Blogs from Machu Picchu, Cusco, Peru, South America - page 9

Ok, it's o'dark thirty and we were up in the dark trying to get organized to be one of the first at the checkpoint to enter Machu Picchu. Once the site opens at 5:00 am, we hiked on to the Sun Gate where we were to get our first fantastic views of Machu Picchu. What they don't tell you is that on a typical morning Machu Picchu is concealed my fog/clouds. That was a disappointment and there were too many people gathered at this small area. We continued on to the next opportunity for an overlook...the fog was lifting. As we stood there, Machu Picchu revealed itself to us. Eddy also revealed a box of red T-shirts emblazoned with the LlamaPath logo...we were more than willing to advertise what had proven to be a great outfitter. ... read more

So this is it, the big one. Macchu Pichu is the reason for me wanting to come to South America so to say that I was excited would be an understatement. We had arranged our visit to coincide with my birthday so the pressure was on for Machu Pichu to deliver. It did not let me down. Our journey started at Cusco train station at 6.30am. Just to make us feel at home the first half of the journey to Aguas Calientes, where we were to spend the night had a rail replacement bus service in place due to maintenance work. If I had looked more closely when booking the tickets I would have known this and we could have saved money by getting the public bus, but hey, I digress. Whilst leaving Cusco we entered ... read more

Geo: -13.1583, -72.5314On Wednesday morning we left Cusco by bus at 6am. We had a two hour drive through Urubamba to Ollayantambo to catch the train to Mach Picchu. The train arrived at 8-20am and we left for our one and a half hour trip through the valley alongside the Urubamba River. The train was very comfortable with viewing windows in the roof. as well as large windows. We were serve breakfast. This consisted of cactus fruit, melons, Quinoa pancakes with blueberry sauce and a warm spinach pastry. We also had coffee. The scenery was stunning. Apart from the roaring river the tall mountains and green hillsides were very attractive.We arrived in Machu Picchu about 10am. From the station we had a short walk to our hotel, Inkaterra. This is a fantastic place. It is an ... read more

at the moment i'm under the covers in room number 3 at the hostal corihuasi, a really bare bones but inexpensive establishment here in cusco. the city of cusco is the gateway here in peru for anyone planning to visit machu picchu. cusco was once the capital of the incan empire for over 400 years, from the 13th to the 16th century, but now in the 21st century there's free wi-fi everywhere you go, tons of cute little restaurants, some swank clothing stores, lots and lots of hotels and hippies, young and old, swarming the cobblestone streets. but instead of describing cusco, or the various, excruciating experiences i had yesterday just getting to machu picchu itself, i want to say something about the way i felt being there. machu picchu is a place that is always ... read more

I woke and surfed... And Surfed... Frustration evaporation! The cool thing about Lima is that it is a huge city that lies right on the Ocean -angled well to get north and south swells. And as every surfer knows when you step into the raging Pacific Ocean: you step into wilderness. And leave that city! The rest of the town is a concrete jungle overrun with traffic; dirty, gritty & dangerous. Beautiful in its innocent industriousness. But I decided that natural beauty- NATURE and fresh air beckoned. That night I got on a plane to the mountains. Cuzco, the cradle of indigenous Peru. SURFTRAVELTIP #3 - Choose the "road less traveled" = Go Into The Wild. It was colder in Cuzco than the lowlands. I had to wear a jacket as it was near 18 centigrade ... read more