Machu Picchu

Once in Aguas Calientes I got really excited to see Machu Picchu! It's one of this places you have seen on so many pictures but I actually still didn't really know what to expect. The entrance to the site opens at 6 in the morning and the gate to the stairs to get up there around 5. Our guide (who took the bus up there) told us to leave our hotel around 4:30 to get to the first checkpoint just before it opened. But obviously that would be the time everybody would get there. So Craig and I decided to get up even earlier. We left our hotel around 4 and even though there was already quite a long line outside the first checkpoint we made it through right at 5. Walking up the stairs was hard first because there were so many people. But once the slower people fell back we could actually walk free at our own pace. Craig was super motivated and almost running up the stairs. I fell behind after a while but when I got to the main entrance he was waiting for me being one of the first in line! I caught up with him and when the gates opened we managed to catch our first view of Machu Picchu with almost no people around!
I know this whole move of being first in line sounds super german but that moment standing there seeing the ruins within the clouds was so worth the hassle!
Unfortunately the weather really wasn't the best and the clouds never fully disappeared. It gave the side an even more mystical appearance but at some point it was just to cold and as it was raining a little on and off everything was wet. This made taking a break while wandering the site hard. It would have been nice to just chill on one of the surrounding plateaus for a while to enjoy the view.
The later it got the more crowded it also became. At one point I accidentally walked into a marriage proposal 😅 she said yes.
After I had explored the main ruins I went to the Inka Bridge. This was a really narrow bridge along the side of a mountain. Apparently the Inkas used to take away the wooden boards to cut off access to Machu Picchu.
For the way back we had different schedules depending on way of transportation. I was talking the bus back from Hydroelectrica so I had to walk back again along the rails. I walked by myself listening to my music and really enjoyed this replaying my memories of the day.Read more