Machu Picchu

Here's a video to get you in the mood:

Machu Picchu was spectacular.  That's really the only way to describe it.  Incredible.  Everybody needs to stop what they are doing and go to Machu Picchu right this second. It's okay.  I'll wait.

*time passes*

It was amazing, right?


Our trip started out on a train at the crack of dawn.  Peru Rail was really nice!  There were clean bathrooms at the stations WITH toilet paper, and it was a nice day all around.  It was not terribly hot, but not so cold that it was miserable either.  We took a train to the small town where you meet the bus to actually go up to the ruins. We actually were going to a lower elevation, so it was kind of nice to not have to deal with the extra altitude on top of all the stair climbing.

We got off the train and took a short walk to the bus.  There are two ways to get up to the ruins- hike, or bus.  The Inca Trail hike takes 4-5 days, so we thought a bus sounded a bit better. If you are a hiker, the Inca Trail is apparently a must-do!   I'm not much of a hiker, but we heard raves about seeing the ruins from the Sun Gate, which is only possible via the Inca Trail.  The bus ride was pretty crazy though.  The roads are very narrow and bumpy, and the drivers don't seem to notice or care about that fact.  We had to stop and even back up several times to allow other buses to pass.  It was sort of terrifying.

Once we arrived at the site, it was a little chaotic.  There were a lot of rules.  No hiking sticks- they were worried about erosion.  Lots of people trying to be in the same place at the same time.   But it was absolutely worth it!

This dog did not care about the crowds OR the rules.

The scariest part for me (Cathy) were the stairs.  They were uneven and made of rocks.  Sometimes it would not be a big step, other times it would be  a HUGE step.  We got quite the workout exploring.   Our tour guide went over some basics for us.

First he had us climb literally* ten billion stairs (*Note: this measurement has not been independently verified by a scientist.) so we could get this great shot:

Where people lived. Like, you know...whatever.  We're up in the mountains, no big whoop. 

There are alpacas hanging around everywhere.

This could have been your view if you lived here back in the day.

These are living quarters.

This is the official picture taking rock apparently.  It had a great view!

The clouds were coming over the mountain, which was really pretty until it started to rain. 

Everyone is having fun.

The entire tour took hours.  There really is a very rich history behind the Incas, and they did some incredible things.  Machu Picchu's population was about 1000 at its biggest.  It was more of a spiritual center than a city.  There was a Sun Temple and an astrological observatory.  There were also walls of lighter rock.  We asked about that, and were told that they acted as street lights.  The moon would reflect off the light rock and light the city at night.  The stars, sun, and moon were important to the Inca culture and they took great care in their observations.

The fact it is still standing and their aqueducts are still working is impressive!  This area of the world gets earthquakes, has a rainy season, plus lots of tourists tromping through every day.  There are workers who do maintenance, but still...it was still here waiting to be found thousands of years after it was built.

After we left (and got our passport stamped!  I'll post a picture of that later!) we decided that we needed to sit down (because ouch. Our legs really hurt) and process what we had just seen.  What do we do when we need to think about amazing ruins?

Pizza.  Pizza is the answer. 

We left the hotel that morning at 6:30 AM, and we did not get out of the ruins until nearly 3.  After climbing all those steps and walking and walking and walking, we were hungry. 

So hungry. 

There were a lot of pizza places around the town, so we decided to partake. Maybe it was the exercise talking, but that was one of the best pizzas we had ever had.  

Coffee was also necessary.

And a Pisco Sour. It tasted like a margarita. 

We have more pictures, but the internet is still not terribly great, so they will have to wait.  Really though- go to Machu Picchu.  You won't regret it.