Machu Picchu

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  Aguas Calientes, Sacred Valley, Peru
Monday, August 18, 2008

My day at Machu Picchu finally came. Everything worked out with all the transportation although I did feel a bit like I was in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, although it was actually Mototaxi, Bus, Combi, and Train.. I left Taray in the afternoon, took a mototaxi to Pisac and then a bus for an hour to Urubamba. From Urubamba we switched to a combi, or collectivo, a kind of van where they pack an enormous amount of people in. Luckily we got seats, however they were facing backwards and next to the door. And the door was having problems and kept sliding opened. So, I was a bit scared I would fall out and spent the whole ride gripping onto Merena. We arrived in Ollantaytambo a little before sunset and hiked up to some ruins and watched the sun go down. We had a nice dinner before catching our 8:30 train to Aguas Caliente. The train ride was pretty awful. We were facing the people across from us and the seats were so close together that our knees were interlocking with theirs! It was a very bumpy ride and we couldnīt see anything because it was so dark. The ride took a little less than 2 hours and then we managed to find our hostel (of course up a huge hill!)

Woke up early the next morning for Machu Picchu, although not quite early enough. We arrived at the buses around 5:45 and were faced with a HUGE line. But we managed to find a lady selling coffee, tea, and delicous banana cake so we had breakfast while waiting in line. It was kind of a crazy start to the morning since we were both exhausted and werenīt really paying much attention to what was going on. If you go to MP, make sure you get your bus tickets and entry tickets in advance...we were about to board the bus when we saw the sign that you needed to buy your ticket at the bottom. So, I held our spots in line, letting people go in front of us while Merena ran to get the tickets! The ride up in the bus was beautiful and I began to get an idea of what was in store for us. It was about 6:45 by the time we got up to Machu Picchu. The mountains there are huge and gorgeous and were mostly covered in a thick fog which would occasionally open up to give you a glimpse of what you were going to see.

After stamping our passports we went directly up to the Sun Gate. The walk up was a little less than an hour, with occasional stops to admire the amazing view. We passed many people who had hiked the Inka Trail and were on their way down as the Inca Trail enters through the Sun Gate. They did not look as exhausted or dirty as I was imagining they would look! When we got to the Sun Gate, we found a spot to sit and watch the fog clear. We had a spectacular view of Machu Picchu below us. It was really just amazing. We just sat and enjoyed the view for a while. There were only a few other tourists up there and everyone seemed to be doing the same as us. We were far enough away from Machu Picchu that we couldnīt see the swarms of tourists we had left down below.

After resting for a while we headed back down to see the rest of the site. It is enormous. We walked around for hours and kept seeing new parts. I was glad we had all day there as we were able to take our time. We did not have a guide but listened in on a few guides and read up in our book. It was extremely hot and it was nice to know that we had enough time to find a spot in the shade and rest for a bit while enjoying the scenery around us. We did run into a problem with a gaurd there. Apparently there is a rule that you can only walk in one direction around Machu Picchu. There are maps available with the routes pointed out in arrows and there is an occasional arrow on the ground where you can see which way to go. However these arrows are few and far between. So, after walking around a bunch and almost reaching the gate we were headed for we were stopped by a gaurd who made us turn back and head all the way back around the way we had come. Luckily, as we were puzzling over our map after a short wile, we ran into another guard who asked us what we were trying to find. When we told him he pointed us in the direction we had just come from and been told we were not allowed to go. We explained that his colleague said we couldnīt go that way so he told us to wait till the other guard wasnīt looking and then walk really quickly up. It worked and we made it! We made sure after that to walk where there were lots of people, so that even if we were going the wrong way, noone would notice.

It is really amazing to think of all the the Incas created. There are some HUGE rocks and they managed to bring the rocks from all different locations (without wheels) and build amazing structures that have lasted for hundreds of years. A guy that we met at Machu Picchu hypothesized that the Incas must have carried rocks as their job and stacked rocks as their hobby. This hypothesis seems almost valid. I mean, how else could they have built as much as they did in such a short time unless it was ALL that they did?

Around 2:00 we decided to head to the Inca bridge. Although the walk to the bridge was pretty short, I was glad that I was not afraid of heights as it was a very narrow path with a steep drop off. The climate changed a bit, as did the plant life and it was much more green and lush. There was more shade too, which was nice as we were finally able to get out of the sun. We sat on a rock as close to the bridge as you can get and again too a break, relaxing away from the other tourists. When we headed back to the main site, it was late enough in the afternoon that a lot of people had already left and it was a lot more peaceful. However, when you think about it, when all the tourists are there it is probably more similar to how it actually was when the Incas were there, as it is busy and bustling. However, the Incas were probably actually doing something (stacking rocks?) as opposed to taking pictures.

We decided to walk down to Aguas Caliente instead of taking the bus. Might not have been the smartest move as we had run out of water by this point and were exhausted but it was a gorgeous walk down. It took us over an hour but we were moving pretty slow (how on earth do people walk the Inca Trail? I was exhausted after just spending the whole day at Machu Picchu. I guess I did do a lot of hiking the day before but still...)

It was an amazing experience. I have heard some people say that they had heard so much hype about Machu Picchu that when they actually got there it didnīt live up to the expectations. I have no idea how anyone could say that. Even ifīthe ruins werenīt there, it is still one of the most spectacular places I have ever seen, with the mountains and the river and the fog rolling through. I doubt that my description has done it justice. But, it is absolutely amazing. Might just be one of those things that you have to see on your own.