Machu Picchu

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Despite rolling back our start time to a seemingly reasonable 8:30am, we were still rushed getting a quick breakfast and getting out the door. The tour bus appeared in front of the hotel, right on time, and took us up the seemingly endless series of steep switch-backs to Machu Picchu. The bus was outfitted with a display, visible to all of the passengers, showing the bus speed, which only reinforced Sonia’s concern that we were going too fast. The narrow dirt road, carved into the steep hillside, generally lacks guard rails and with the large number of tourists visiting the site, there were frequent encounters with buses descending the hill necessitating pulling to the very edge of the road. We made it safely to the top, acquired a pocked guide book and were on our way. Shortly after starting our tour and starting to climb up the hill, we came upon a sign for the Inti Punku (Sun Gate) which is one of the sites Sonia really wanted to see. Our guide map just showed an arrow pointing off the left side of the page, but we were undaunted. We tried to put Andrew at ease by telling him that it was a mostly level walk – we could see where the trail meandered and it really didn’t look that bad. He quickly realized we were incorrect – it really isn’t level at all. We climbed and climbed, but enjoyed beautiful sweeping views of the main site and of the Andes as we walked. We were relieved when we finally saw what we believed must be the Sun Gate but somewhat crestfallen as we arrived and saw a clearly marked sign telling us to trudge onward. We stopped for a sit on a large flat rock that had clearly been carved. We soon learned that it was the rock where sacrifices were performed but we concluded that it was still a comfortable resting spot. After some cajoling, we got going again up the path and got some encouragement from a guide who told us it was just 20 more minutes walk. The Sun Gate is supposed to be a fantastic place to watch the sun rise, though it was now clear that even if we had arrived when the park opened, there is no way we could have walked to the sun gate by sunrise. The sun gate is also the end of the Inca Trail, where those intrepid hikers get to feel like they have finally arrived at Machu Picchu. Presumably, if they time their hike appropriately, they can watch the sunrise, but it was clearly not for us. But the views were fantastic even at midday and we stopped for a rest and some photos. The descent went much faster, and there were many good photo spots as we approached the main site. By the time we made it back, we were already pretty tired and moved through the various ruins and temples a bit more quickly than we might have liked, but still got a sense of the magnificence of the place. About half way through our walk we came upon some alpacas that seemed amenable to posing for photos, so we took a bunch. Andrew was quite focused on spotting a wild chinchilla and we did find droppings that may well have been from a chinchilla, but there were no confirmed sightings. Notable among the sites was the sun temple with intricate carvings below and a tower of perfectly interlocking stones. We had physically worn ourselves out with all the climbing by the end and were happy to find our way out and head back to town for lunch. The bus transit efficiently deposited us in the middle of Aguas Calientes (although the descent down the switchbacks was even more terrifying than the trip up and we were reminded of our trip to Greece where a similar set of switch-backs was littered with buses that had clearly rolled over the side). Amusingly, in our search for a refreshing lunch spot, we bypassed one appealing restaurant because there was a very loud Peruvian pan flute band set up right in front of the open-air tables. When we selected one across the way, we were still perusing our menus when the band started setting up right in front of us. Oh well. They were talented but unnecessarily loud. Days later we are still torturing Andrew by reminding him of the tune “La Bamba” which haunts him. Lunch was edible but unremarkable. With nearly an hour until our train we perused the bazaar-like series of booths outside the station and purchased a few souvenirs as well as a deck of cards for the train ride. We were quite happy to slump into our train seats for the ride back, and ecstatic to see our taxi driver (whom we had asked to return for us) waiting to meet us just outside the train station in Ollantaytambo. The drive back was slow but we were pleased by the driver’s maneuvering skills – driving in Peru seems crazy. On the drive, now after dark, was the first time any of us had noticed how many stars are visible here. It had previously been to overcast to see them. By the time we checked back into the hotel in Cusco it was already very late for dinner. Lauren was too tired to eat and chose to relax in the room, but John, Sonia and Andrew enjoyed a nice dinner at Inka Grill just around the corner from the hotel. John gave alpaca another try and was rewarded with much tastier meat than what he had tried earlier in the week. We delivered some leftovers to an appreciative Lauren and unwound with a little TV before sleep. The kids were very pleased with the idea of a later start tomorrow.

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Photos

Andrew Looking the Worse for Wear
I asked Andrew why he always looked so miserable whenever I pointed the camera in his direction. He laughed and told me it was his way of keeping his photo out of the blog. Hah!

Andrew's First Attempt at Self-Sacrifice
Andrew's imagination ran wild when we came across these flat rocks used by the Inca's for sacrifices

Inti Punku
We finally made it to the Sun Gate! The views looking back at Machu Picchu from there were truly spectacular.

The Harrowing Road to Machu Picchu
Not the Inka Trail -- its the winding road that the buses travel from Aguas Calientes to the ruins.