Machu Picchu

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January 7th 2010

Published: January 14th 2011

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greeblergoddess

Machu Picchu

View down of the river and roads

We got up very early to take the bus to the train station. Luckily Steve was feeling a bit better and was able to come with us. We took the train to Agua Calientes. The train was super nice. Cozy seats with table for every four seats. They served a snack with a drink. The view out the windows was beautiful. We dropped our stuff off at the hotel we were staying at and then headed to Machu Picchu.

We took a 20 minute bus ride up the mountain (which was exciting in itself) and had a guided walk around the 'city' for a few hours. Our guide was nice, informative if a bit hard to understand. It was interesting to learn about some of the different segments of Machu Picchu and really get to experience it. It was warm and hard to breathe, but it was beautiful, surreal.

In the afternoon everyone but Adam, Steve and I, hiked to the Sun Gate. We looked around a bit more than Steve and I wanted to rest for a bit. We found a shady spot on some grass but a ruin and napped. It was quiet, peaceful and more the

Machu Picchu

kind of experience I wanted - just time to myself in the beauty that surrounded me. Adam went off on his own for a bit and ended up going to the Inca Bridge. When he got back we went exploring again when it started to rain around 3pm and there was a rainbow. It was a pretty magical moment. We found some chinchillas scampering around. There were also lots of llamas wondering around. Adam and Steve pet one. We stayed until about 4:30-5pm and went to catch buses back to Agua Calientes (so we wouldn't have to walk back).

That night we went to a wood stove pizza place and Adam tried some alpaca pizza. The cheese on the pizza was very salty/greasy. Steve had gotten some coca candies to suck on and I drank a lot of coca tea to try and combat the effects of high altitude. These things actually helped a little bit, but it was still difficult.

it started to rain around 3pm, and there was a rainbow. adam and steve petted a llama. went to a wood stove pizza place. adam got alpaca pizza. the cheese was salty/greasy.

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