Machu Picchu
Trip Start
Feb 14, 2005
1
21
28
Trip End
Jun 14, 2005
Cusco,
Peru
Sunday, May 1, 2005
We arrived in Cusco on Tuesday in order to relax for a few days before we headed up to Machu Picchu. As one can imagine, this is a very touristy city. Most people that come to South America come to see Machu Pichhu and must begin their tour in Cusco. The main part of the city is the Plaza de Armas which has two beautiful cathedrals and a nice fountain in the middle. However being a gringo means that you have to deal with people from restaurants running out to haunt you with their menus that all look the same, cute boys selling postcards, more cute boys trying to shine your shoes (and if you are ever in Cusco, ask for Mario "The Professional"), people representing tour agencies, etc... and they are RELENTLESS.
(We have enjoyed the local Irish bar a few times because it has the best nachos ever!)
Besides the hounding, the people are very nice and welcoming here
a) Plaza de Armas in Cusco
. It is quite interesting seeing soo many other tourists, and seeing some again that we have run into at some point of our South America adventure.On Wednesday we decided to rent horses and a Spanish speaking guide to prance along through the Sacred Valley. There are numerous smaller sized ruins outside of Cusco and on our four hour ride we were able to see four different sets including Q'enqo and Saqsaywaman (say that five times fast). The horses were very sweet, but it was a wee bit scary on the different terrains and cliffs.
Friday we met up with Guy and Viv again to take the train to Aguas Calientes, which is the town that is the starting point for getting to Machu Picchu. The train took 4 hours to get there and the scenery was incredible. As soon as you are outside of Cusco there isn't much besides beautiful lush green hills and a roaring river. We decided to rent a room in Aguas Calientes for the night and take the first bus (6:30am) up in the morning so as to miss much of the crowds. We were very happy that we did this as Aguas Calientes is a great little town to relax in; again, it is so beautiful and relaxing and peaceful. We ended up with a room with 2 large windows that overlooked the river. We probably would have spent a few days there had we not already had our train ticket back on Saturday.
Saturday morning we arose early and caught that bus to Machu Picchu
b) More plaza de armas
. From the town, the bus takes a winding route up the side of the mountain on scary ledges. Since we were there so early most of the Inca Trail groups hadn't yet arrived, nor had the people who came in from the train for the day. Probably the most mystic part was that it was covered in mist. :) Once we climbed the steep hill to get the view that we all see on the postcards, we were pretty much speechless. As often as you hear about how spiritual and incredible these ruins are, we were still in complete awe. And unfortunately our pictures aren't going to do it much justice. It is hard to describe a place like this. We definitely felt the energy of the space. We walked around the ruins for about 2 hours, with every corner bringing some "shock and awe". The place is simply amazing, it's a wonder how they were able to build such a city on the top and down the sides of this mountain.
We finally ran into Chris and Oli who had done the Inca Trail and were able to visit with them for a few minutes. And when 11:00 came around the place was crawling with tourists so we decided to head back to Aguas Calientes in order to catch our train home.
