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Published: June 15th 2010
So last night as we were getting ready for bed in our hostel, the lady who runs the place came and knocked on our door. We had no idea why but when Sarah opened the door, the lady said there were two gentlemen downstairs looking for us. It felt like we were ladies of the night or something with weird men downstairs but she mentioned the name "Roberto" so we knew it was Robb and Dave.
We went down and sure enough, it was our new friends. They had changed their plans last minute and spent Monday at Machu Picchu and they hadn't checked their e-mail for awhile so they didn't know where we were until late, so we missed our dinner together. No worries - we've planned to meet back up with them in Cuzco on Thursday. We sat outside with them for awhile while they gave us tips on Machu Picchu then were off to bed for our busy day today.
This morning we woke up around 5:15am, got our stuff ready and were at the bus stop by 5:45am, despite being told that we should line up at 3:30am if we wanted to be one of
Sunrise Hike
Hiked to to top of Watchman's Hut to get the postcard view and watch the sun hit the ruinsthe lucky 400 who get to climb Waynapicchu. Waynapicchu is the huge mountain that you see in the background behind all of the typical postcard photos of Machu Picchu. We had decided we would do the climb but also had heard from another guy that he went at 10am and was still able to climb. We decided to leave it up to fate and if we got tickets, we got tickets.
When we got to the bus, there was NO line at all. The first bus leaves at 5:20 apparently and then the buses just leave as they're full or every 10 minutes or so. We waited about 10 minutes and then were on our way. The bus trip took about 20 minutes and was back and forth on a winding road up the mountain.
The park of Machu Picchu opens at 6am. They say that you cannot enter with plastic water bottles (canteens only) and that you can't have food in the park. These rules are not strictly enforced. No one is there checking your bag and people are all around the park snacking or drinking from plastic bottles. Sarah and I did decide to check our
bags though. We had bought fruit, chips, crackers, etc. so we wouldn't have to spend money in the apparently ridiculously overpriced cafeteria. We paid a guy S3 ($1) to look after our bags but you can bring your bags out and check it back as many times as you want.
Anyways, we arrived at the park around 6:30 and headed straight to the "guardhouse", as we heard this was the best place to watch the "sunrise" (This is also where all the typical shots of Machu Picchu are taken from). The sun had actually already risen, but it was at around 7:20 that the sun finally peaks over the mountain and sheds light on all the ruins.
Sarah and I were so happy to be there. I felt overwhelmed that I was actually there and seeing the exact images that I had seen so many times online or in books. It was amazing. Pictures really don't do justice to show just how big and spectacular the whole place really is.
After the sunrise, we made our way around the ruins a bit on our own. One of the guides told us if we wanted to get a
number to climb Waynapicchu, we were out of luck, as all numbers had already been given and only the people who arrived at 5:30am were given numbers (we later found out this was not true) so we were kinda dissapointed, but he said if we went at 10am (the first 200 people are allowed in before 10 and the second 200 people can go at 10) and asked, some people may not show up to climb.
We slowly made our way over to the gate of Waynapicchu, looking at other sites along the way. By 8:30 we were at the gate to Waynapicchu and the guy gave us a ticket that said #369. He said we could head up immediately or wait until 10. Since I wanted to visit the washroom and be properly prepared for it, we decided to wait until 10.
We spent more time wandering the park and returned around 9:30 to the Waynapicchu gate. We waited until 10 and then on cue, people with tickets started getting let through. I ended up being #223.
We were nervous about the hike because we had read and heard so many mixed things. Some said it
Inside the Ruins
Looking back up at the Watchman's Hut where we watched the sunrise! took anhour for the physically fit climber. It also said 3 hours for not-so-in-shape people. We had heard it's easy but also heard it's really tough. We knew it was mostly steep, narrow, rock stairs. We decided we'd take it nice and slow and stop as many times as we needed to.
It was the steep climb we'd heard about and we did take breaks along the way. It was tiring as the altitude already makes it hard to breathe and you're climbing a mountain! However, we did make it to the top in about 50 minutes! Take that physically-fit-climbers!!! HA! The view from up there was AMAZING! You can see the whole of Machu Picchu. The photos we took looked like ones that Sarah had seen before and thought were taken from a helicopter. We were REALLY high up. At the top my 1GB memory card in my camera decided it was full (apparently had already taken close to 500 photos this trip!) so I deleted some an continued.
From the lookout point there was still another 5 minute climb to the very top. Of course we wanted to sit on the highest rock and have our
photo taken - again, GREAT photos!
The climb down was physically much easier but mentally tougher, as the steps are narrow and steep so we sometimes had to go down sideways (some chose backwards) and were using our hands the whole time as well; we were VERY dirty by the time we got back down to the bottom. The whole trip took us about 2 hours total. It was definitely difficult but not as difficult as we had dreamt it up to be. It was DEFINITELY worth the sweat and dirt. SO worth it - recommended to ANYONE who has the heart to do it - and they do have a sign outside the gate with a heart on it that says physically fit and healthy only. lol
After the climb we made our way back to the front gate to use the bathroom (and wash our dirty hands!) then eat some of the snacks we'd packed. OH! So they charge a sole every time you want to use the bathroom. You pay your equivalent to about 33 cents, grab your stash of toilet paper from the table where you pay, then head into the bathroom. Not sure
Terraces
This place is huge! Pics don't so it justice! what the money goes to but someone is making a small fortune off the fact that sometimes you just gotta go! (We were in the park for a total of about 9 hours, so I actually used it twice!)
For the rest of the afternoon we had wanted to jump in on a tour group so we'd pay far less than getting our own guide, but there weren't any groups going (in English) in the 30 minutes we waited. We decided to just head into the park and do what was left to see on our own. We ended up eavesdropping on other tour groups from time to time, as well as wandering and getting lost. A couple times we even sat down in a shady area and Sarah rested her eyes while I read my book (I had brought my purse in with me after lunch).
We were heading back to Aguas Callientes on a bus around 3:30pm. It had been an amazing day at Machu Picchu.
We are now sitting in an internet café where I was able to move all the 466 photos from my memory card to a CD for S15 (about $5).
Waynapicchu
The big mountain in the back is the mountain you see in all the postcards and also the one we climbed! We're also using the internet for about $1/hr and killing time while we wait for our 9:45pm train. We'll most likely spend another 20 mins here and then saw a cute Chinese food restaurant that we thought we'd check out. I'm sure we'll still have plenty of time to kill and may end up reading our books or something at the station.
Our hostel in Ollantaytambo is expecting us. I'll most likely take a shower (despite our 1am predicted time of arrival) then enjoy a good night's sleep. My poor body had a rude awakening today and is feeling the climb plus the hiking.
Tomorrow the plan is to head back to Cuzco for 2 days of sites around the city, then we fly out to Purto Maldonado on Friday for a few nights. I'll keep you all posted on what journeys await us next!
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Mom
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Wow
I got goose bumps reading this one - amazing day for you guys! Can't wait to see all the photos!