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A visit to Machu Picchu has been on my bucket list for many a long year; finally at 73 years of age I've done it! And what an experience it has been!
After our night at the Waman Hotel in Agus Calientes we were up very early to catch the bus to Machu Picchu, a journey which takes thirty minutes on an extremely windy and narrow road. The first bus left at 5.30am and they run all day, every few minutes. With so many other tourists wanting to visit this wonder of the Inca world, apparently people start queueing from 4am to catch the first bus to view the sunrise from up there. We weren't quite that eager, but to save time had purchased return tickets the night before. We arrived some time before 5.30am to find a very long queue of other people also waiting for the buses. But, as one bus is full the next one starts packing people in so we didn't have to wait long, arriving at the top just a bit after 6am which was the time sunrise was due. You can imagine the queue waiting to get through the turnstiles but it happened in
a fairly organised manner.
Once in we walked towards Machu Picchu village. And what a wonderful sight it was; the sun hadn't quite peeped it's way over the mountains which surround the area. But we were oh so lucky to have a perfect day since the clouds and rain obscure the view on many days. JD remarked that just about all his friends who had been there hadn't been that lucky with the weather. So we were blessed!
Having decided to climb up to the summit of Machu Picchu Mountain, at 7.30am, we registered at the entrance gate where we had to record our name, age and the time we left and then fill in the details when we returned which, for us, turned out to be about six hours later.
The great majority of those climbing were young and the steep climb was as hard on those younger than us as it was on us. Obviously most of the younger people made it in a shorter time that we took, nevertheless quite a few didn't make it all the way up and had to go back. But we soldiered on, talking to other climbers on the
way up so that by the time we got to the summit it seemed like we were meeting old friends again!
A few metres short of the summit we stopped to chat to two couples from the USA who we'd spoken to earlier when they overtook us on the way up. Anyway, during our chat I mentioned the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum in NYC to which one of the guys said "Since you're Australians, do you by any chance know Seb Chan?" When we told him that Seb was our son-in-law he told us that, while Seb was working at the Cooper Hewitt, he'd interviewed him for part of his PHD. Talk about Six Degrees of Separation! How incredible to meet like that and what a place to do It in! Amazingly for me, I didn't take a photo, or even get the guys name! We were, at that point in time, just eager to get to the top where Marian and JD were waiting for us. So that's my excuse! When we finally made the summit quite a few people clapped while others asked to have their photos taken with us! So now I've obviously had the fifteen
minutes of fame which Andy Wahol promised we all get!!
(As a postscript to this meeting I've since discovered - through a Linkedin he sent to Seb - that the gentleman in question was Jacob who I've now been able to contact myself. Connection to others, it would seem, is so much easier in a digital world!)
What a view it was at the top of the mountain overlooking the village of Machu Picchu at 3061 metres about sea level. The summit of Macchu Picchu is framed by the snowy glacial peaks of the Salcantay and Veronica mountains in one direction wIth the village of Machu Picchu in the other. Apparently the tourist area of Machu Picchu only represents one percent of the area once occupied by the great Inca civilisation.
It was all definitely worth the hard slog to get to the top where we rested for half and hour, ate some lunch and then slowly started our way down. For some of the very narrow and steep rocks we had to go down on our bum; at least myself and JD did. In some ways Kev and I both found the treck down was harder
than the climb up. Our legs can still feel it! So you can imagine the relief we felt when we finally sighted the little hut where we were able to sign ourselves off the list of climbers.
Than it was off to walk around and explore some of the village. Kev went back to meet Marian and JD at a pre-arranged meeting spot while I decided to go it alone to explore more of the village. Marian and JD then arranged for a guide to take them on a tour. At 3.30pm all four of us once again met at the exit to catch the bus back to Aguas Calientes, pick up our bags from the hotel and catch the train back to Cusco. The train journey itself was interesting, not only for the views along the way but after feeding us some refreshments the Peru Rail staff entertained us during some of the journey back which was a lot of fun.
Most archaelogists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachaciti (1438–1472). Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas" it is the most familiar icon of Inca civilisation.
The Incas built the estate around 1450 but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Although known locally, it was not known to the Spanish during the colonial period and remained unknown to the outside world until American historian Hiram Bingham brought it to international attention in 1911 after learning of its existence from local indigenous farmers.
But what's so fascinating about the place is wondering just how they managed to built the place so high up and locked in by the surrounding mountains. Just how did they transport all those huge rocks to the site? And what was the purpose to live so high in the mountains rather than in the valley below? Since the Incas didn't have a written language the reasons for building Machu Picchu are not clear and has been open to much speculation. But it certainly is a fascinating and interesting place to visit in a truly beautiful area of the world. Photos can't ever do the views justice.
But do go to see it for yourself if you get half a chance, Kev and I - plus Marian and JD - are now delighted to have a
Machu Picchu stamp in our passports!
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Margaret Foy
non-member comment
Well done honeymooners!!
Congratulations on climbing to the summit of Machu Piicchu. It seems quite a long way. I did the Hazards in Tasmaniia and that is supposed to be Difficult. I had water and some sticky log liviiii