miércoles, 3 de octubre de 2012

22/09/2012 - Machu Picchu – Bless you! – Thank you



[OK, so Tony might be the only one who thinks that ‘Machu Picchu’ sounds like a sneeze. Leave that one there…]
Machu Picchu from Machu Picchu mountain - it;s a long way up, that;s for sure!
























Watching the parting of the mist...
Planting a picture


This was the biggie – even though we weren’t arriving through the classic Inca trail (the proper Gringo Trail, which had been booked out almost 6 months in advance so unrealistic for people with plans as fluid as ours!) we were still pretty excited. Not by the early morning though – got up at 4:30am to ‘see’ the sunrise in the cloudy mountains and avoid the ridiculous amount of crowds that arrived later in the day. Made a collective group decision to take the bus up, rather than the silly amount of steps in the dark, with a view to conserving energy for the rest of the day. Hippo took us on a 2½ hour tour of the ruins, taking in the various sacrificial areas, the astronomical site, the temple of the Condor and the terraces whilst the whole place steadily came out of the clouds. Pretty much every time you got a wider view of the place, it was impossible not to take a picture. Spellbinding stuff.
Almost as good as us in real life!

Hippo tutoring time
Tony's llama call was a success!!



An emotional farewell to Hippo
Hippo said I looked like Hiram Bingham in the ole
Akubra - maybe true but didn't have Billabong in his day!















Some hot stepping
Looking out from the sun gate
Had a revitalising coffee and snack (breakfast at 5am had been a very rushed affair!) before embarking on more walking on our already sore feet. We’d booked so late we’d also missed out on tickets for the Huayna Picchu walk, but rather than whining too much we took on Machu Picchu mountain instead, a far more gruelling affair according to Hippo. It didn’t disappoint – nothing but large stone steps the whole way up, but amazing to have such an overview of the Incan ruins. It just looked so neat – unreal almost!


The classic shot from the guardhouse 
Since we weren’t sure we’d ever make it back there, took full advantage of our day there and also headed to the Sungate and the Incan Bridge, then at around 4pm took the long descent back down to Agues Calientes. During this we really appreciated not having walked up them – we were on our feet as it was! Another pizza and a couple more Cusquena’s preceded the train and then minivan back to Cusco – a truly amazing day.



Only in Inca times would a bridge
like this be built... The trail also leads
into a mountain. Crazy!
Key Learnings:
1. Treat Inca steps with respect – before you know it they can bring you to your knees (especially following 4 days hiking!)
2. Peruvians don’t seem to fully get the concept of queuing, especially for toilets – a persistent presence is required to ensure your place inline is maintained!

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