Machu Picchu has been the number 1 thing on my bucket list for close to 6 years. I first fell in love during high school Spanish class and have never looked back. I new one day I would step foot at this wonder of the world but I never imagined it would happen so soon. It was a weekend I will never forget.....
Our tour was 2 days and 1 night, which in my opinion is the minimum amount of time, I would much rather have stayed an extra night. The closest town to Machu Picchu is Aguas Calientes, which is most easily reached by train and where all the tourists stay before and/or after their trip to Machu Picchu. We took Peru Rail but there are two other companies that run the same route. We left from the station in Ollantaytambo which is about 1 hour and half from Cusco. Our train left at 1pm but we had to be there at 12:30 so we left the Casa around 9, stopped at a pottery studio then continued on. We were early so we picked up some snacks, I got a Choclo (huge kernel corn and cheese) then boarded. On the way there we took the cheapest train which was still nice, we got a snack and a drink even though it's only maybe a 2 hour trip. Someone from the hotel we were staying at, Killa Inn, was at the train station to pick us up. He took us just a short walk to the Inn, we checked in and went to our rooms. The beds were extremely nice and the bathrooms, modern and plenty of hot water (I mean the town is called Aguas Calientes). Some of us went to do a little shopping, I picked up a couple of souvenirs (but really it was all the same stuff sold in Cusco) then we met up to go to a Mexican place, it was really bad and expensive. We had over an hour before we had to meet our tour guide for Machu Picchu so we went back to the hotel and played cards. Our tour guide was right on time (surprising) and he told us to be ready at 5:30am the next morning, this is when the first set of buses leaves from the town and although they come every 5 minutes we wanted to be up there early to watch the sun come up. After that we decided to go to a French place, called Indio Feliz because some people hadn't eaten. It was much, much, much better than the food we had earlier. I had the tomato soup, which was fantastic and Lauren got a pasta plate that came with "add your own" muchrooms, pesto, red sauce and cheese. Everyone loved the food and it was very fast. All of us went to bed early since we had to get up so early for the big day:)
I woke up at 4:30, took a shower, got dressed and lugged my belongs downstairs to the lobby. I put one bag in storage and kept my backpack with water, snacks and camera. I had breakfast at the hotel then we all met our tour guide and walked to the "bus stop" its just a road where like 10 or so buses line up to bring the thousands of tourists that visit Machu Picchu up the winding, mountain road. Once we got there, there was already a line, so we took advantage of the only bathrooms in the whole complex. The line went quickly because there were 4 people checking tickets. When all of us were in, we started the tour. At this point you still can't really see Machu Picchu, the view that is always shown on postcards and souvenirs anyway. After a short walk, up stairs, I finally saw what I had come all the way to Peru to see, MACHU PICCHU!! We took pictures, which was difficult with all the people, and watched as the sun came up over the mountains. Our tour was about 3 hours long and included many of the important places within the city, such as the sun temple, sun dial, temple of the three windows and the main gate. The mountain seen in the famous view of Machu Picchu is called Huayna Picchu, which one must now pay to climb. The mountain behind the photographer and is rarely seen in photos is called Machu Picchu mountain, this is free but takes 2 hours, we were told to hike. We had to leave at noon in order to catch our train so our 2 choices, with the amount of time we had, were either the Inca bridge or the Sun Gate (the gate to Machu Picchu from the Inca Trail). We decided to go to the Inca bridge, this was a drawbridge made by removing a part of the path on a sheer rock face and placing logs that could be removed if necessary. Afterwards we still had an hour and a half till we had to leave but only Ethan and I stayed, the rest make the trek down to have lunch. I wanted to take advantage of every moment I had. So we relaxed on one of the grassy terraces, got very close to multiple llamas and because of a lack of sun screen got a little crispy. Eventuality we had to leave or risk missing the train so we sadly packed up and headed back down. We stamped our passports at the entrance on the way out, took the bus down and met up with the others at the hotel to pick up the things we had stored there. Then off to the train station and onto the train, this time we were taking the Vistidome back, which had nicer seats, more leg room, better food and drink and entertainment. There was a dancer from the Paucartambo festival on our car as well the attendants preformed a fashion show, they do things weirdly here in Peru.
We met up with our driver to go back to Cusco at the train station. And just like that my trip to Machu Picchu was over, I still can't believe that I was there. I came, I saw, I conquered!
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