This morning, as usual, we need to be up and at 'em early. Our pickup to get to the Potroy station is 6:06 am. Although we were a little blurry-eyed from getting up in time to pack, eat and check out we made the van. On the way from the hotel to the train station we receive a plain manila envelope with the instructions for the next step of our assignment ... I mean this is almost like real James Bond stuff. The next thing we know, we are zipping through the countryside for the three hour ride to Aguas Caliente, the little town in the valley at the base of Machupichu.
As usual, the passing countryside is very interesting. So, is the train. We are booked on the Vistadome special, a very nice train with comfy seats and lots of space .
There is even linen tablecloth service soon after we get underway.
All in all, it was a beautiful, comfy ride. Please remember all of the nice things I said about this ride for a later part of the story. When we made a stop at the Ollantaytambo station, the ubiquitous vendors were even working the train for the five minutes we were stopped.
They would run along the windows of the train, ambitiously hawking their wares. It seemed a little unlikely to me that someone would jump up from their breakfast, leap off the train to buy that really neat hat ... the fifth one from the top ... pay the man and scramble back on the train and to their seat before leaving the station. But, I guess there are enough that do or they wouldn't be running alongside the train.We arrived at Aguas Calientes, named for the natural hot springs there, and got to our hotel without incident. After checking in, the first order of business was to beat it down to the bus station for the ride to the top. Yes, we rode the bus to the top. I realize there is a walking(climbing) trail option. But, turns out that is actually a set of stone stairs, put there by the Incas, that runs almost straight up for thousands of feet. It crosses the dirt bus route several times on the way up. So, you have not only the opportunity to die of a heart attack, you can get run over by one of the buses. It was a tough choice, but we picked the bus.
When we got into the park, everyone was given a choice to go with a Spanish speaking guide or an English speaking? guide. and we gathered around them accordingly. Our guide was cosmo.
He was a character with many. many stories about the Incas and Machupichu. Some of which he repeated enough that we could nearly recite them with him by the time we were finished. I guess he was obligated to fill a certain amount of time. Our group consisted on only one other couple from the US. The balance came from various parts of Europe and England ... Germany, Poland, etc.
Cosmo immediately proceeded to take us to the highest part of Machupichu to start the tour ... and we began
to take the obligatory tourist on the precipice photos.
At this highest point, we were actually in the graveyard of MP and beyond the big ceremonial stone and the terraces of burials, you could see the infamous Inca Trail coming over the mountain and down into the site. This is the optional 38km, four day walk that you can take to get there (not our choice for obvious reasons.)
Its a stone "road" about six feet wide that you really can't see in this shot. But, it is directly over that big ceremonial stone and comes over the huge mountain in the background. I saw a group arrive and, believe me, there is quite a bit of celebrating over having completed that achievement.
I can't begin to go through the history behind Machupichu in this blog. But, it is indeed fascinating. Especially when you realize that the Incas ruled for only around one hundred years. During that time, without major equipment and tools, they conquered a big chunk of South America plus built all of the stuff we were seeing and a lot more we wouldn't be able to get to. How long did it take them to dig that tunnel thing in Boston?
Anyway, here are a few of the many many pictures we took on that day:
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