Last weekend, we went on an epic adventure to the beautiful Machu Picchu. It is an old Incan city that sits on a mountain and it is one of the most gorgeous vistas I've ever seen in my life.
But first, the surrounds.
Paul and I flew into Cusco Friday morning, tired and feeling the big differences between there and Lima. Altitude sickness is a real thing here, but luckily, we had some pills to help combat that. Even with the pills though, you feel the pressure and lack of air.
We decided to take a tour from Cusco to Ollantaytambo, where we were to catch the afternoon train into Aguas Calientes, the town entrance to Machu. We weren't expecting to, but we just thought it would be easiest, since we were so tired from the early morning.
Our first adventure was to the neighboring ruins outside of Cusco called Sacsayhuaman, or as it sounds, "Sexy Woman". Our taxi driver took us there and we found that we would have to buy a full on tourist ticket, which was a little expensive and we were only going to see 2 ruins that day beyond this one, so, it looked a little like we weren't going to. Then, some guy approached us, and whispered he could get us in for a tip. All in all, it was the sketchiest thing I ever heard or saw, but we got in and we think the ticket folk are in on it too. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy. Either way, we made it in.
But first, the surrounds.
Paul and I flew into Cusco Friday morning, tired and feeling the big differences between there and Lima. Altitude sickness is a real thing here, but luckily, we had some pills to help combat that. Even with the pills though, you feel the pressure and lack of air.
We decided to take a tour from Cusco to Ollantaytambo, where we were to catch the afternoon train into Aguas Calientes, the town entrance to Machu. We weren't expecting to, but we just thought it would be easiest, since we were so tired from the early morning.
Our first adventure was to the neighboring ruins outside of Cusco called Sacsayhuaman, or as it sounds, "Sexy Woman". Our taxi driver took us there and we found that we would have to buy a full on tourist ticket, which was a little expensive and we were only going to see 2 ruins that day beyond this one, so, it looked a little like we weren't going to. Then, some guy approached us, and whispered he could get us in for a tip. All in all, it was the sketchiest thing I ever heard or saw, but we got in and we think the ticket folk are in on it too. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy. Either way, we made it in.
Used to be a huge fortress and you only see 20% of it
Cave
Cusco
After an exciting start, we scurried to Pisaq and Ollantaytambo, with a not great lunch in Urubamba.
LLAMAS! Although, I think these might be alpaca.
Agricultural terraces. Incans would have their animals graze here and cultivated crops on the valley floor. It was about maximizing space and fertile land. That's why the Incans lived high up, where the land didn't yield crops.
These "nubs" that stick out of the temples are ways of clocking the movement of the sun. Everyone had a little bit of gold because the sun was considered the Father and light of the world, so that gold was thought of as drop of sunlight, but not currency.
This is the Incan "cross" of sorts. It has the 4 cardinal points, but the center is considered Mother Earth of Pachamama.
Ollantaytambo
If you squint and look carefully at the side of the mountain, you can sorta see a face with a nose. On the summer solstice, the nose is lit up by the sun.
We ended our day with a train ride to Aguas Calientes. It was absolutely breath taking. These mountains make such an impression.
No joking here with the views.
Aguas Calientes bridge
Friday was crazy in the amount of travel (plane, bus, train). Saturday was crazy in the OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE I CLIMBED THAT way. We were having a difficult time in Lima getting Machu Picchu entrance tickets on Saturday, since online you can't pay with foreign credit cards and UNESCO puts a cap of 2500 people a day...but Peru doesn't really listen to that and in Aguas Calientes you can easily buy a ticket.
Since we were able to get a ticket, we didn't want to do 2 sunrise moments with Machu, so we heard of a mountain we could climb for free, that afforded great views: Putucusi.
Oh sure, it looks beautiful and harmless but IT'S NOT. We were sore and tired FOR DAYS after. And we thought Cerro Chato in Costa Rica was difficult.
Why was it so difficult?
It's steep
It's sweaty work and difficult
Do you see these ladders?
The last couple pictures are the one set that's 600 ft. high.
But it was so worth it.
We started at 4:30 AM to climb this monster so we could see the sunrise. When we got there, it was amazing and worth every heart ache, angst, and exhaustive sigh we did the entire way up. Such a metaphor for life. Either way, here are those pictures:
Machu Picchu
Incan flag
Worth it, right?
We were completely alone like this for 3 hours (despite the weird "ghost hippie" incident we had...). Amazing.
We later made it to Machu and saw loads of llamas, their natural lawnmowers.
My face says it all
What is this? Sqrabbit?
That night, to soothe our aching muscles, we thought, let's go to the hot springs! Warning: these are not Costa Rica's hot springs. In fact, all it turned out to be were tiny swimming pool like things that were brown and filled to the brim with other dirty gross people. And the locals were swimming under! Putting their faces in! Disgusting. No pictures and be grateful for that.
Next morning, we did the sunrise scramble, where everyone and their mother tries to get on the earliest bus possible, so they can watch the sunrise on Machu. Of course, it was a nut house. People were trying to skip the lines on the bus (which weren't that bad since there were so many buses). Sometimes, shoving ensued. All the things that make Paul and I get irritable.
Yet, apparently, no one decided to go to the Sun Gate. The only people who happened to be near us were the folk coming up from the Inka Trail. We found a little overhang and stayed there for hours. It was beyond lovely, and we got to enjoy this alone. Our favorite thing.
Looks like a little play model
M for Meggs
Me at the Sun Gate
Llama, llama, llama
Llama spirit guide
2 of them!
Here, we took a nap.
Words fail sometimes during these posts, but especially on this one. We loved every tiring moment of this trip, and if it were up to me, I wouldn't change a thing. Machu Picchu can be viewed as super touristy, but there are moments when you can just sit or lay on a terrace, staring at this structure, and marvel at how beautiful this world is. And how fortunate Paul and I are to see such things while we are so young. We are so lucky. And lucky to have each other.
Now, we are leaving for a canyon, so, we shall update soon. The picture link is on the tab up top next to the home tab. These pictures aren't even close to all of them, neither would I consider them better than the others. Take some time and peruse. They are gorgeous photos and Paul certainly knows what he's doing.
Much love from the bottom of the Earth!
