Wow, Machu Picchu!

The morning after our ride we woke up a tad groggy from the evenings celebrations.  Yet, we managed to pull through after a hearty breakfast of yummy burritos; to book a trip to Machu Picchu or so we thought.  We used Eco Trek, the group that helps to set up the Medics Away trips.  We figured they would be easy as they were so nice and helpful in setting up our accommodations.  Wrong.  Turns out we had to call them, since non of the promised emails arrived, and the guy had yet to stop by the house, also as promised.  A quick 9pm call to our guy and wow, he actually showed and we were off at 7am the next morning to Machu Picchu.  Machu Picchu, the Inca hype of South America.  After seeing some of the ruins in the Sacred Valley, I was excited.

We met the bus the next morning at 7am, waited 2hrs as we picked up all the other passengers at their hotels before setting off on the 7hr ride.  I quickly realized that everyone else was speaking Spanish.  Which met our guide would also be speaking Spanish. Not too excited for the challenge, but I can handle challenges.  The bus took forever to reach Santa Teresa.  We did have a rather interesting tire burst.  Looked like two round boobs had bulged there way out of the tire.  After a quick bite to eat in Santa Teresa, soup, and chicken milanese, we went to the hydroelectric plant/ train station.  One train ride up the mountain later and we were in Agua Caliente, the last stop before the climb to Machu Picchu.

We ate with the group, hit the hay, and woke up at the bright hour or 4am to start the nice and steep walk up to Machu Picchu.  The goal was to arrive before the tourist buses so that we could get one of the coveted limited edition tickets, 400 in total, to Huayna Picchu, young mountain.  Also known as the awesome mountain that rises above Machu Picchu, with more ruins and all.  We made it just in time.

Finally, we were there, at the entrance, rounding the corner, bam!  Mountain top covered in clear stone structures; houses with stone doorways and windows, walls and terraces, irrigation systems that still work today.  Yep, the hype is legit!  Our guide took us through the structures.  Explaining the importance of shadows to the Incas, the Inca crosses carved into the stone, the representations of llamas and cuy (guinea pig), etc.  The whole sight was breathtaking.  And Huayna Picchu in all its glory rises up above it all.  So, since we got one of the golden tickets we decided it was time to hike up, up, up.

We took the mountain one step at a time and there were 1,000′s of steps.  As we climbed, Machu Picchu grew smaller beneath us.  Yet, the whole sight was so clear.  The ruins on Huayna Picchu were right on top of the mountain.  Where did they get their water?  Why did they want to live on the top to this mountain?  Who was the place built for?  So many questions.  We sat on the top of this world and enjoyed our breakfast of bun and cheese sandwich and sugary pear juice.  It was perfect.  We clicked some pics and enjoyed the scenery before testing our knees on the way down.

Once we got back we decided to check out the Inca bridge.  Basically, a walking path around sheer rock faces.  They managed to make a bridge.  It was incredible.  The whole day was incredible.

Our legs were toast so at 11am we caught the bus back to Agua Calientes. No more walking.  We had time to catch a beer before the train departed.  And then, another awesome bus ride back to Cusco. This time, the mountain had managed to slide in a lot of places, rocks on the road, but not so bad.  That is until the second tire blew and the one road back to Cusco was blocked equaling a bus change. We finally arrived at the house around 9pm.  The longest bus ride ever and I went straight to bed.

A wonderful day at Machu Picchu.  The Incas fascinating and I feel so lucky to have these opportunities.