Machu Picchu

Sunday, May 23

Our day started with a wake-up call at 4AM (unless your name was Jenny, then you were showered, half dressed, and bothering Mark.) We were at the train station by 5AM and boarded a bus for Machu Picchu. For those that don´t know, the rails to Machu Picchu were washed out by mud slides in February. As temporary service, they provide a bus ride from the train station in Cuzco, to a provisional station in Piscacucho, a town 82km into the 110km trip.

Due to a bad call on our part, we were stuck in the very back of the bus for this ride. Now, a small part of this trip was in paved roads in decent condition. The rest of the trip was offset by potholes, gravel, dirt, single lanes and other various niceties. We also happened upon a parade at 7am in Ollantaytambo, with people in full costumes and masks.

Finally after two and a half hours of bouncing around, we arrived at the provisional train station in Piscacucho. We boarded the next leg of our trip, the train, and proceeded towards Aguas Calientes.

The River Next to the Train Tracks
Piscacucho, Peru

Washed out Train Tracks
Piscacucho, Peru

When we arrived in Aguas Calientes, we weaved through an open air market, crossed over the river, located the bus station, bought our tickets, and boarded a bus to Machu Picchu. Once again we were stuck in the back of the bus, but this time only for 25 minutes.

We had no trouble entering Machu Picchu. There were no horrible bag checks, bag restrictions, or camera lens restrictions that we had read about. We climbed up to the highest point near the Inca Trailhead, and started our self-guided tour of Machu Picchu at about 10:30AM.

For those non-world-history-buffs, Machu Picchu was a lost Incan city ¨discovered¨ by Hiram Bingham, a Yale Professor in 1911. If you want more historical info on it, that´s what wikipedia is for.

Machu Picchu
Peru

JennynMark @ Machu Picchu
Peru

Main Entrance
Machu Picchu, Peru

A Carved Hole, Perhaps a Torch Holder
Machu Picchu, Peru

The Terrace Farming Section
Machu Picchu, Peru

Find the Stone Birdie
Machu Picchu, Peru

Stone House
Machu Picchu, Peru

Temple of the Condor
Machu Picchu, Peru

The Still Working Plumbing System
Machu Picchu, Peru

Machu Picchu, Peru

Temple of the Sun
Machu Picchu, Peru

Lama at Machu Picchu
Peru

Showing off the Camera
Machu Picchu, Peru

Local at Machu Picchu
Peru

Agricultural Terraces
Machu Picchu, Peru

We finished our clockwise tour of the site about 3PM, and found a grassy area overlooking the site to sit and relax for a while. We were very happy with our decision to take a self-guided tour, as we were watching other groups being herded through the site. It´s our opinion that exercising this option gave us the ability to get out of it what we wanted, and go at our own pace, while being able to refer to the expert descriptions in our book, when desired.

We exited about 3:45PM and took a bus back to Aguas Calientes, where we did a lot of looking and a little shopping.

Aguas Calientes, Peru

At 5:00PM we boarded our train for Piscacucho. This time, instead of the standard ¨tourist¨train, we took the snobby train. It´s entirely beside the point that we were on a tight schedule, and all the other options were ¨sold out¨ at the time we booked our tickets. Apparently Peru Rail plays games, trying to force people into higher priced tickets, because they made lower cost tickets available again after we locked in. There is a new startup service, Inca Rail, which will supposedly provide them with competition, but isn´t yet because they don´t accept Credit Card reservations online.

Jenny on the Train
Aguas Calientes, Peru

Inside the Train
Aguas Calientes, Peru

Outside the Train
Aguas Calientes, Peru

After a soothing 1.5 hour trip by train, featuring wine, cheese, bread, hot towels, and other five star accomidations, we were herded into a ¨Special Service¨bus for the return trip to Cuzco. The ¨Special Service¨only was visible by a sign on the window. After ten minutes on the bus, the soothing atmosphere of the train was entirely negated. This bus had less leg room, lesser comfort options and a worse ride than the ¨Standard Service¨ bus in the morning. Couple that with a half hour delay, trying to get 30+ busses all going the same direction on a one-way gravel and dirt road. Our bus ended up close to the end of the line, and we started the 2.5 hour trek back to Cuzco. We arrived in Cuzco after a mostly uneventful trip, where our driver was obviously bothered by being near the end of the line. He tried to make up time where possible, passing nearly everyone in sight, on gravel one lane roads, blind curves, switchbacks, and other fairly impossible situations.

When we got in, we decided to order a pizza and just chill out for a while. Pepperoni in Peru isn´t the same as in the states, but it still is mighty tasty.

All in all it was a great day, and a great experience, and we would recommend going there at least once.