New Thing #88 - Peru (Day #3)

September 1, 2017

YOU GUYS.....I'M GOING TO MACHU PICCHU TODAY!!!!

Words can't describe the emotions I'm having. Not only am I about to see one of the new 7 Wonders of the World, but my grandpa's funeral is today. The excitement is mixed with sorrow, leading me to be up around 3:00 am, though we don't have to be ready to go until 5:30. It's that travel adrenaline, coursing through my veins.

I opt to head upstairs for breakfast, because I'm always hungry. Not a huge selection, but managed to get some ham, pastry and fruit before Brenda and Sandi joined me. Abel swung by at 5:30 to pick us up and walk us down to the bus stop. You can hike up the road to the entrance to MP (which takes a few hours) or you can pay to take the 25 minute bus ride. Yeahhh, we totally paid for the bus ride. Not because we didn't want to hike...okay, we totally didn't want to hike....but, it was also much faster. We didn't have all day, so we needed to make the best use of our time. And SEEING Machu Picchu was way more important than spending time hiking up to it.

It was cool and slightly rainy this morning, so I'm glad I had my waterproof jacket I took to Iceland. I probably could have skipped packing it though, because I only needed it for a short time this morning, and I never needed it again the whole trip. Lesson learned. We did end up standing in line for the bus for about an hour, so I guess if we had hiked it, we would have been halfway to the top by now. Oh well. Abel said they have 24 buses going back and forth, but they were poorly timed this morning. They all seemed to arrive at the same time, jockeying for space at the curb.

So. Early.

It's wet, ya'll!

I hate standing in lines.

Tiiiiiiiny bus!

It was a very cramped bus (think of the terrible leg room on a budget airline and then subtract a few inches), on a VERY windy road. But, the views were spectacular, given the mist and fog this morning. About 25 minutes later, we were dropped off, used the facilities (the only ones in the entire ruins), and then Abel took us in.

Thank God for getting there early. While there was a definite crowd, it was nothing like it would be in the next few hours. Abel was very patient with us, giving us a TON of MP history, stopping whenever we needed to catch our breath, clued us in on all the best photo stops and took a billion photos for us. I'm so glad we had a guide, because while I don't remember a lot of the history now, he was a fountain of knowledge during the tour, and told us things we wouldn't have known if we had walked it alone. (MP has now passed a rule that you can't hike into the ruins without a pre-approved guide. It's to help preserve the site, as well as keep people from going off unattended.)

I was so in awe of the day that I remember little of what he told us, so I'll let the photos do the talking. I took a billion, so forgive me if they get repetitive. It's hard to narrow down the best ones, so I just threw them all in. Enjoy!

Getting ready to head in!

Tribute to Hiram Bingham, the American explorer who discovered the ruins in 1911.

Haven't even truly made it in yet, and the views are breathtaking.

Let's go left!

Check out that sexy chest harness for my GoPro!

Oh heyyyyy...

Don't look down!

What MP looked like when Hiram Bingham discovered it.

Machu Picchu is the mountain I'm standing on and where all the stone structures are. It means "Old Mountain". The tall mountain in the back is Waynu Picchu and means "Young Mountain". You can also climb it, though it only admits 400 hikers per day. We didn't have time, plus it looked quite a bit more bonkers to climb.

I'M REALLY HERE!!!

I totally look Photoshopped in, don't I?!

Camera is over here, B.

This view really put me at peace. Being here, experiencing this, is unlike anything I can describe. I felt grandpa's presence every step of the way.

These photos miiiiight be overkill.

Andddd, we're all looking at different places. Nice.

Didn't have time to go up there!

Um, don't look down. I hope the Incans were surer on their feet than we were.

You guessed it, more terraces!

So, it wasn't freezing cold up here or anything, but it certainly wasn't warm. And the rocks were slippery from the rain, and crumbly from, you know, hundreds of years of use and erosion. But, hey, wear a sundress and your Birks to MP. Makes total sense.

The vertical version.

And the horizontal. For comparison.

I can't imagine climbing this and trying to farm it!

Does anyone else think this looks like a senior photo?

Yep, totally looks like Class of 2017 right here. But, could you imagine taking your senior photos here?!

Crowds are getting bigger.

This doorway was significant. I don't remember why.

HJ...always, always eating...even at MP.

Hey girl hey!

A more casual senior photo...

It's unbelievable how intact the houses still are. All that is missing are the thatched roofs.

Great place for some reflection and prayer.

Apparently Sandi was having some technical difficulties with her pantalones!

Abel said that he grew up in Aguas Calientes, and when he was little, they used to climb the mountain and play soccer (futbol) in the grassy areas. Now it's strictly forbidden to preserve the site.

This was important. For kings or something.

Natural compass. The rock, not the iPhone.

Death stairs.

Apparently this is supposed to look like the head of a condor.

Gotta get that perfect pano!

Look at the people for scale and how small they look!

While alpacas are supposed to be prevalent all over the ruins, we really didn't see too many of them until the very end. Very agile on their hooves though.

Goodbye Machu Picchu. I'll never forget you.

Abel, the best dang guide we could have asked for!

Stunning views from the bus, if you didn't mind the carsickness.

When we finished, Abel said we had time to walk through again on our own, if we so wished. However, it was a one-way and we would have to start back at the beginning (where the crowd had more than quadrupled since our arrival). We opted not to make the trek again, since we had already spent about 3 hours here. The rain had stopped and the bugs had come out of hiding, our feet were ready for a respite, and I don't think any of us wanted to fight the hoard of people pouring into the entrance gates. We hopped back on an even more cramped bus (if that is even possible) and headed back into town.

We had quite a bit of time to kill so Brenda and I stopped for a drink and a snack while Sandi shopped, and I soon joined her to pick up a few souvenirs before we all met for another buffet lunch. I much prefer the fresh fruits and veggies of these buffets than to some of the ones in the states, laden with high fat options.

AC is pretty in its own right, and was built specifically for MP tourism.

The original name was Aguas Calientes meaning "hot waters" or "hot springs", the Spanish name used to represent all the natural hot springs. Apparently there has been some movement to change the name to this, though from what I could tell it hasn't stuck with the locals or tourists.

Jugo de piña! (Pineapple juice) Friggin delish. We also demolished some sweet caramel crepes.

Condor, puma and snake, the Incan trinity.

Love me some Peruvian buffets!

Veggies and starches to start!

After we killed a bit of time in our hotel, we headed to the river front for a beer before boarding our train back to Urubamba. We had great views of the river this time, and our staff was the same as before. This time, they performed some traditional Incan music/dancing and modeled some authentic Peruvian wool apparel, available for purchase. I made the mistake of needing to get up to use the bathroom before we arrived and wound up smack dab in the middle of their damn fashion show. Everyone on the train started clapping for me as I walked by. Awkward.

Nice hotel. Great Pisco sours!!

Our view while we grabbed a few beers.

Farewell drinks!

Yum!!

This trek is much less murder-y in daylight.

Peruvian construction. Seems legit.

Train station.

Chica morada, a drink made from purple corn. Pretty tasty, but very sweet. I couldn't drink much more than this.

Beautiful views of the Urubamba River.

Quinoa pizza.

I assure you, they explained this ritual. I can't for the life of me remember what it is. Although I'm fairly certain I'll have nightmares about him.

Should we be concerned when the conductor jumps off the moving train, does something and then runs to catch back up with it?!

We ended up back at the same hotel monastery as the night before, including our same exact room. We didn't feel much like hailing a taxi or walking far for our dinner, and we happened to stumble across a deserted restaurant right next door. The lack of patrons was a bit unsettling, but we were hungry and hoped that the lack of other customers would expedite our meal. (Oh, and the reviews online were pretty good, too.)

Most of what they offered was seafood, and that's not high on mine or Sandi's lists. As we started to walk away, the server (owner?) offered to make us just about anything else we wanted. Brenda got the octopus, I asked for something similar to aji de gallina, and Sandi asked for a salad. They negotiated what she wanted in the salad, and we hoped for the best. Holy crap, they made some kind of chicken tortellini things with the yellow chili sauce that I like, and it was SO GOOD! Sandi loved her salad and B was in love with her pulpo. For a 3 minute walk, we definitely scored on our restaurant choice.

Once the bugs settled in, we called it a night, because Sandi and I have a mountain to climb tomorrow.

Great little out of the way restaurant next to our hotel.

Seriously, not a single other person was here.

In love with the light fixture.

Fried plantains!

I don't know exactly what this is called, but it's chicken, pasta and chili sauce with a hint of awesome.