Machu Picchu

What a day! Took the 8:30 Peru Rail train 🚈 to Aguas Calientes with our guide, Yaharya. We had seats on the left side of the train which is ideal for seeing the gorgeous views on the way. They served drinks and sandwiches, and the ride took 1.5 hours. At the train station we gave our overnight bags to porters who took the luggage to our hotel (Inkaterra). In the meantime, we walked a short distance in town to catch a bus to go the 1/2 hour up the mountain to Machu Picchu.
I've heard from several people that, even with all the hype, you can't help but be overcome by the Incan city that was never destroyed by invading armies. They were right.
When you turn the corner and see the city, it's awe inspiring!
Yaharya gave us a 2 hour informative tour of this Incan city that was shared with the world after 'discovery' by an American history professor from Yale in 1911.
We ate an included buffet lunch at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge. Afterwards, Yaharya left us to head back to Cusco (4 hours back! And only to come with a different group tomorrow).
We headed back into the archeological site to take the Sun Gate hike. An hour up and difficult but absolutely worth it! The views were stunning. The Sun Gate is the entrance from the Inca trail into Machu Picchu. I was far less winded on the hike then I anticipated and was proud of my accomplishment. 😊
I forgot to mention that we were accompanied on our hike by our red bull-pig. We forgot our Wandering pig at home and had to buy a stand-in. No red pigs at the markets so we opted for a red bull (to go with the red hippo-pig we had to buy in Africa)! 🐷🐂
Dave did the hike in his water shoes that he's been wearing since the Amazon when his hiking shoes literally fell apart. It's surprisingly difficult to find a pair of hiking shoes in the small cities of Peru! His water shoes have been holding up great though.
After the bus ride back down the mountain we walked to our hotel, another Inkaterra. The hotel is beautiful and our room is impressive. (I'm running out of adjectives for this trip I think!)
We were a mess so we took showers before going out to explore the grounds. Then we had dinner which was included in our stay and which was delicious. Very impressed with Inkaterra resorts. Too bad they are only in Peru!Read more