Machu Picchu

We have come and gone from Machu Picchu and it was really just incredible. I am not sure I have the words to express how beautiful and really breathtaking it is. We left Cuzco on Saturday morning by van and arrived in Ollantaytambo. Called Ollanta by the locals it is about a 2 hour train ride from Aquas Calientes which is the town at the footsteps of Machu Picchu (referred to as MP from here on out).

We ate lunch at a fabulous NGO cafe in Ollanta and caught out train to Aquas Calientes. We planned to hike up a mountain with a view of MP but about halfway up the trail there was a system of ladders in complete disrepair...more experienced climbers than us would have kept going but Bridget and I turned back. We had dinner at a fantastic restaurant in the town and headed back to our cell like hostel for the night. I am not joking about it being a cell. We went bare bones on price to get to MP taking the cheapest route possible which included sleeping in this dump. I joked with some other travelers we met along the way that we were at least hoping for some straw mattresses. We had actual mattresses but not much more...but in Aquas you can´t beat the price we paid...it is a town made for tourism so you have to deal with the prices that come with it.

I slept mostly okay minus one terrible dream about our room that I woke up too and thanked god it was time to get up because I didn´t want to go back to sleep. Bridget slept with her passport and money...just to give you a sense of this place. We woke up at 5am to get ready and get on the first buses to MP that start leaving at 5:30am. We paid the lady across the street for our hostel the night before and literally put our key back in its assigned box the next morning...and then let ourselves out the door with the broken window...that apparently doesn´t lock.

The ride to MP was literally straight up hill with at least 8 switch backs if not more. It was cloudy and drizzly so you couldn´t really get a sense of the beauty around us...other than that we were climbing and climbing. We arrived at the gate just before it opened at 6am. We made our way in and got our first views of this amazing city. Even with the clouds and rain you could get a sense of its immensity. We had tickets to climb Wayna Picchu which is on the back end of the site. It is the tall mountain you often see in the background of pictures in MP. There are some ruins at the top of this mountain and they let 400 people a day climb it.

On recommendations from my friends Sara who made this trek last year, we bought the tickets. Wow was it worth it. We couldn´t see anything on the climb up. The clouds and light rain were blocking views and you could only see about 50 feet in front of you and sometimes get a view of the surrounding mountains. We climbed and climbed and climbed...and by this I mean we literally just were stair climbing. It is basically a massive rock staircase to the top and at some points rather terrifying because the steps up were large or the rocks themselves were small. One misstep and you could literally see yourself falling off the edge. About an hour later we reached the top and the ruins. We made our way through and were rewarded with the beginning glimpses of mountains around us as the clouds cleared. We found a spot to sit and wait for the cloud cover to burn off with the rising sun.

Around 9am we were awarded with our first view of MP in the distance. It was breathtaking. I don´t think I understood until that moment how big the site is and just what an incredible undertaking it was to build this city on a hill. We stayed for about an hour as the clouds cleared and just marveled at this impressive sight.

We decided to do the whole Wayna Picchu hike which involves descending down the backside of the mountain to the great cave at the bottom and then climbing back up (we didn´t know this at the time...had I known I might not have done it. As I sit here writing this, my calves and quads are so so sore). We started hiking down with two other folks and quickly passed them. We reached the cave and ruins probably 45 minutes later with shaking legs. We took a well deserved break and tried to convince ourselves we didn´t have to climb back up....we were wrong. We started the climb up and by about 11am I was sweating profusely, inhaling as much air as possible and trying to convince myself I could make it back to the main trail. This is seriously the most intense hike I have ever done and totally worth it.

Just as we were about to reach the main trail I saw someone running the other direction. I wasn´t sure why until I started smelling something strange. About five feet later, I came upon a massive pile of shit. I should probably point out here that the only bathrooms at MP are outside the entrance gate. At this point we were about as far as you could be from the entrance gate. I understand the need to go but seriously the dude didn´t event try and dig a hole or cover it up...that is the least he could have done.

Minus the small incident we had finally made it back to the main trail and we headed back to MP proper. There was one shorter climb near the main gate back to MP and we decided to climb it as well. Most people bypass this climb so we were alone minus one other person. It provided us with awesome views just much closer up than Wayna Picchu.

By this time it was after noon and we had been hiking for over 5 hours. Bridget was going to pass out from starvation so we decided to bite the bullet and pay for the buffet lunch provided outside the gates. Don´t get me wrong here I was also hungry but running on adrenaline from being at MP. This buffet was awesome...it should be for what we paid for it. I think each of us at 3 plates of  food and dessert. We were in there long enough to avoid the rain that fell for about an hour. I also took advantage of the bathroom and fresh purified water...again you should for what we paid for it. Funny thing though was they were selling hotdogs and ice cream outside but you couldn´t get them in the buffet...and honestly they were all I wanted...I settled for awesome peruvian food instead but man was I craving a hotdog after that.

You can get back into MP all day with your ticket so after lunch we headed back in to do a tour of the actual site. That morning we had buzzed right through on our way to Wayna Picchu and didn´t see much except for very high on the opposite mountain. We took our time going through the whole site, reading our guide book and marveling at the engineering, architecture and pure strength that put this place together. We spent about 3 hours going through the main part of MP.

Around 4:30pm I was so tired I couldn´t fathom walking anymore so we headed to the gates. As we were heading to the gate, I heard a pretty strange and awful noise coming from about 20 feet away from me up a hill. I couldn´t figure out what it was until I heard Bridget say look at the llama love. There are llamas who roam the site eating the grass and apparently two of them got frisky. We arrived at what was apparently the tail end of it. The male llama dismounted and looked back at the female llama who proceeded to spit at him two or three times. I was laughing hysterically....what a perfect end to our visit to MP.

We had managed to stay at MP almost as long as any tourist can. We arrived the moment the gates opened and left 20 minutes before it closed. We were able to see the cloudy rainy moments of the morning...the sun slowly rising and the clouds leaving and the setting sun on the mountains hours later. We had planned to hike down the mountain instead of taking the buses but I couldn´t fathom climbing up or down another stair. My legs were literally dead. The bus dropped us off and we made our way to the train station to catch our train back to Ollanta. We arrived in Ollanta around 8pm and dragged our tired bodies another half mile uphill and to our hostel.

It was an incredibly long day but one I hope to never forget. I have seen pictures of MP before but you never really grasp just how incredible it is until you see it in person. The Inca were absolutely amazing with what they were able to build....and it has not only stood the test of time but also many major earthquakes...all intact. I am really still processing this whole experience and what it was like to get that first view of MP from up high on Wayna Picchu. It literally took my breath away.

Machu Picchu was really the cherry on top of this whole trip for me. I am finding myself ready to go home but also looking forward to the next 12 or so days. Peru is an absolutely stunning country with a wide array of plants and animals. We are going to experience much more of it as we leave from Cuzco. From here we head to Arequipa and hopefully to see some of the worlds deepest canyons. To give you perspective these canyons are twice the depth of the Grand Canyon. From there we make our way to Lima and then back home. I am ready to get out of Cuzco as well. The main plaza is so touristy. You are seriously accosted every five feet by someone trying to sell you something....the quiet and serenity of MP was a welcome change to the chaos of Cuzco.

More posts and pictures to come. And for you readers local to the Lansing/Brighton area, Bridget and I are planning a small slideshow when we get back and before she heads back to DC. The date is to be determined...but we plan to show some of our best pictures, tell a few stories, and have some authentic food (if all else fails we will have some chips and salsa).