. It is the place where all the postcard pictures are taken. However, at first I could not find a way up there. I kept getting lost. The nice thing about getting there early is the lack of crowds around the ruins.....everyone was climbing the mountain instead. Only a few small groups were walking around.

So, I finally found a staircase that would take me up to the Guard House and I was the only one on it. As I was walking up the stairs, a llama started to come down the staircase! I was so excited, but also a bit nervous--on a long, steep staircase, high in the air, with an unpredictable animal. But it was so cool! He passed me without incident and I did get to pet him!!! (My goal was achieved by 8:05 AM :)

I continued up the many stairs till I reached the terraces near the Guard House. There I saw tons of llamas! (okay, supposedly there are only 23 resident llamas, but probably half of them were sitting and sunning themselves and eating the grass). 2 llamas were right on the edge of a terrace, overlooking all of Machu Picchu.

It was a beautiful sight!! It was also incredibly peaceful just sitting up there. The crazy thing was that the scenery changed every few minutes as the clouds shifted. Sometimes you could see Wayna Picchu, then one minute later, it would be covered by clouds again! Same thing with all the mountains surrounding the area.

I sat at the Guard House for a long time, just taking in the sights, relaxing and of course, taking pictures. At one point, I got really excited. I was taking a short video of the surroundings, including the llamas about 10 ft. in front of me. The llamas started to walk right toward me as I was filming! It was interesting....and I had to pet them too. :)

Bryan thought he would be done climbing around 10, so I made my way back down to the Wayna Picchu entrance. He logged out of the book at 10:25 AM, looking sweaty and exhausted, but with a huge grin on his face!!

We rested for a bit and then went exploring some more. Bryan said the climb was not extremely strenuous, so he was ready to see the view from the Guard House.....more stairs for him. He also mentioned right away that I should be glad I did not climb with him, steem inclines, climbing through holes in the rock, sharp drop offs and tiny stairs. But he, of course, loved it!

The way back to the Guard House was not as enjoyable because all the tourists had arrived. We did get close enough to pet a few more llamas.....We timed it right, though, because the Guard House area was not crowded at all when we got there. So, on the most scenic terrace, Bryan set up his tripod and we took lots of pictures of the two of us.

After taking pictures, we were ready to leave Machu Picchu and head back down to Aguas Calientes for lunch (and shopping at the market!). For lunch, we ate at Inca Wasi. The first thing Bryan ordered was a well-deserved local beer, Cusquena. Then we split a Hawaiian pizza-ham, tomato, pineapple. It was great!

Our train left for Cusco at 3:25 PM, so we had about 45 minutes after lunch to shop in the market near the train station. We bought a few things (a small pan flute for me! :), but I was reluctant to buy a lot here because we were going to the Pisac market later in the trip. According to our guide, it was bigger and better.

NOTE: Shopping in Peru takes a long time because you have to bargain...in Spanish, none the less. It is customary to offer 50% of the price given. However, most vendors did not give us that price. We paid about 25% less than asking price. All my Spanish came back to me, and I am quite proud of all the bargaining I did.

When we got on the VistaDome, Bryan and I discovered we did not have seats together. At least we were across the aisle from one another for the FOUR hour ride back. It should have been 3, but we had to stop at one point to replace the train engine!

Both the rides on the train were nice--the seats were comfy and the views out the large picture windows were spectacular. However, after such a really long day, it was great to get back to our hotel in Cusco. The altitude in Aguas Calientes was 8,000 ft., so coming back up to 11,000 ft. really bothered me again. I had a pounding headache, tingling extremities and nausea, so we just ate dinner in the hotel restaurant. (I had mashed potatoes and some of Bryan's French fries! It was all that sounded good)

After dinner, we did laundry in the sink. Also, it felt great to shower after being all dirty and gross from Machu Picchu. What an incredible two days!!!

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Part of trip: Adventures in South America

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