Machu Pichu
Trip Start
Aug 27, 2008
1
10
Trip End
Oct 23, 2008
Lima, Peru
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Aguas Calientes is at the base of the switchbacks going to Machu Pichu. It is at the transition between highlands and jungle, with much jungle vegetation and animals, and is deep in the canyon formed by the Urubamba River. We had a cheap room with an excellent view of an almost sheer 2000 foot cliff with jungle vegetation on it. While other travelers that we have talked with that have been to Aguas Calientes did not think much of the town we liked it. It was touristy but the green vegetation, the sheer sides of the canyon, and the constant sound of the river made it a location with a pleasant and energetic presence. The only way to get to Aguas Calientes is by train and the train ride from Ollantaytambo was interesting as we dropped into more of a jungle setting.
To get to Machu Pichu from Aguas Calientes involves a bus ride up a number of switchbacks cut into the side of the canyon. After seeing so many Inca and pre-Inca ruins on this trip we thought we might get to Machu Pichu and find it to be "just another ruin." Nothing could be farther from the truth. It is the most beautiful place, peaceful and energetic at the same time. Machu Pichu affected us emotionally with its beauty and the energy we could feel there. We got to Machu Pichu around 6:00 A.M. while there were wisps of clouds around the surrounding peaks. It was one of the most beautiful sights we have ever seen. Shortly after 8:00 A.M. we met our guide for a two hour tour. The guide was excellent and helped us notice many interesting things we had not seen on our own.
If you want to see Machu Pichu, do it soon. There is a lot of talk about limiting the number of people that can come to Machu Pichu to preserve what is there. Now people can wander around anywhere they want at Machu Pichu walking almost anywhere and touching many of the rocks. Sometime in the future the numbers may be limited and a few walkways may limit where people can go. We were so awed by Machu Pichu that we climbed to the top of the main part of Machu Pichu (550 steps) twice and wandered for hours over many more steps. With Kris's sciatica we were worried that she would not be able to get to the top even once but she did great.
If you have any inkling that you want to go to Machu Pichu, GO!!
After Aguas Calientes we went to a fascinating place called Moray. At this place the Incas made terraces in circles in several depressions in the highlands. Speculation is that these terraces were used as an agricultural experimental area with different climate zones as the terraces went up the hillsides.
From Moray we went to the small town of Pisac and stayed a night in time to get to the Sunday handicrafts market, the largest handicrafts market in Peru. The market stretched on the streets of Pisac from one edge of town to the other edge of town. It was an interesting sight to see crafts from all over the sacred valley and the highlands in one place.
From Pisac we went back to Cusco for a couple of nights. After two weeks of staying in hostels with limited facilities and comforts we decided to splurge on a nicer hotel and chose one that was situated in an old Spanish mansion built in the early 1600's. It was remodeled in 2004 but retained its old charm. The bed we slept in was a brass bed that was over 200 years old. It was great to just chill out for a couple of days and rest up from the serious travel of the last two weeks. This was an expensive hotel for Peru at $70 per night.
We took an overnight bus from Cusco to Arequipa. While we slept much of the way, we were still really tired the next day. It was great to see Maria and the girls at the Llama Education Center and stay with them for a couple of days. We also met a couple of other students, from Canada and from Japan, that were interesting.
On Friday we flew to Lima. The place we stayed the first night was a real dump, so we decided to look around and, within half a block, we found a much nicer hostal that was not much more expensive. We need to get up at 3:00 A.M. on Thursday morning (23 October) to get to the airport to catch our flight. We will arrive in Denver after 9:00 P.M. the same day.
We spend some of our time now talking about things we miss about the U.S. When we were anticipating the trip we were looking forward to eating out a lot and not having to cook. Now one of the things we miss the most is being able to cook our own meals. We look forward to being able to flush the toilet paper in the toilet rather than putting it in a trash can. We look forward to being able to get big refillable drinks for a reasonable price. And we look forward to having ice and iced tea. We do miss our hot tub, our icemaker, drinkable water out of the tap, and our bathtub. But most of all we miss our family and friends. We hope to have some good meals with some of you when we get back to get to know you again.
We have learned a lot about Peru and about ourselves on this trip. We will post one more travel blog here once we get back with some thoughts about our trip and about travel.
Comments
Time to Start Thinking - POWDER
The trip sounds wonderful. After our 2 month trip to Chile and Argentina, we were ready to get back to Seattle, our bed and the hot tub.
OK, you're return timing sounds good because the ski season is just starting. A Basin is open with the Exhibition lift operating and they blew snow on High Noon. Loveland also opened one run. There is a winter storm warning in the WA Cascade mountains and my diapers are getting moist just thinking about the upcoming ski season.
Get out your snorkel - it's ski season.
Zap & Jill