Machu Picchu

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What a day........what a day.....

Last night I was looking forward with anticipation and foreboding to today. So with the sound of thunder I prepared my wet weather gear, and my trusty North Face boots, and then on what photo gear to take.

I booked an early morning call for 3.30am, which I didn't need as I woke at 3am, and the first thing I could hear was the sound of torrential rain outside.......I was gutted.....

Never mind the show must go on......I took one camera and one lens, a bottle of mineral water, and a snickers bar. There were five of us on this trek all looking gloomily at each other. We set off rather wearily but soon got into the stride and to my amazement after one hour I was really enjoying it, and more importantly not feeling tired or breathless.....our guide explained that Machu Picchu was about 700 metres lower than Cuzco.....I had obviously acclimatized in Cuzco......brilliant! The path wore on, narrow with horrendously steep drops, if you slipped or made a mistake. with fixed rope holds a critical points. The rain kept getting lighter when suddenly after five hard hours we came around a corner and there it was the Lost Inca City of Machu Picchu.......

WOW!!!! I had seen many photographs in the past, but nothing prepares you for the sense of place and occasion...
If there is one place that can be called the new Wonders of the World then this surely is it. I fully understand now how it lay undiscovered until Hiram Bingham an american archeologist found it in 1911.

A strange thing happened just as I was entering the portal gate my mobile rang with my brother Carlo on the other end, the conversation was very brief as we lost signal, but it was very emotional for me.

The rain then ceased and I spent the next five hours exploring and making images,a few of which are enclosed.

I then got a special bus to Aguas Calientes and then the backpacker special train to Ollantaytambo ( great name ). The hotel guy was at the station to bring me back to the hotel.

When I got back rather than going to my room and resting I was straight out again walking around Yucay as the late evening light was fantastic.

All in all one of the better days in life to remember in my old age!

Roll on tomorrow when I get picked up at 9am for a whole day exploring the villages and peoples in The Sacred Valley of the Incas, returning to Cuzco early evening.

ciao,

Mario

ps Friday 13th

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Photos

Machu Picchu
little girls at Aguas Calientes

Machu Picchu
Like the hat