Hey Mr Paddington Bear!
Trip Start
Jul 10, 2007
1
43
46
Trip End
Mar 11, 2008
Machu Picchu,
Sacred Valley,
Peru
Sunday, February 24, 2008
All four of us love traveling by train and our most charming ride was the 43km train ride from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes, the last stop before the bus ride to Machu Picchu. The towns' name is self-descriptive. Here, we enjoyed warm sulfuric baths gazing at the high mountains and not at all being bothered by the cold rain dripping on our head. Next morning would bring on an early rise for our bus ride into the clouds.
The top of the world on the old peak
To the jungles of darkest Peru, we went trekking into Paddington's birth place... Who knew he once summered in Machu Picchu? What a location for Paddington Bear, it is truly heavenly up here. I hear he visits once in a while
All aboard
. Machu Picchu, the "Old Peak" is thought to be a religious retreat or a royal estate. It would have been built during the reign of King Pachacuti around 1460 - 1470 and as mentioned by our guide, did not have military, administrative or trading purposes. King Pachacuti, the 9th in the ancestry of Inca rulers proved to be the most prolific of the Inca era. Machu Picchu is 8,000 feet above sea level, above the Urubamba River and into the secondary jungle of Peru. The site is brilliant and so were the people who built it. Certain walls are still in perfect condition, some hide art and small mysteries. I believe Shirley McClaine's spirit may have been one of the advisers to design some of the sacred areas!
Visiting Machu Picchu has been a life long dream of mine. It is difficult to describe how it felt to see the clouds open up like the thick heavy curtains in an opera house and see the mountain peaks and the archaeological gates appear in front of me. My heart was beating fast! I can only describe it fairly with pictures. It was a spiritual experience in its truest sense. Thanks Grand-maman!
