Machu Picchu

This weekend we went to Machu Picchu and had a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Early in the morning on Saturday we boarded the train in Cusco. People from all over the world come to Cusco to go to Machu Picchu and it was evident in our train car. Out of the 50-60 in our train car, we were the only English-speaking tourists. French Canadians, Latinos, Germans, and more.

The train ride was supposed to last 4 hours but took six because our engine broke down not too far outside of Cusco. The mountains coming out of Cusco are so steep that the train has to do a series of switchbacks in which the train goes backwards and forwards up a series of tracks.

We arrived in Aguas Calientes (or Machu Picchu Pueblo) around 2 in the afternoon. The town is named after a natural hot springs that is located there. The town itself is actually quite ugly having just sprung up to accommodate the tourist industry. The buildings are non-descript rectangles of block.

Our hostel was nice, a small room with a bed and a private bathroom - the first private bathroom we've had since we've been here. We covered ourselves in sunscreen and bug repellent and headed out to get some lunch. So what do you think we ate for lunch? Some cuy (baked guinea pig - a traditional Andean dish)? Some alpaca? How about some Lomo Saltado - a kind of beef stir fry dish? None of the above. About 3/4's of the restaurants in Aguas Calientes are pizzerias. No joke. So we had a nice pepperoni pizza.

We woke at 4:45 on Sunday to get a light breakfast at 5:00 to get to the bus stop for the first bus at 5:30. When we arrived at the bus stop, there was already about 100-150 people in line. The 8km drive to the top of Machu Picchu was a series of switchbacks on a dirt road up the mountain. The Andes spring up so steeply out of the valley that we had to put our heads against the window to get a glimpse of the tops of the mountains.

We pull up to the bus stop, show our tickets, walk about 100 yards, and there it is. I can't overstate the grandiosity of Machu Picchu. It's huge. It's incredible. It's unbelievable.

Terraces cover the hillsides at impossibly steep angles. A small city stretches out in front of us, stone buildings without roofs, half-completed temples to the Sun and the Condor. It was built around 1430 and abandoned 100 years later as the conquistadors ravaged the Incas. The Spanish never found Machu Picchu though. The last Incan king took great care to not lead the Spanish there. It's actually surprising that they didn't find it considering there was a royal road from Cusco (a city for royals only) to Machu Picchu (probably a royal retreat and learning center). And by royal road I mean a stone path.

We quickly snapped some photos before it became covered in people and rushed to the base of Wayna Picchu (small or young mountain, seen in the background of the picture) to get tickets to climb it after our guided tour. They only let 400 people climb it each day. As you can see in the picture, it's very steep. What you can't see is that there more terraces and a temple there. Most people climb it for the view of Machu Picchu (Machu Picchu means old or large mountain).

After we get our tickets we scatter to the Guard House to get the typical picture, the one on all of the postcards. The stairs are steep and uneven and we stop often to catch our breath.

We have a two hour guided tour in which the guide gives us all of the information I'm now regurgitating to you. We see the temples, the sun dial, and the end of the famous Incan Trail. Amazingly, the Incans knew about true north and magnetic north. There is a rock with the four cardinal directions plus magnetic north.

Everything has symbolism. Rocks are shaped like the sacred animals: the condor, the puma, and the snake. They are close to God (physically being so high and God being in the sky) and commune with him through sacrifices of llamas, alpacas, and guinea pigs. They believe in one God and don't know what he looks like. They also celebrate the sun, the moon, the rain, and the earth (Mamapacha).

Like many religions, the land where they are is holy and given to them by God. Think of the Promised Land for the Israelites and Mecca for the Muslims. Native Americans have the same attachment to the land that gives them life.

After our tour, we exit the park and eat a ham and cheese sandwich at the cafeteria. The cafeteria is out of place. Perhaps it belongs at Disneyland, not at ancient ruins. We are too tired to climb Wayna Picchu and I'm worried about my knee on such a steep climb. Instead, we take the Inca Trail, backwards, to the Sun Gate. It's a long hike (1 hour) uphill and, again, we stop often to cool the burning in our chests and legs. The top is steep and precarious but when we get there we can turn around and see a view of all of Machu Picchu with Wayna Picchu ascending in the background.

We are done. We've seen the ruins and wondered at their construction and the people who decided to build them there, high in the mountains. We settle into our seats on the train and say goodbye to a once-in-a-lifetime visit.