Machu Pichu

What can be said about such a stunning place...I'll try my best to discribe what I saw but not even my pictures can really capture what a unique and breath taking expereince it was.

We left Urubamba very early in the morning about 5:30 to catch a combi to Ollaytantambo, where the train station is. The train ride was quite luxurious with plush chairs, a spectacular view, and a food service. We discovered later that the train ride itself costs about $180....We crawled through the towering mountians along the Urubamba River for about an hour. Some of the peaks were snow covered while others were the greenest green but all were covered in mystic clouds. I took many pictures of the montians and the few ruins that could be found in them including the ruins of argicultural terreces and store houses. At the time I it was the best thing I had ever seen, but these views wouldn't stay number one for long.

The last half hour of the train ride was through the jungle. It was just like I imagined, vines cascading in every dirrection, plants with huge leaves, and a penetrating heat that poured into the train car. We stopped at Aguas Calientes to catch a bus to the top of the mountian where runins of Machu Pichu reside. In reality, Machu Pichu is the mountian to side of the ruins. Pichu is the term for the wad of coca leaves that many Incans used to chew on, an action simular to chewing tobacco. I must say I have had a few pichus myself already on this trip.

The road the bus took consisted of many hairpin turns that took about 30 mins. As we continued to climb up the mountian, the view became more and more surreal. As I stopped to think about what I was doing, what I was accomplishing, I became reserved and reflexive. Machu Pichu wasn't just a place in my text books anymore, it was real and I was really going there. When we reached the top of the mountian the clouds were still thick around the mountian tops and the ruins. I was disappointed. Here I was at Machu Pichu, the archeological site of my dreams and I couldn't see it. I tried to take some pictures of the classic shot of the ruins with the mountian in the background but it wasn't the same...I was crushed.

Not five mins. after we toko a look at a sacrificial table (complete with a hole to tie up the animals so they couldn't escape), the sun came out and burned away the clouds. What Luck!!! I was able to see it all, the temples, the store houses, the agricultural terreces everything! And it was better than I had imagined. The stone work truely is amazing and it is true that you can not fit a credit card between the stones making up many of the walls even though they didn't use mortar. You can also easily tell which buildings were more sacred or important than others because the stone is more carfully cut and assembled. Although all the buldings are put together with great care. We toured the store houses first then the living quarters which looked very uncomfortable. Running water still cascades through the "plumbing system" that was used so long ago. We also say the temples and the buldings with special windows used during solstices. And I must not forget the Alpacas that roamed freely in the courtyard.

After the grand tour, many of us decided to go to Intipunku or the Sun Gate. We went along the Inca road itself for 1 and half miles strait up...I almost died but we made it. It was amazing to see the entire valley in one view. We ate fresh mango and just took in all in. We made a gift to Pachamanka (Mother Earth) of wine and olives to thank here as the Incas did. It was an amzing expereince and I didn't want to hike down.
I will go back someday and do the whole Inca trail...all four days of it. I want to walk where they walked and see what they saw.

I felt amazing at the top of that mountian and will carry it with me always.

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