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Published: September 21st 2009
Greetings Blog Readers!
I think I signed off last time before we went off to Machu Picchu so I´ll fill you in on the details! Machu Picchu is basically why everybody comes to Peru, and really, South America. It was an ancient Inca City perched high in the mountains and was discovered by Hiram Bingham at the start of the 20th Century (although apparently many people knew about it before him but he was American, rich and important so everybody took notice once he´d found it!). Consequently, it is a huge draw for tourists, and hence, money for the country. This means that it´s illegal for tourists to use the local trains and the cost of going there is huge. However, it was definitely worth all the money!
We got up early and shared a taxi with a Brazillian, who was planning to go up and down Machu Picchu in one day, to Poroy station to get our Backpacker train to Agues Calientes - the small town at the bottom of the mountain nearest Machu Picchu. The train was late setting off due to engine failiure but we soon were on the way. The Backpacker is the cheapest of the 3 types of tourist trains but still costs $45 one way! There was little to no leg room but we sat opposite some French people who seemed nice and I could practice some of mon francais. We got into Agues Calientes just after midday and found our hostel. We then grabbed some lunch before going to the hot springs which were great. They weren´t as hot as the ones in Chivay but they had more sulphur in and we must have stayed in for about 3 hours! We got chatting to some Dutch and by the time we left the place was heaving because people were coming down from Machu Picchu to have a rest. We left the hot springs, checked out the markets, got some dinner (which was appaling) and went to bed early because we had a very early start in the morning!
We set our alarms for 4am but we were both up at about 3:30am. We packed a day bag and left our stuff in the luggage room. We then went to the join the queue for the first buses up to Machu Picchu which was already quite sizable! Laura queued for our bus tickets ($7) and I queued for the bus. Once it came at 5:30am we were on the 3rd bus in line which meant we got to go up Huyana Picchu which is one of the mountains either side of Machu Picchu which straddles the two. We got in at 6am and took the classic postcard pictures before going through the ruins quickly to join the Huyana Picchu queue (one queue too many for my liking!). We started trekking up at about 7:45am and reached the top before 8:30am. The views were truly amazing and the view of Machu Picchu from this angle beats the postcard pictures hands down! We got some great photos so can´t wait to show everybody when we get home!
We were pumped enough to go all the way around the mountain to some more ruins in the Great Cave. The downhill trek was treaterous and included some exposed wooden ladders with sheer drops nearby! Cracking. We found the caves which were extremely cave like in appearance and the Inca windows were just the right size to put my rucksack in...I sensed coincidence...Laura didn´t. We then walked back and joined the original pathway and got back to the entrance before midday. The suggested timescale was 4-5 hours but we beasted it in just over 3 hours so we think the altitude has done our fitness good and we didn´t feel like we´d rushed anything.
We sat near the Sacred Rock of the ruins which outlines the shapes of the mountains and decided how we should approach the ruins. We didn´t have a guide and our book has a few notes on it but it was interesting all the same. We saw the fountains and pools which still has running water going through them which was cool. We also saw the Temple of the Sun, which from the top, looks like the letter P. We then went through some special Temples and the pinnicle of the site was a rock carved specially for the Sun similar to the stones arranged at Stonehenge. The trajectory of the carvings symbolise how the Sun rises and sets during the year. Fittingly, we were going the day before the equinox so I thought it was quite special and tried to explain to Laura how the equinoxes work but she didn´t seem that bothered by "that rock in the middle".
We passed through the Royal Buildings before making an exit back down the mountain. We originally thought we might walk up but walking down affirmed that we had made a brilliant decision getting the bus. It took over an hour to walk downhill but we saved $7 in the process so it was worth it. We picked up our stuff from the hostel, had some lunch and then got the Vistadome train back (the middle tourist train at $71 for one way). This included food, drink, table (with tablecloth), a dancing jester and a catwalk show. It was bizarre. We both would have preferred the local train if we could. We got back to Cusco and found our new hostel and got a McDonalds (classic).
We got up early this morning for our flight to Puerto Maldonado which got us in by midday. We´re staying in the most amazing jungle lodge you´ve ever seen and they even have their own monkeys which come and play with us all the time. It´s really brilliant and they even have a swimming pool! Can´t wait to spend the next few days here and I´ll write another blog by the end of the week which will probably be our last of the holiday! Gutted like a fish!
Love Tink and Laura xxxxxx
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Dave Ryan
non-member comment
Hey guys, have been following the blog and it sounds like you've had an awesome time out there. Glad Machu Picchu lived up to your expectations and that the altitude has had at least some benefit! Hope you enjoy the rest of the holiday and have a safe journey back. :) Best wishes, Dave