Here we are... The reason we came Machu Picchu! Honestly, I expected to be disappointed, but I was not. I think it helps that our expectations were modest and we'd not spent a ton of time in various ruins. But, both Steve and I agree that the landscape was spectacular. Being from the northwest (USA), we are used to our mountains stretching as far as the eye can see and building gradually. Here, the mountains were spiked - like straight up. It created interesting effects. Loved it.
It was a LONG day. Started with an early breakfast at the hotel and a cab driver that we'd tested out the day before - wanted to make sure that we knew how it all worked. The cab took us to the Ollantaytambo train station and a 90 minute train ride along the Urumbamba river. At various points you can see intrepid hikers walking the Inca Trail. That was out of the cards for us, though!
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| All aboard! |
That put us in Aguas Calientes where we had to find the the bus station to buy our ticket. We'd kinda expected all the folks from the train to lead the way, but alas... There were only a couple of us. Either others were not going to Machu Picchu that day or they were with tour guides. It wasn't hard, but it wasn't easy either. Aguas Calientes is busy and full of tourists, all with the same general mission, so at least we didn't feel alone!
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| Contextual territory shot. |
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| The queue to the bus, which you can see in the distance. |
We had read that you needed a guide to be admitted, and that you could get them at Machu Picchu. Our friend Ann added that guides in Peru are at the very pinnacle of the profession. I believe you have to have gone to college and studied deeply. We picked up a guide standing in line and got a private tour and weren't disappointed. If you are thinking about this trip yourself - I was confused where we would find the guides - here in Aguas Calientes or actually at the gate. There were a few at the gate, but the town was definitely the right place.
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| The bus ride up to the entry gate was not for the weak hearted. It is a switch back road with a very steep cliff to the side. On one turn, our driver took it too tight and had to back up a bit - not the place you want your breaks to go out! But, the alternative was a straight up hill walk, so.... We felt good about our choice. |
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Just through the gate!
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This is one of THE photos. Not sure which one we'll use for our holiday cards - but I'm confident we have one in the mix!
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| I had a really hard time picking photos, so I hope you'll all bear with me. I also think these are out of order. This photo was one of the last we took of the site. Its breath taking. |
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Louise says it looks like she's trying to escape, but she's not! The tree in the center behind us was left to demonstrate how buried under jungle the site was when they found it over 100 years ago. It makes it easier to understand why it was not super well known.
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| The same tree up close and personal. |
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And here it is, THE view...
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| Another unedited, top contender for our holiday card. |
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And, in context with the tree again.
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| With our guide, Fredy |
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| Remarkable workmanship! Can on imagine? |
We have many many many more photos. Most with many many other people in them.
I think that the thing that struck me the most was that this site was really only used for about 100 years and it wasn't done. There are stones that are obviously still waiting to be placed. But the site is all around remarkable, no matter how you cut it.
All in, we were in the gates for about 2 1/2 hours. Then, true to most locations, we excited through the gift shop - tired, gratified and HUNGRY!
This is probably too disjointed of a post - but how do you condense it all?? It was beautiful and a highlight on a fantastic trip.
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