Machu Picchu

After a long couple of days, we awarded ourselves another very early morning. We woke up at 4am and began our journey to Machu Picchu. Unfortunately, it is not a quick nor easy journey given that we are travelling during the less busy time of year. This means that the trains don't run directly and therefore we had to catch a bus to a train to another bus. That being said, we can hardly complain given that we opted against the 4 day hike that many complete to see the monument. We figured that, being short on time and it being the wet season, we were not willing to gamble 4 days of our travels with the risk of not end being able to see the site if weather isn't permitting. Not to mention, the many days hiking that would occur in heavy rain. After about 6 hours and as many naps as possible, we just about completed our journey and arrived at the little town of Agua Caliente. We enjoyed a coffee while we waited for our final bus and eventually boarded with hundreds of other people and completed the shuttle up the mountain to the site. The winding road did sometimes make you feel ill, especially as you looked down at the near vertical drop to the bottom of the valley, and you could only wonder why they chose to build a monument in such a site. But after about 30 minutes we arrived at the entrance and jumped in queue. We were a bit nervous given the amount of people on the bus weather it would be crowded but they do a good job of limiting the number of people to the site, and staggering the times in which you enter. As such, when we got our first view of the monument, and as you explored, it didn't feel crowded at all, and you could really take your time to enjoy Machu Picchu. As we looked out over the ancient site, we were blown away, firstly but the extravagance and the uniqueness of the site, but also by the minblowing location in which they decided to build it. Giving it was rainy season, it is completely possible that you can spend the day in the pouring rain with zero view of the site from the top. And, despite the day being quite wet and dreary, it cleared up just as we entered and remained completely clear the whole time. So very lucky. This meant the view of the site was perfect, but also, the view of the beautifully green valleys and mountains was barely impeded at all. We explored and followed our circuit all the way around the site, even exploring the Inca bridge, which was a cool addition. We walked through the old homes and admired the storage houses atop the even higher mountain that stood over the site before seeing the temple of the sun at the very end of the circuit. Llamas explore the site alongside the tourists and are a cool addition to the experience and a brief reminder of life as the Incas once experienced. After a couple of hours, we headed back to the town of Agua Caliente, where we got some food and enjoyed a few pisco sours. Eventually, though, the reverse journey had to be completed. So as 6 hit, we boarded our train, to our bus, and then onto our Uber to get back to the hostel. To make things worse, the train ran late, and we didn't get back until about 11pm. Making our total day about 19 hours total. Would likely reccomended a night in the small town of Agua Caliente if you aren't up for such a big day.Les mer