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Machu Picchu
classic view after meeting several people a bit more organized than ourselves... we decided to do a day trip with the understanding that we could return for the Inca trail at a later date.
Locating an agency to service our needs wasn´t difficult while Sean was in Spanish lessons at
Machupiccu Language School I went around comparison shopping for the best deal - choosing to go with
Peru Journey´s run by a woman called Zozi. Very convenient but slightly pricey vs. buying direct $120 a person - including all transport door to door and most importantly all entrance tickets and English speaking guide which is great. By the end of a long day it´s nice to have someone waiting to drive you straight to your hotel for a hot shower and a bit of rest.
Personally, would recommend staying over in Aguas Calientes so you may see the site in either early morning or late afternoon when most of us tourist are out of the picture. If you get my drift...
This day we were part of the masses. So many of us the mercedes luxury buses were non-stop board to capacity at the bottom and emptying out above - the buses
were continually bleching people out at both ends until end of business day.
At the top our original guide placd us with a partner of his who led our fairly large group in English. He provided a lot of detail of the site, in one open chamber with many niches he demonstrated how it was used as a place of meditation temple then asked all of us to give it a go! Very cool, fun affect when everyone place their heads face forward to OhMmm...
Our guide also told of how many historians falsely identified Machupicchu as the last hold out of the Incas. The actual site is several days hiking into virgin jungle. There is a great book called
Forgotten Vilcabamba by Vincent R. Lee.
After reading this both Sean and I were a bit regretful for not signing up for the trail. But back in Arequipa Marlon told us it was booked until end of June ! So by the time we arrived in Cusco there was no way ... we´ll save it for later on in our journey of the Americas.
Also, there are other sites that are less visited by gringos and not
End of the line
we have about 20 minutes to have a look before boarding buses to the site so well manicured either. They are left as they are RUINS. Vilcabamba seems to be one of those places to visit provided you have the time and energy to trek into the jungle - I certainly hope to make this journey some day maybe during this trip perhaps at a later date?
On another note - As I´m writing this in my note book, I realize how precious pencils and note books are to children in South America. A young Bolivian girl of eight pratically sits on me while I´m writing this... her name is Maria Nancy and she ask if she can draw.
Handing over my note pad and pencil she writes her name - Take my note book back and tell her to go away
NO not really ! does that even sound like me? I get my drawing pad out, that I´ve been carrying around and a charcoal and ask Maria Nancy to draw the first entry. Some how I think this toothess eight year old has taught me an important lesson to just put drawing instrument to paper and enjoy!
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