Friday, May 11, 2007: Machu Picchu

( Happy Birthday Nicole ) We all had a rough and largely sleepless night, so our "wake-up" calls at 4:30 weren't all that welcome. Larry and I both had headaches and I had a roiling tummy. But we managed to be packed up and ready to geo at shortly after 5:30.

Fabricio took us to the train station and handed us over to our guide for the day, Andreis. The 3 hour, 45 minute train ride was interesting, with a great change of scenery from the high, dry area of Cusco to the lower, jungly area around Aqua Calientes and Machu Picchu. There were many people walking on around or across the tracks, so there was much blowing of the train whistle. 

When we arrived a porter from the hotel met us and took our overnight bags, and we boarded the bus up to the site. It's a rough road with many switchbacks and the first glimps of Mach Picchu take you by surprise. 

We decided to climb first to a fairly high vantage point and then work our way down. It was rough for some of us whose climbing stamina wasn't up to snuff, and one lady had serious problems with the climb. She made it to the vantage point and heard the description of the site, but ended up going straight back down to the base and spending a few hours waiting for the rest of us. One other man was ill for the whole time and we had to wait for him a few times as he disappeared behind rocks. 

But the place is amazing! The workmanship and the design are so impressive. And the site is vast. Of course the pictures don't do it justice. We walked through the principle areas, including the climb to the Sundial, the Condor and the Mother Earth temple, right below the Temple of the Sun. By early afternoon we were all tired, and had had enough sun, so we went to the restaurant and had a really nice lunch. Eventually we caught a bus back down to the town. Our guide escorted the 3 of us to our hotel, the Ikatena Machu Picchu Pueblo - and suggested that we had seen Machu Picchu at its best and should check out the hotel's programs. It turns out to be a great place. It's spread out over area, has lovely gardens and walkways and is an ecological preserve. Although we were too tire to do anything right away, we realized the wisdom of looking here for tomorrow's activities. 

We all rested for a couple of hours before going to happy hour. On the way we stopped and registered for a bird watching hike at 0630 tomorrow. Then we went to the bar for our complementary Pisko Sours and met a charming young man named Graham from Cornwall, UK who completed the Inka Trail this morning. We also discovered Hilda, from our group this morning and she joined us for a drink. She had later dinner reservations but Graham joined us for dinner. It was a lively meal and we learned lots about his fascinating around-the-world trip. Finally we made an early night of it. This was a once-in-a-lifetime day for certain. 

All Photos May 11