Machu Picchu

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Our Machu Picchu tour guide's name was "Hamilton"; he commented that it was an unusual English name for a Peruvian. He told us we had the choice of an early start the next day to see the sunrise at Machu Picchu or to catch a later bus and have a more leisurely start to our day. The forecast was for cloud and some showers so we opted for more time in bed.

The day dawned cool and dreary with cloud so our alarm clock choice proved to be the right one.

We caught the bus to the top of the mountain with lots of other people. Wow, what a ride! It seemed like we were going backwards and forwards up the side of a cliff.

We found Hamilton at the prearranged spot at 8:30 am where we joined an enormous group of people. The large group was broken into smaller groups according to languages spoken and each group was given their own guide.

Fortunately Hamilton led the English-speaking group and we enjoyed his commentary as he showed us the main features of Machu Picchu and explained the purpose of the various buildings.

Much has been written about Machu Picchu since it was brought to the attention of the western world in 1911. A well preserved and reasonably intact area of ruins in a marvellous setting with great vistas in every direction.

It was interesting to study the stonework and compare it to what we had seen elsewhere. While there was some first class stonework, much is of an ordinary standard. It confirmed in my mind that Sacsayhuaman must have been 'something really special' before the Spaniards arrived. It also highlighted that the Incas achieved so much in just a few hundred years. They must have had both a good education system and great planners.

Hamilton completed his two hour commentary and tour of Machu Picchu at 10:30 am. We were now free to explore on our own so we had a little rest and then, acting on one of Hamilton's suggestions, we decided to view the "Inca Bridge".

We climbed back to the highest point of Machu Picchu then followed a trail around the hill. The trail became progressively narrower and the terrain ever more vertical. Eileen decided that this was not for her and headed back. I ventured forth to the bridge. Wow, what a trail! Very narrow with a sheer cliff both up and down for hundreds of metres!

The track was blocked off just prior to the bridge. The last section had ropes to hang onto as you edged along. I was glad that I did not meet someone coming the other way! I kept reassuring myself that the track had been there for 500 years so it was safe.

After reuniting with Eileen, we decided that we were both knackered from clambering up and down endless stone steps in the intense heat, so we headed back on the bus to Aguas Calientes.

Our itinerary said lunch at Toto’s House Restaurant but we had no voucher and neither of us recalled it being mentioned by our agent. It was getting a little late for lunch but I said let’s go and see what happens. We arrived and the hostess checked the role; no, we were not on the list for that day or the next! I stood my ground and waited as a series of phone calls were made. Eventually they let us in. I was not sure if they got the okay from our agent or they just got sick of us blocking the doorway!

Toto's House Restaurant seats 400 people and serves a nice all-you-can-eat buffet. The range of food was not as wide as some but the quality was good and certainly better than the evening meals we had in the main street of Aguas Calientes. Perhaps the best feature of the restaurant is the setting. It is perched right on the edge of the churning Urubamba River which is viewable from all the windows.

We decided we had time to visit the hot pools (drawn from the hot springs) before we were due to catch the train at 7pm. We walked up the track to the pools, more of an incline than we anticipated, and fortunately there were lots of chairs along the way.

The pool complex is fairly basic with five or six gravel bottom pools, all fairly small. The warm water was comforting on our aching knees and legs. Soon it was time to board the train back to Ollantaytambo and then a minivan to Cuzco.

The 1 hour 45 minute minivan ride had us tightening our seatbelts as the van careered around one corner after another in the dark. We were delighted when we arrived at our hostel in Cuzco and we were able to climb the last set of steps for the day, up to our comfy bed and a well earned sleep.

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