Machu Picchu

Today was the day we had been waiting for for most of the trip: our visit to the world famous Machu Picchu! We woke up around 5:15AM and got ready for the day before heading down to our included breakfast of rolls, eggs, and tea. Our guide met us right on time, we stored our backpacks for the day (I brought a smaller one with me and only carried what I needed for the day), and we were off! 

We caught the bus from right near our hostel and headed up the mountain. The switch backs have steep cliffs and there were lots of clouds along the drive, so we could see sometimes and other times there was only white. The ride overall was about 30 minutes and then we were at the entrance to Machu Picchu!

When we arrived there were clouds everywhere, and we were basically in them. The mists keep changing and revealing different sections of the ruins, making it incredibly interesting as it morphed. Our tour was two hours long and was really great. It would be impossible to write everything about the tour, so I'll have to tell you about it when we do a slideshow later. We saw all of the main grounds, including the resident llamas. Sadly we did not see any chinchillas, but we were assured they existed there. The coolest things was the difference between the stones used. More important places had more perfect and uniform stones for the walls. The president equivalent had the next best, and servants had more imperfect stones used for the walls. The greatest care was taken for the temples. They also used the mountain in their construction, which was pretty cool. The whole place is just overall incredibly impressive and spectacular. 

After the tour we exited the site to say goodbye to our guide and use the restrooms. We then re-entered to explore more on our own before climbing Waynapicchu. We climbed to the caretakers hut, which had the stereotypical view of Machu Picchu. It was so amazing. The clouds initially blocked some of the view, but moved while we were up there so we got some amazing pictures. We also rested a bit, had a snack, and reapplied sunscreen. I have so many pictures from up there it's ridiculous. Really I just have a ridiculous number of photos all together -- over 300!

When it was about 9:40AM we started walking towards Waynapicchu. We got in line and waited to pass the entrance point. The line took a little while since everyone needs to show their ticket and passport, as well as sign in and say what time you entered. It's boring while you're waiting, but it spaces people out a bit, which is nice. Overall the hike was pretty hard. It wasn't technically difficult or really scary, but it was a TON of stairs, and steep ones at that. My apple health app said that by the end of the day (Machu Picchu and Waynapicchu together) I had climbed roughly 245 flights of stairs!! No wonder I was so exhausted. I am definitely not in good enough shape right now, which was proven by my max heart rate of 170! Yikes. Luckily we made it to the top and had spectacular views down on Machu Picchu. It was really awesome. The site looks very different when you view it from the peak instead of with the peak in the background. The hike down was much easier on my heart rate, but not much easier on my quads or knees, since we had to go down the steep stairs, often holding onto cables on the mountain. They weren't necessary to not fall off, but I definitely appreciated them. I did cut myself on the edge of one, so thank goodness I've had a tetanus shot in the last five years. Through all this I was super thankful that we had amazing weather as well! Not a drop of rain the entire time we were at Machu Picchu or hiking Waynapicchu. That hike would have been slippery and a little scary had it been rainy. Also just overall would have been a bit miserable. 

When we finally finished the hike we walked through Machu Picchu back to the entrance to head out. I of course took  more pictures and had to walk a few more flights of stairs. Exhausting, but so worth it. When we left the site we grabbed the bus back to Aguas Calientes (better known to the locals as Machu Picchu Pueblo) and decided it was time for lunch! We dropped off the stuff we didn't want to carry anymore and made the trek uphill (ugh) to Chez Maggy for pizza! Apparently Chez Maggy is a chain, because I've seen one in every city I've been to in Peru. The pizza was delicious and it was nice to relax. It also started raining while we were on the bus down so we were thankful to be inside. 

After lunch we wandered the artisenia markets near the train station and I bought a little llama or alpaca made of alpaca wool that was soft and cute. Caitlin got some jewelry and another sweater, but I decided to get my sweater in Cusco where things were actually cheaper. Eventually it was time to catch the train, so we grabbed our bags and headed to the station. 

The artesenia in Aguas Calientes near the train station

More views of the town

The train ride was nice, but we were split up. I ended up sitting with and ID doctor from UAB whose cousin did anesthesia residency at Michigan and now works in Dad's group in San Ramon. Very small world. We chatted for most of the ride and it passed by quickly. 

When we arrived in Ollantaytambo we used the restrooms and then tried to figure out how we were supposed to get back to Cusco. We couldn't find anyone from the tour company so we got in a collectivo (mini bus/large van) to get back. While we were waiting for the bus to fill we found a guy yelling my name and it turned out he was form the tour company. He said the bus we were on was fine and he paid our fare, which was what I thought was supposed to happen in the first place. We probably could have gotten in a taxi instead, but honestly the bus was more comfortable because no one was squished in the middle in the back. The only issue with the bus was that I got really nauseous during almost the whole ride. No fun! We got back safely though and walked back to the hostel without and issues.

When we checked into the hostel we were in a different room than before, but the other six beds in our room are empty, which is nice. We showered and said goodbye to Paige, since she leave early in the morning, and then went downstairs to get some food. The taqueños we ordered ended up taking forever, but we had a nice chat with our English friend Polly and it was alright despite my being very hangry. We scarfed down the food and immediately were ready for bed, so now I'm going to pass out! Night! Pics take too long so will do later.