Inca wonders at Machu Pichu

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Reaching Machu Pichu turns out to be an adventure by itself

From Nasca I went to Cusco and this took me fifteen hours by bus. Luckily I could sleep during the night for a couple of hours during the ride. After arriving at Cusco I met a Dutch girl who wanted to go to the same hostel as me and we shared a taxi to get there. The hostel was quite nice because it was situated in an old colonial building. It was also a nice place to meet interesting people. The town Cusco is a special place as well. With it’s churches and squares. But the main reason why this place attracts so many people is the Inca site Machu Pichu. It might even be the biggest must see place in whole South America. Something you must have to visit once during your lifetime. If you have the opportunity of course.

So the next day we went to the nearest trainstation to get our traintickets. The plan was to go first by minibus to Ollantaytambo and get the train from there to Aquas Calientes. We had to catch the train at one in the afternoon but the guy driving the minibus was a bit slow. I was asking him to hurry and more people in the minibus were pushing him to make some pace. But he said we had all the time of the world and pointed at his clock in front of his dashboard which was ten minutes slow. But showing my watch didn’t help. So we arrived exactly at one minute after one and saw the train leaving. We tried to change tickets for the next train, but the system was down at the station. To make a long story short: we were able to take the train at seven. That is six hours later. Luckily there was a place with good Capuchino and on a square people were playing music. That was something I really didn’t want to have missed. So colorful the people on the square in their local clothes. And the surrounding of the mountains added very much to this atmosphere. It almost gave me the feeling I was lucky to have missed the train and see this happening.

An early start but definately worth it

Eventually after arriving in Aquas Calientes the Dutch girl and I found a place to stay for the night. The next morning (or is is still night?) we got up at half past four. At the hostel they served breakfast already at that time because they know most people want to get very early to Machu Pichu. So eventually we were in one of the first busses to Machu Pichu. It was pure magic seeing the very early sun shining over the Machu Pichu site. Because we were so early I got the chance to take pictures without other tourist walking around. At the background of Machu Pichu you can climb up Waynu Pichu. It is a very steep climb and takes around fourtyfive minutes to get up. From there the view was amazing. I was sitting there on the peak at one of the rocks just watching Machu Pichu and the mountains surrounding it. What a view! When I walked down I met a French girl and with her I walked to the Temple of the Moon and the Big Cave. She was only for a couple of days in Peru because of a congres for which she had to give a speech in Lima. Before going back to France she had the opportunity to visit Machu Pichu. After visiting the two sights we decided to walk the same way back and it was then that I realised we were walking down first. Now we had to walk up again. Because we were talking so much the way down I didn’t even realise. When we got back to Machu Pichu we walked around a bit more. She had to leave to catch the bus for getting her train in time and when we passed the exit I met the Dutch girl again. Very essential because I had her return train ticket.

Back at Aguas Calientes we had something to eat and went the same way back. First by train and later by bus. Late in the evening I arrived back at the same hostel as before in Cusco and fell in a very deep sleep. Or was it a coma? Although I was sleeping in a dorm with eight other people and opposite a noisy bar, I didn’t hear anything and slept eight hours straight.

Can’t resist Indian food

The next day after visiting Machu Pichu I was still a bit tired and decided to have a relaxing day. In the morning after breakfast I had a relaxing start by chatting with some people at the hostel. Later I went with the same Dutch girl and a German guy for a walk around Cusco. I visited a church with beautiful carvings and we walked through a market. In the evening we went to an Indian restaurant. When I walked in and saw the smile of the Indian friendly lady I was sold. Whatever the others wanted I was definitely going to eat here. Luckily they also decided to give it a try. The food was super delicious. No, it was super super super delicious. :-)

From Cusco I went to Puno. It is a small town near the big lake Titicaca. After arriving I went for a walk around and saw no other tourists. At least that was until I hit the main street. It must be that everyone was walking that street up and down. So funny, because it was the only place where I saw tourists. It was on that street I met the Irish girls again who I have met before in Nasca. We went to a nearby restaurant for something to eat. Suddenly the electricity went down and we were sitting in the dark. But it lasted for only fifteen minutes before the electricity came on again. And afterwards I went back to my hostel for again a very good sleep.

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Photos

On top of the world
At least on top of Waynu Pichu.... So beautiful the view from here. Relaxing after the steep climb and enjoying the silence and amazing view.

Inca Cola
The Inca´s were so far ahead of their time. Not only did they perform brain surgery. They also invented Cola. So smart! :-) It tastes very chemical by the way and like if your teeth dissolve while drinking.