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Published: August 9th 2007
One of the must sees on any self-respecting traveller's list, we approached Machu Picchu with just a tinge of hesitation. Could any place really live up to that amount of hype? Our first glimpse of it appearing out of the mist at 6am quickly dispelled any lingering fears.
Wandering through the ruins before the onslaught of tour groups was a moment that had the hairs on the back of our necks standing up. It was the making of one of those memories that will sustain us on a wet Wednesday in Glasgow when we've rejoined the world of work.
As we hadn't done the Inca Trail we felt it only fair to set ourselves the task of climbing the mountain overlooking the ruins for that picture postcard view. Unfortunately you don't sell many postcards consisting solely of clouds. We felt we were being reasonably patient having spent 45 minutes at the top and seen a few guides heading back down having given up on the chances of it lifting. You can imagine our irritation when, 15 minutes after arriving back at the bottom, the sun broke through and kept the clouds away for the rest of the day.
The climb wasn't a total waste of effort however as it gave us a sense of respect for the Incas' building capabilities and complete disregard for simple details like a few thousand metres of mountain getting in the way of a good spot for a new house. Vertigo clearly wasn't an issue in those days.
We're also fairly sure that when the Incas chose this prime piece of real estate, they weren't planning on competing with 20 other sights for the right to claim a place on the list as one of the 7 Wonders of the World. But that's exactly where Machu Picchu finds itself now.
It's hard to get away from the fact in Cusco and the surrounding area, as the Peruvians make a big push to get the ancient ruins recognised. It's tough to cast a vote when you haven't seen all 21 contenders, but Machu Picchu is our 5th on this trip and 6th overall. And with Chichen Itza to come we could reasonably vote for Angkor Wat, The Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Sydney Opera House, The Kremlin and The Eiffel Tour. Although frankly those last three are on a shaky peg.
Clinging on
Machu PicchuOkay so technically Cusco is up from Machu Picchu but it feels like a bit of a come down after such an awesome sight. The Inca's built Cusco too and you can still see their handiwork in the foundations of a lot of the city's buildings. Not so sure what they'd make of the residents these days, who will offer you a 'cute' picture of themselves with their four legged friends. Goats and llamas are seemingly interchangeable in this never to be forgotten snapshot.
If you successfully avoid such entrepreneurs you are still likely to be offered the opportunity to have any item of footwear you own buffed to within an inch of its shiny life. Even if you're wearing flipflops. "It's possible" is usually the phrase that follows "shine your shoes mister/lady".
That's not to say that this isn't a pleasant place to spend time. We're thoroughly enjoying Cusco's winding streets and cafes with open fires in the evenings. We will at some stage drag ourselves away and embark on the next stage of this rapidly ending journey.
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marmalade sandwiches
Okay, I admit, I was fully expecting Machu Picchu to be completely overrated, but the pictures are pretty damn impressive. However, I just have this nagging thought that if someone were to come along today and suggest building a new village high up in some frankly rather beautiful mountains, there would be no chance of getting planning permission. And even if there were, the environmental protests would almost guarantee nothing would get built. And I'm in favour of that as I prefer my mountains unspoilt (although I'm being a hyprocrit as ski lifts are eyesores). But where is the Machu Picchu we 21st century folk are going to leave for prosperity - Harlow?