Machu Picchu

I really can’t say enough great things about Machu Picchu! It is just such a marvel, everything about it.

You are standing in the Andean Mountains with this panoramic view of mountains, valleys and rivers. It’s breathtaking really.

I’ve said it before but our group had a really great guide. He is very passionate about the mountains, Machu Picchu, the Inca religion and people and he was great at sharing his knowledge with us. I certainly think it makes a difference to the whole experience.

There was a newspaper article the other day about there being gondolas built up to Machu Picchu. You would get the view and wonderful photos without the effort of doing the hike or even taking the train or bus up to it. The article talked about Machu Picchu being like Stonehenge one day, that you will be able to see it but you won’t be able to walk around and explore it. It was on the front page of the newspaper, I couldn’t read it of course but that’s what my Spanish speaking friends told me it read.

We were very fortunate to arrive at the Sungate late in the afternoon. It was beautiful, we were lucky to have such a great day. We hung around for a little while, took some photos and a couple good group shots. The park rangers ( I don’t think that’s what they’re called but again, I don’t speak Spanish) were sort of shuffling us along. Closing the gate behind us in a way. We only had a short time to get to Machu Picchu and we wanted to get there before the sunset and before they closed. I don’t know how far the hike is from the Sungate to Machu Picchu but it is so beautiful and relatively flat. It could have been twice as long and we didn’t care. We made it!

We got to Machu Picchu with time to see the sun go down, explore a little, take a few photos and have a little rest before we were sent on our way. We were the only ones left, the last ones at Machu Picchu that day – it was amazing!

We took a bus into town and checked into our hotel for the night. It was a treat to be able to have a shower after being out on the trail. A few of us went to the hot springs before having a late dinner. The hot springs were different, a little bit of a party place really. It was like a bar, tons of people with lots of music & dancing.

The next morning we got up early, about 4:30 to catch the bus back to Machu Picchu for the sunrise. We were so excited, there were no complaints about the early hour that’s for sure. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t great the next morning. It was cold & rainy. A lot of our mornings had been like that so we didn’t care and besides we had already been there and seen the sunset.

We had a tour of Machu Picchu, which lasted about two & a half hours. It was great, lots of history. We were able to go everywhere around the site. As we walked around the clouds lifted and it could not have been a more beautiful day. We were so fortunate. It was breathtaking! Our tour ended and we had about four hours to explore on our own before we needed to take a bus back into town for lunch – it was only about 9:00 am still. We had such a great time! Lots of laughs, lots of photos. Our group split up into smaller groups at his point but we all met in town at the restaurant for 2:00.

Some of our group had ordered guinea pig for lunch. It is a special dish here in Peru, actually in Ecuador as well. It’s like turkey, usually served for celebrations. I tried some, it tastes a little like the dark meat from turkey.

Our train ticket back to Cuzco was for 3:30. There had been a landslide the day before and another one that day so we knew we weren’t going to be on that train. We were told to wander around the town for a couple of hours and then hopefully we could get on the 5:30 train. Roger didn’t seem all that hopeful that we would get on that train so none of us were in a big hurry to get back, then we ended up in a huge panic, running through the town & the market and we weren’t even all together yet. After all that the train still didn’t go – we waited in the train station for hours!! It was like this huge outdoor summer party, so many people just waiting for the train. We waited a long time but we eventually got back to Ollantaytambo. From there we were taking a bus and it was about two hours after that that we arrived back at our hotel. It was about 1:30, a long time since the 4:30 wake up call!

Before I go I just have to say one more time how breathtaking Machu Picchu is. It is easy to see why it is one of the wonders of the world and so deserved!

I am heading out now, Buenos Aires, Argentina is calling my name……..