Machu Picchu

Aaron:

  Last weekend we went to Machu Picchu.  We left school early and took a taxi to Ollantaytambo, where we caught the train to Aguas Calientas (the village at the base of Machu Picchu).  The name of the village translates as "hot water."  The fact that you need to name it after hot water raises expectations for the hotel.  Perhaps there's a village in Peru named "Cars who stop for pedestrians."

  Here is Christy and the kids before we boarded the train.  It was an hour and a half train ride along a beautiful river.

 We had a very fancy dinner in Aguas Calientas (barbecued alpaca chased with Pisco sours for me) and even had the long-awaited hot showers.  We woke up at 5 in the morning to board the buses to get up Machu Picchu as early as possible.  We were rewarded with a beautiful day:

 We hired a guide to describe the different temples and houses. 

We are trying to enjoy our last week in Cusco and visit all the sights.  Cole started the week by taking a "field trip" to his Spanish teacher's house to play video games (in Spanish, of course).


By Christy:
Seeing Machu Picchu was a dream of mine.  I always wanted to hike the Inca Trail but that part of the dream would have been a misery with two young children.  Instead, we took the train.  I've been in one similarly stunning train- from Oslo to Bergen, Norway.  Otherwise, this ride was unparalleled for its beauty.  The train had windows in the roof so we were enveloped by the Andes as we traveled along the rushing river.  Amazing.

The only disappointment at Machu Picchu was that there wasn't any fog.  I always imagined getting there before sunrise, which we did, and watching the fog lift.  But with how cold we've been lately, this was probably God's gift to us.  The weather was perfect so really there was nothing to complain about.  We walked through the ruins with our guide then went on a separate hike to an ancient Inca bridge.  The most incredible thing about this was that we were following a trail, arrived at the bridge, could see the bridge and a few meters of trail past the bridge, then the trail just gets swallowed by the jungle.  It's interesting to think how many places still have ruins that are just completely covered by nature.

It was hard to leave.  Despite being there for 6 hours, we didn't feel done.  It isn't exactly the ruins themselves but the magestic setting.  Towering mountains, some of them snow capped, surround the ruins.  I think this is what makes it so special.  The 3 things that made it easier to leave were #1 the increasing heat (but I wasn't complaining), #2 the masses of tourists that arrived while we were on our hike to the Inca bridge, #3 knowing we had the same amazing train ride back!


Cole ling in the King's bed.

 Anna waiting for her groom in the marriage chambers.  When Cole realized these were the marriage chambers, he took off!

The Inca Bridge.  What you can't get from this picture is the sense of vertigo created by the long, sheer drop below.  I don't understand why they left a bridge when they filled in all the other parts of the wall.  We all wonder how many people died creating this, since they were likely standing on the steps you see in order to build the rest...