The train tracks followed:
the Urubamba River all the way to Aguas Calientes. Aguas Calientes is about 2000 less feet above sea level than Cusco, and right on the border of the jungle, so it was very warm (for Peru, around 75 or 80 degrees), humid, and there were a alot of mosquitoes. Also, it was much easier to breathe.
The town of Aguas Calientes is very small and mostly for tourists. It is, however, known for its hot spring baths, which I'll get to later.
So once we got off the train, we put our stuff in our beautiful hotel. My room had:
a balcony that overlooked the river, as well as hot water and a fantastic bed, so I was happy. After we put our things about, we went to a buffet lunch and then had the rest of the afternoon off. We were all supposed to hike to the giant waterfall, but our tour guide said it was too late and that we'd be walking in the dark. A small group of people still went, though, and they had plenty of time, so I don't know what Roger was talking about.
Instead, a group of us went to check out the aguas calientes. It was ten soles to get in, and I found out that I couldn't move past the locker room area, because my bathing suit was still in the hotel. But it was okay, because I waited for the rest of the people to come back out and got some really nice pictures anyway.
Afterwards, we decided to Happy Hour hop before we had to wake up at 4:45 AM for Machu Picchu. At our bar, I got a Machu Picchu, which is grenadine, orange juice and something, and some terrible mint thing all in layers. It was just as beautiful as the scenery.
We got on the bus that drives up the mountain to Machu Picchu at around 6:00 AM. The ride was only about 15 or 20 minutes, which meant we made it in time to see the sunrise over the mountain onto Machu Picchu.
A larger group went with our usual guide Roger, but a few other people and I went with a new guide, Felix, who was amazing. He knew all the secrets spots at Machu Picchu as well as the history of each of the sites. While the other group essentially left Machu Picchu immediately to climb either Huayna Picchu or the actual mountain Machu Picchu, both of which overlook the ruins, we got a really great tour of the ruins, which I preferred. He also spoke in English, so I could really understand what everything was.
When we first got to Machu Picchu I literally had no words. Everyone expects it to be amazing, but you can't really appreciate how huge the ruins are, or how perfectly constructed and maintained they were, or the height of the mountain, until you're actually there. I got some amazing pictures, but they cannot do Machu Picchu justice. It is a place you really have to see for yourself, and I hope one day I can go back.
Machu Picchu is divided into two sectors: the agricultural sector and the urban sector. The agricultural sector was home to all of the terraces, which is where the farming and cultivating occurred. The urban sector is full of temples, houses, and plazas.
Hirum Bingham is known for rediscovering Machu Picchu in 1911. There is some controversy as to if he was really the first person to find it, but he was the one who really brought Machu Picchu to the rest of the world. The 100th anniversary of his excavation is next year.
After our tour, we had some free time to explore, so we climbed up a thousand bajillion stairs to the watch tower, where some lovely alpaca were waiting for me. It was almost as good as climbing the mountain to overlook the ruins, because you could get some really nice views. Afterwards, we laid out on one of the terraces. Around noon, we left back for Aguas Calientes.
The most amazing thing about Machu Picchu is that every time you turn a corner around a ruin and look out over the mountains, it never gets any less spectacular. Even when there are hundreds of tourists in your way and it's 80 degrees and a small child is hitting you with his stick (which actually happened to me, thanks), you could stay there forever and keep thinking it's incredible.
Afterwards, we went back to Aguas Calientes, got lunch and then got back on the train to Ollantaytambo. We got back to Cusco around 7:30 PM, where I had to immediately finish writing my final paper for class. It was on Inca architecture, and for my slide show, I used all of my own pictures. While I was at Machu Picchu, I got some interesting photos of the rock work, so that was nice.
If I were having a miserable time on this trip, the 36 hours we spent in Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu would have salvaged the whole thing. I recommend if there is ever a chance that you take the opportunity to see it for yourself.
More entries to come,
Victoria
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