Wonder-ful Trip: Machu Picchu!

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On Friday morning, the four of us woke up at 5:30am to eat breakfast and catch the train to Aguas Callientes (translates to Hot Springs but is really just the town at the bottom of the mountain Machu Picchu). It was a pretty rocky 4.5 hour ride from Cuzco; we took the cheap train so the comfort level left much to be desired. We got to the town around noon, checked into our hotel, and grabbed a quick lunch. Since we had a free afternoon we decided to attempt a hike that was in the Lonely Planet guide book. The description was something like "strenuous 75 minute hike not for the out of shape ... amazing views from the summit."

And we were off, though we all agreed that we were pretty out of shape, we decided to attempt the hike anyway; what else were we going to do? The first 20 minutes were a breeze; the trees were really dense so it was cool and the trail wasn't too steep. Then came the stairway to heaven. Well, not quite. We came to a ladder that was at least 100 rungs long and inclined at about an 80 degree angle. Luckily no one was too scared of heights so we continued up the ladder and the rest of the trail. What was described as a 75 minute hike took us about 90 minutes, 20 ladders, 20 breaks, and 4 bottles of water. The view from the top, however, made it all worth it. From the top you look down on the ruins and get this AMAZING panoramic of the Andes. Sadly, I didn't bring my camera (because it was supposed to rain), but am going to try to post a picture another guy took.

At the top we met a French couple who had carried their 3 year old daughter up the mountain by switching off carrying her in a hiking backpack meets child carrier. I was SO impressed (I barely made it carrying a bottle of water, imagine carrying a child). We also met a guy from England who accompanied us on the way down. Once we reached the bottom we headed straight for the hot springs. The water was a little less than clear and the water was more warm than hot, but it felt great to relax after the hike. We headed to bed right after supper in anticipation of getting up early enough to see the sunrise.

At 5am we woke up and headed to the bus station (which is actually just a sign on the side of a road). We got on the first set of buses up to Machu Picchu and climbed up the biggest hill to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately, it was so cloudy the sun didn't rise but we got some great pictures of the ruins without any people in the middle of the pictures. We had a 2.5 hour tour of the ruins which was fantastic. The architecture and workmanship is absolutely fantastic and the views from every house, shrine, and field are stunning. The Andes are something everyone must see at some point in their life. It is amazing to think about how well planned everything was so long ago; there was fresh running water throughout the city, a precise calendar based on astronomical observations, and rocks perfectly aligned with geographical north and magnetic north.

We headed back down after about 6 hours of walking around and spent the rest of the afternoon napping and eating until our train back to Cuzco. By the time the train came around we were really ready to be back in Lima; one guy got food poisoning, another girl was having stomach aches, and I had pretty extreme allergies to something in the air. We got back to Cuzco after 9pm and flew out at 7am the next morning. Overall, the week was INCREDIBLE. I feel sooo lucky to have been able to take this trip and have such wonderful guides, trip mates, and weather.

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Photos

View from Hotel
Aguas Callientes

Comments

[Professor Harmon]

Fun Learning
Hey this looks like way too much fun to me!! Oh that's why it's called an "emersion program" huh? You emerse yourself in the culture and have fun doing it. OK, I have to figure out how to come there and teach for a couple of semesters. Enjoy!! Prof. Harmon :)