When we decided to go on a trip around the world, we both agreed that we didn't want to go to places where one or the other of us had already been. There were, however, the few exceptions of London, Istanbul, and Edinburgh. We visited Lynn and Rob in London, Sarp and Tugce in Istanbul, and Edinburgh was where we flew in and out of in order to explore the rest of Scotland. So, Machu Picchu, nor even Peru were on the list of destinations since Jake had been back in 2007 when he hiked the Inca trail with a group from grad school. That changed when the cheapest way to get to Galapagos was via Cusco, Peru, the closest major town to Machu Picchu. Due to time and budget constraints, we agreed not to do a multi-day hike into Machu Picchu but instead to do a day trip from Cusco. I was really looking forward to seeing this amazing Inca structure as you can't read about South America and not see pictures of it. We booked the tour with a company called Llamapath that our friend Mo had used for her four day hike to Machu Picchu last summer. Despite being only 70 miles from Cusco, in order to pull off our visit in a day, it meant that we had to:
- get picked up by a car in Cusco at 3:40AM and drive two hours to the train station in Ollanta
- take a two hour train ride to the town of Agua Calientes/Machupicchu
- take a 30 minute bus ride up to Machu Picchu
All this before 9AM! When we arrived in Ollanta at 5:30, the town was ready for us. Many vendors lined the street selling all sorts of snacks, cakes, drinks, bug spray and of course souvenirs. We found a spot to sit down and have a cup of coffee before it was time to board the train. As we boarded I said to Jake, "you know, sometimes its fun to get up in the middle of the night!". As the sun began to rise and more people boarded the train, I was reminded of how unique this experience we are on is. We were surrounded by couples decades older than us who probably have kids away at college or off with families of their own, and kids that looked like they were in high school (which probably means they are in or just out of college). Most of the time, I feel like there aren't many travelers that are our age. Sometimes we meet people closer to our age, but they are never from the U.S. Often, they didn't quit their jobs, but instead are between jobs. Most travelers we meet are from Europe, Australia or New Zealand, and fixed-length contract work seems most common in those regions. So these travelers have simply timed their long trips after a contract ends and before a new one starts, or before they find themselves a new one. Thanks for reading my random digression about fellow travelers, now I'll get back to Machu Picchu.
The train ride itself was great. It was a train only for passengers to Machu Picchu, and with tall and wide windows you could enjoy the various Peruvian terrain along the way. We were surrounded by mountains, a river and quaint countryside. When we arrived in Agua Calientes, our guide met us at the train station and accompanied us on the 30 minute bus ride up to Machu Picchu. Then we enjoyed a two hour guided tour of Machu Picchu. Well, it started out enjoyable. When we arrived, it was raining, but it was more of a mist. Walking in and seeing the incredible sight that is Machu Picchu, surrounded by many beautiful green Andes mountains, was breathtaking.
Before the fog...
Luckily the clouds/fog weren't too bad when we first walked in so I could actually appreciate the sight. The way it was built is incredible. The Incas truly were masterful engineers. There have been dozens of earthquakes in the region over the centuries and it is still standing. The stones were cut so precisely and fit together so seamlessly that I bet you couldn't even fit a credit card in between them. What did they have for tools? How did they move the stones? How did they cut them and make their work so perfect? It really is incredible. You could see some evidence of this architecture in Cusco as well, but unfortunately the Spanish destroyed most of it there. That is, until they realized that the buildings they built weren't earthquake proof and the Inca structures were. Then the Spanish started building on top of Incan foundations.
Incan stonework from the city of Cusco.
What is known about Machu Picchu is mostly based on speculation. Its believed that the Incan structure was built during the height of the Inca empire which was in western South America during the 15th and 16th centuries. Many archeologists believe that it was a royal estate for Inca emperors, others believe that it was not a residence of any kind but that it was religious site. That theory is supported by its proximity to mountains and other geological features that the Incas worshiped. No one knows why it was abandoned but its believed that the Spanish never found the site because its location is hidden away in the rocky Andes mountains. There was simply no easy way to get there. It was rediscovered in 1911, when Hiram Bingham, an American archeologist stumbled upon it. According to history.com,
"In the summer of 1911 the American archaeologist Hiram Bingham arrived in Peru with a small team of explorers hoping to find Vilcabamba, the last Inca stronghold to fall to the Spanish. Traveling on foot and by mule, Bingham and his team made their way from Cuzco into the Urubamba Valley, where a local farmer told them of some ruins located at the top of a nearby mountain. The farmer called the mountain Machu Picchu, which translates to “old peak” in the native Quechua language. On July 24, after a tough climb to the mountain’s ridge in cold and drizzly weather, Bingham met a small group of peasants who showed him the rest of the way. Led by an 11-year-old boy, Bingham got his first glimpse of the intricate network of stone terraces marking the entrance to Machu Picchu."
It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and in 2007 it was designated as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. It's estimated that around a million people visit each year.
By the end of our 2+ hour guided walk, the fog had rolled in masking almost the entire structure and the rain was torrential. We were drenched. We had rain coats with us, but since it was dry season and we hadn't actually expected rain we both had on jeans and while I had on my waterproof hiking boots, Jake had on his running sneakers. We had planned to spend most of the day enjoying Machu Picchu and Jake was hoping to get some great photographs. The weather was so bad, he never even took the camera out. I was very sad for him. Since there seemed to be no end in sight for the clouds or rain, we decided that our time at Machu Picchu was over and we'd wait out the 4+ hours at a restaurant in town. Problem was, getting back into town was a 30 minute bus ride and the line to get on the bus was over two hours long. There was no cover while you were in line for the bus, so as we stood there in the pouring rain waiting, I suggested that we walk back down to town instead. We might as well pass the time with a walk instead of standing around aggravated in the cold rain. Two Peruvian women joined us but due to their lack of English and our limited Spanish our conversation with them didn't last too long. After about an hour and a half of walking we were back in town and found a place to eat. Our guide had suggested a restaurant and had described it as "safe", meaning that the food was safe to eat. We walked in and realized it was out of our budget so opted for another choice. What is the saying? Hindsight is 20/20? Oh how I wished we had listened to him. That's what I was thinking when I was getting sick in the bathroom on the train back to Cusco. I've had food poisoning once before in my life, and this time it was far, far worse. Luckily I made it from the train back to our hostel with out any emergency situations but then I was up most of the night violently ill. Stomach pains like I've never had before. As a result, I spent our one full day in Cusco in bed instead of exploring what seemed like an awesome town. I was also miserable during our 21+ hour day of travel to Galapagos the day after that, but luckily I felt better and better as that day went along.
While seeing Machu Picchu was memorable, it was one of the most miserable overall days of the trip.
~Jesslyn
Sources:
http://www.history.com/topics/machu-picchu
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/machu-picchu/621031
The fog rolls in.