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Published: February 7th 2010
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Our own alarm woke us up at 3 am on the morning of Friday, Dec. 4th at the Wiñay Wayna campsite. After a quick breakfast and a goodbye to our hardy porters, we waited in the nearby Trekker Hotel for the trail to Intipunku, the Sun Gate, and Machu Picchu to open past the checkpoint. We lined up at the trail checkpoint with the other few hundred hikers, and at 5:30 am, the gates opened and we were allowed through. We hiked quickly through a grey, rainy dawn, hoping to catch a view of Machu Picchu in the early sunlight. Eva charged ahead and quickly passed the people in front of us. We were one of the first groups to arrive at the Sun Gate, which would have been our first view of the ruins of Machu Picchu. Alas, the fog and clouds had not abated, and there was no sun. From Intipuku, we could only make out a single structure, the gatehouse of Machu Picchu, through the thick fog and clouds.
In Newfoundland, we have as many words for rain as the Inuit have for ice. That morning it was drizzling. The sky was completely fogged over, and visibility
was less than 20 feet. After a 40 minutes walk from the Sun Gate, we came across some llama grazing on grass-covered terraces. Saulo, our guide, informed us that we had reached the agricultural zone of Machu Picchu. In the valley just before us were the buildings of Machu Picchu so well known from postcards and books, and so strongly anticipated throughout the trip, especially over our 3-day trek.
¨No amount of tourists or picture postcards can spoil that first breathtaking view of a city almost casually draped over the shoulder of the mountain ridge, with the peak of Huanya Picchu dominating behind.¨ So says Hugh Thomson in
The White Rock. Well let me tell you, Hugh - there´s one thing that can utterly destroy that view: clouds. Our first view of the city was completely covered in the stuff. We saw not a thing, except for the occasional glimpse of a structure or two. Our guide headed us off to the park buildings to register and store our backpacks. At this point we were wet (i.e. drenched), tired, and very disappointed.
We registered, changed, and used the washroom. As the morning passed, the clouds started to dissipate,
and the sun started to shine through. It was almost 10:30 am when we climbed the agricultural terrace again, hoping that at last we would get a good view. Our guide, just a few steps ahead of us, turned back and smiled, and with a flourish of his hands, welcomed us to the great city. There below us, finally unveiled, was the Lost City of Macchu Picchu.
Our first view really was that postcard view already so familar to us, and yet so unreal now that it was before our eyes. As many times as we had seen the postcards, the real city was fresh and vivid. I was surprised at how much I had never noticed before. In real life, one is immediately drawn to the Temple of the Sun, with its beautiful light-colored stone, different from that of the surrounding structures.
We were gladdened for the sight, although being fickle and spiteful, it took us a while to recover from the morning´s disappointment. We posed for pictures of the city below us before Saulo led us in through the ceremonial gates, and gave us a detailed and enthusiastic tour of the main buildings. Eventually, we forgot
the morning´s troubles and got caught up in the excitement. I had expected to be impressed by the sheer scale of Machu Picchu, just as I was by Tikal, but I never expected to be amazed by the craft of their best stonework. For their ceremonial buildings, they used massive stones that fit perfectly together, with edges carved to ruler straightness. It would be hard to equal their work with today´s technology. We´ve tried to show you their work in our pictures, but nothing takes the place of seeing it yourself.
At around 1 pm, our terrific guide left us for his train. We spent the next half hour wandering the site on our own. Now doubt it was beautiful here before ever a stone was laid. Impressive themselves, the buildings were designed primarly to complement and showcase the surrounding mountains, which was so loved and worshipped by the Incas. We spent the entire time snapping away at views of the buildings set against the mountains, and mountains framed in the building windows. There were millions of beautiful views from Machu Picchu. We´ve included some of the favorites we discovered in our pictures, views you won´t find anywhere else.
Unfortunately we had a train to catch at 2:30 pm - not nearly enough time to spend amongst the ruins. With great reluctance, we left Machu Picchu on bus to Agua Calientes at 1:30 pm, but already, we were making plans to come back again. Hopefully we would be more capable of walking up and down the stairs the next time...
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