Machu Picchu, revitalizing our spiritual energy

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At least a full day is need to truly experience Machu Picchu. As one of those places that people talk about with such awe in their voices, it can be hard to really believe them. There are only a few places in the world that could possibly inspire such awe by so many different people. Machu Picchu is easily one of them. I whole-heartedly believe it.

After spending the morning of the sixth walking around Cusco (which will be another blog post about what we did and saw in Cusco), our taxi to where we were going to get our combi (ie bus) to Ollantaytambo arrived. It took us about two hours to get to Ollantaytambo, driving through the Andes mountains. It was breathtaking, but also heart-wrenching as you look at the towns and homes you pass by.

We had about an hour before we could board our train, so we scoped out some places to eat. I had probably the best chicken noodle soup I have ever had. It was that delicious. And very filling. We then went to some of the nearby stands to stock up on giant water bottles, some crackers, and chocolate. Everyone had advised us to stock up before getting to Aguas Calientes as it can be very overpriced.

Though our train had windows on the side and on the roof, since it was dark, you coudln't really see much. However, Becca did get me into trouble because she told me the wrong seat. I was in seat 9 and it was my understanding that she was in seat 11, which would put us both in window seats. Apparently, she was supposed to be in seat 10...This got me into trouble because she took seat 9 and told me to get seat 11...yay friends? Luckily the people were nice and we all shared a laugh at the American's expense! And they offered us M&Ms after. So it's all good.

Unlike most people on the train, we were not met by someone with a sign that had our names on it. We briefly knew where our hostel was, stopped for directions twice (even though this town is only a few blocks), and then were told we were in a different building. Oh well, we were practicing for our extreme hiking.

The guy at the front desk told us that our guide for Machu Picchu would be there soon to tell us what time and where to meet them and answer any questions. However, after maybe 2 or more hours, they were still not there. We had a phone number, so after many angry phone calls where they hung up repeatedly on Becca, someone showed up to talk to us. Apparently, there were two guides that had gotten our names, so they each thought the other was looking for us. Since the weather had been nice, we really had hopes of a sunrise over Machu Picchu. Right away, our hopes were dashed. We were told, 'chicas...it is the rainy season. There is no sunrise.' Oh well, we got to sleep in an extra two hours!

The next day, we were told to meet our guide in the small plaza at 7 a.m. We got there and no one was there. After waiting a few minutes, we started wondering around asking people. At about 7:10 we found our guide and she told us she had been there and she didn't see us! It was a small plaza...she wasn't there...Oh well, we got our bus ticket up the mountain and would get our return ticket once we got there.

Please note, that the other option to getting to Machu Picchu is a hike up the mountain, at maybe a 70-80 degree angle, in the rain. The bus was worth it. Though there are about 5+ buses on the small road at one time, and these bus drivers are practicing for NASCAR. I had to keep reminding myself to look out the window. My heart skipped a beat everytime we slowly crept by another bus going the opposite way and the edge was so close to the tires.

When we got to the entrance, we waited for possibly 30-45 minutes as Grupo Kosmos was assembled and we got our return tickets. As usual, we got pushed from one group to another and were probably not in the right group, but oh well. We followed our English speaking guide as she lead group "Washington," as she dubed us because we were the English speaking group and obviously had to all be from Washington, D.C, through a two hour tour of the Inca town of Machu Picchu. When we first arrived, there were still clouds over the town, but we were told it should clear up by 10:30/11.

Basically, it took over 100 years for Machu Picchu to be built, and it still wasn't completely finished. It was a town mainly for the nobility, who would visit it maybe 2-3 times a year for a week or two. There were two main agriculture areas, a water system, houses, storage, guard huts, and temples. Hiram Bingham was taken to the site in 1911 by a boy who lived outside of Cusco. He paid this boy 1 sole, about 30 cents or less. Because it had been years since anyone was there, the place was covered in vegitation. Hiram hired workers to clear the area of artifacts once he set it on fire to clea the vegitation. It's though that if he didn't so this, the town would have been almost fully intact! Roofs over the houses and all! Hiram payed the workers 1 or 2 soles for everything they found, which would then we taken to the USA. There is a court case going on right now against Yale University to get them to return the artifacts to their rightful home. It always makes me feel great when I hear things like this about the country I'm from...

After our tour, were we visited three or four temples, revitalized our spirits at the energy stone and learned how the Incas probably cut the stone, Becca and I roamed for probably 3-4 hours. We hiked back to the beginning and took some pictures while the sun was mostly shining. It ended up being more of her taking pictures and me switching from pictures to video...mostly video.

We were then going to hike up the actual mountain called Machu Picchu. Apparently it is two hours up and two hours down. You need an extra ticket to do this. Bummer. So, we hiked up IntiPunku which seemed higher then the surrounding mountains that you could hike up with other tickets. Though I seriously thought I would die, we finally made it. It was completely worth it. The view of Macchu Picchu and the surrounding Andes mountains is breathtaking times 100. It started to rain, so like everyone else we started the much quicker descent. We then made our way over to the Inca bridge, and then llama watched. About 3pm, we made our way back to Aguas Calientes, where we would get lunch/dinner, pick up our bags, and catch the train back to Ollantaytumba. We would then have to find "Danny's bus."

Like usual, we were one of the few not met at the station with our name on a sign. After asking many people, with a definite panic tremble in the voice, we found it. There were two other people on the bus, which seemed strange. Then a hoard of people came. The guy with the sign said we were not on his list and we would have to get off (I found this out later). Becca wouldn't take no for an answer (bless her) and explained that we were told to get on this bus and had paid for it, so we were staying. A calm, two hour bus ride back to Cusco followed. Overall, though stressful at times over transportation, it was an awesome time.

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Photos

First view
Some of the guard houses.

clouds
Our first view of the town with clouds hanging around.

Face of Machu Picchu
This is a stone carving done by the Incas that show the mountains (including Machu Picchu). If you turn it to the left, it makes a face.

Spiritual Energy
Revitalizing our spiritual energy at the stone in the main temple.