Machu Picchu - Day 1

Today was Mothers Day, but it felt like Xmas Day. 

Luckily we'd had a few busy days beforehand to distract me and I was so tired from the previous day to get the Xmas Eve jitters.

We had managed to pack the gear we needed for 3 days into one backpack, only 5 kg to meet the required maximum luggage requirements for the train journey to Aguas Calientes.

We boarded the Vistadome train at 8.15 am for the 90 min journey. The train carriages had glass windows in the roof so we had a great 180 degree view of the Urubamba valley. 

All aboard!

 We were met at the station in Aguas Calientes by a guide and our luggage was collected by the hotel porters so we could go straight up to Machu Picchu. We walked to the Main Street and queued to board a bus. 

We managed to get on the second bus waiting, but unfortunately were sitting at the very back.

We set off along the road which I had expected to be paved, but was unpaved and a little rough. We crossed over the river and headed up and up and up. At one stage the air conditioning on the bus stopped, it got very stuffy inside, and then the bus stopped altogether.

The driver went to look under the bonnet and then started filling the radiator from two water bottles. Apparently it wasn't enough to stop the alarm on the dashboard. He hailed down the next bus driver and got another water bottle. By now I was feeling a little claustrophobic and faint and walked down the aisle and off the bus for some fresh air. 

By now, the driver was happy to continue and we headed off  but stopped yet again just around the next corner. Luckily this time it was only to refill his empty water bottles from a water channel running along the side of the road. 

We set off again and after 14 switchback corners and a 35 min trip instead of the usual 20 min, we reached the entrance. 

Jack and I could not believe our eyes, there were people everywhere. 

We found our guide and joined the queue to enter the site. 

After the usual passport checks, we were in! 

We walked around a bend in the path and there it was, our first glimpse of Machu Picchu! 

Jack and I looked at each other and our hearts sank. It wasn't exactly the image we expected to see. The site was swarming with people. Somehow, even though I knew 2000 people were allowed entry per day, I didn't think it would be that crowded.  Our guide led us up towards the gatehouse which is where most of the iconic photos of MP are taken and we joined the throng of people jostling for position to have THAT photo taken. 

 

Surreal!

 

Our tour group originally had only us and an american couple on it, but it suddenly grew with another 10 people joining on. The guide was not very informative at the beginning and for a brief moment, jack and i thought we should leave the tour and DIY. We decided to stay on the tour, and the guide did improve. Jack was a bit frustrated as he had read the MP guidebook from cover to cover and felt he was being shortchanged, but it always interesting to hear a locals perspective.....

We slowly moved from one important site to another, but it was really just a highlights package. The positive thing was that we were able to get our bearings in readiness for our own personal exploration of the site. The tour took about 2.5 hours and then we were ushered to our lunch. We were booked in to the Sanctuary Lodge dining room for a buffet lunch. Sanctuary Lodge is the only place you can stay on the MP site and they charge $1700 per night for the privilege.

It was 2pm by this stage and lunch was a welcome distraction. I had  trout and rice which was delicious and Jack had the usual sampling of several hot dishes followed by the dessert smorgasbord! The queues here were also long and instead of a nice intimate feel, it was more like a university cafeteria!

We lingered over lunch in the hope that most of the daytrippers would be leaving after their lunch. Luckily for us, this was the case.

I cannot believe that most people visit MP for one day - have a 2-3 hour guided tour, lunch and then leave!

I was so pleased that we had allowed ourselves 3 days to explore the site.

After lunch, we re-entered the site and the contrast was amazing. This was exactly how we had imagined it to be. There were only a couple of hundred people (at the most) scattered all over the ruins. The best time to visit MP was definitely first thing in the morning or after 3pm.

We wandered around the top section of the site and decided to walk to the Inca Bridge. This bridge was on part of a walking trail, but it was closed several years ago after an accident. The walk only takes about 10-15 mins, up some steep steps and through some of the cloud forest which had engulfed MP and kept it hidden from civilisation for over 500 years. When we got to the bridge, I realised that I had seen photos of it taken by one of Melissa´s school friends on a recent trip. 

 

 

We returned back to the main site and took more photos, this time without all of the crowds in the background and then called it a day. 

 

 

That's where I'm headed day after tomorrow - Machu Picchu Mountain

We caught the bus back down the mountain, this time without any of the dramas of the morning.

Checked into the hotel, Inti Inn, which was located away from the main street and plaza and discovered that we had dinner included.

We caught up with the Camerons who had not arrived until that afternoon and had the usual pisco sours.

We decided that we would get up early and get to MP before the hordes arrived tomorrow.......