Off to Machu Picchu

  Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley, Peru Saturday, April 2, 2016

We were up at stupid o'clock for this one. 4:45am and it was dark and it felt damp and miserable. We said a silent prayer to Pachamama to make the sun come out for us once we were up the mountain and had a miserable breakfast accompanied by the non-stop mundane chatter of a Chinese-American girl. She was driving us mad. Don't you know what time it is you crazy woman??? The three of us walked to the bus stop down the hill and queued with everybody else for the next available bus. It was still only 5:30am.We wound our way up the mountain going backwards and forwards and around the hairpin bends. Some trekkers (too tight to pay the $12 we think) were hiking up in the dark. Crazy! We arrived at the top and looked for our guide. 6:00-6:15 he'd told us and warned us not to be late. Cheek! And guess what? Yep he wasn't there. Again...! He finally strolls up around 6:30 and we were all sorted out into English and Spanish speaking and sent off with our appropriate guide. Now we may have mentioned it before, but Jody had been here ten years ago with her friend Lorraine. She never ever expected to come back in a million years but she wanted Bryan to see it for the first time really properly.So once through the entrance, as we got closer to the turning where the whole city is laid out in front of you, she made Bryan close his eyes and covered them with her hand for extra insurance. The man behind twigged what she was up to too and started doing the same thing to his wife. Then as the full impact of Machu Picchu lay before us, she let Bryan open his eyes and take it all in. He stood there in silence for a moment & then said Wow! Then more silence. It really does make you stop and stare. It gets you. Even though Jody had seen it before, she still got a bit choked at seeing it again. It is one of those moments where you really do have to stand and just simply look at it and take it all in and let it fill you up. But our guide didn't want to linger too long - he had things to tell us.We spent 2 hours trailing behind him and listening to the theories about what it was built for and who lived here. Then we were really hungry. We had been up early and barely eaten so popped back out again to one of the 2 restaurants at the top for something to eat and a drink. Luckily the tickets you buy allow you 3 entries in one day as all the toilets and food is outside. Quite right too - we are not suggesting for one minute they build facilities inside. Then back in we went but this time at our own pace and we went where we wanted to go. And we bumped into Per & Natasha again - the Dutch couple from the Big Red Bus of Adventure! It's so common to see the same people as everyone is out to see the same things.Well Pachamama answered our prayers and the sun came out which made it hot work climbing around the site. We made our way to a high point where all the famous photos are taken. We took our own photos then decided to have a bask in the sunshine on the grass. Despite so many people there it really was quite peaceful. Eventually, we thought we had taken enough photos and seen as much as we could, It was time to make our way down again and prepare for the train back to Ollantaytambo. We said our goodbyes to Machu Picchu and made a very slow exit. Making sure we got our passports stamped on the way out of course! It had been a very long day but this beautiful place had lived up to it's expectation. Such a wonderful place and for those who have been, you know it is a place that stays in your memory for a very, very long time. A short entry this one - this truly is an occasion to let the pictures do the talking.