Back to the Lost City

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For our second visit to Machu Picchu, we wanted to see the sights that we had missed - mainly Wayna Picchu, the ruins on the peak behind Machu Picchu. Entrance is granted to the first 400 visitors, so we wanted to make a point to catch the first bus in the morning from Agua Calientes to Machu Picchu, which left at 5:30 am.

On the morning of Dec. 10th, we were AWOKEN at around 4 am by the clattering and laughter of the hostel staff getting breakfast ready. Since the first bus left at 5:30 am, we had planned on another hour of sleep and were quite angry. After a half hour of noise and not being able to go back to sleep, I got up and put some pants on to yell at the staff. I was planning on being barechested for added effect . I swung open our door with a yell in my throat, but I was taken aback but what I saw. It wasn´t the hostel staff being rowdy - it was our fellow travellers, already breakfasting. What were these people doing up? Turns out we had misset our clock and it was 5:30 am, not 4:30 am. These people were up in time for the first bus to Machu Picchu. We were late.

We managed to have breakfast and caught a later bus in Machu Picchu (later being 6:15 am). As we found out later, there was no need to rush as it was pouring rain that morning, which probably kept many early risers at bay. Machu Picchu was again clouded by fog. Upon entering, we received our Wayna Picchu entrance tickets for 10:30 am, hoping that the fog would clear by then.

The fog stuck around all morning, although the wind would blow it away for occasional glimpses of the site. We managed to take some mysterious, even creepy views of the buildings in the fog. We felt sorry for the poor hikers just coming in from the rain, as they had an even wetter hike that morning than we did the week before.

After a brief wandering through Machu Picchu, the rain came again and we hid for awhile in a shelter at the far end of the ruins, near the entrance to Wayna Picchu. By 10:30 am, the rain had subsided as we passed through the gates and started climbing Wayna Picchu, the peak just behind the ruins, with the hopes that the fog would burn off and we would be rewarded with good views. Although not as long as the trail, the climb was pretty steep and difficult. Looking at the fog around us, there was no guarantee it would be worth it. As we neared the top of the peak, the fog finally cleared away and we could see the great ruins of Machu Picchu below in full daylight.

We spent some time at the top of Wayna Picchu, and then descended for our final exploration within the ruins. We went back to visit some of our favorite places from the week before, trying to remember what Saulo had told us about the area. By 4 pm, we were exhausted and finally satisfied to leave Machu Picchu.

We spent that night in Agua Calientes, this time at a more quiet hostel, before taking the train and bus back to Cusco early the next morning. Someday, we hope to be back to Machu Picchu for another visit in the future.

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