Machu Picchu

Two entries, two days in a row... a world record. But I have some time now that classes are over for 2007 and, although it's not OFFICIALLY summer yet, it sure feels like it around here. Anyway, this was the Machu Picchu, Peru experience... and what an (expensive) marathon it was to get out there.

There is no direct road out to Macchu Pichu -- you have to take a train out there that takes 4 hours each direction. A train that PeruRail has a monopoly on, so you can imagine how "reasonably priced" the tickets are. Also, there's an equally reasonably priced town called Aguas Calientes for accommodation, at the base of the mountain, that has no reason for being other than tourism. I opted to stay in Cusco and commute.

Oh yes, and you better have your train tickets reserved several days in advance because this is a destination that A LOT of people want to see. And now that Machu Picchu was officially voted in as one of the "new 7 wonders of the world" by the internet public (take a look at http://www.new7wonders.com/), the crowds will likely only get worse in the years to come.

Machu Pichhu is one of the "best preserved" Incan cities, mostly because the Spaniards didn't know it existed and therefore couldn't sack, pillage, and tear it down. It was rediscovered around 1910 or so, then restored, and has been Peruvian-tourism-ground-zero ever since. But it's also a place that feels VERY Indiana Jones-esque... I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the first movie was based on the guy that found this place since his day job was as a university professor.

The site itself is really spectacular; you have to take a 40 minute bus ride up a winding, snaking road on the side of a mountain to get to the entrance... with EXTREMELY "interesting" views down the ravine if you are on the right side of the bus. Although there are some masochists that walk it (3 1/2 hrs each way) too. Once on top, you can stair-master your way around the different mountains and see the site from on high, plus the twisting Urubamba river wayyyyyyyyy down below at the base.

It's also fascinating because you're way up in the clouds, assuming you're there during the rainy season... and I was, trust me. The rainy season basically means smaller crowds but lots more rain. In fact, I think we had about half an hour at the beginning of the day and half an hour at the end of the day without the rain coming down.

The rest of the time the clouds moved in and it rained fairly steadily. The last train to Cusco left at 5p so you had to pay attention to closing hours... otherwise you could get stuck in a $200 usd per night hotel, without your luggage, waiting for the next days' PeruRail train back to Cusco.

The rain and clouds created some fun atmospheric photos but also really made it hard to walk around anywhere, due to the slick rocks/steps, the complete white-out conditions at times (you couldn't see two steps down the hill below you), and a complete lack of navigation since without seeing where a given set of steps went, you would have no idea where on the mountain you might end up. Also, there was a massive invasion of French and Japonese tour groups for some annoying reason and it echoed all over the place. Mon dieu.

Although the llamas didn't seem to have much problem with the weather conditions. They looked quite at home in it, as if they were bred for these conditions in the Andes mountains or something. Anyhoo by the end of the day, after climbing endless stairs and walking through every imaginable building ruin while simultaneously dodging huge pools of collected rain water, I made one last charge to the top of the mountain to get a picture ("proof" that I've been to Machu Picchu!) before heading out of the park.

This is one of the few minutes that you could see a blue sky! But that's what you get when you go during the rainy season. Finally, I made the bus ride down the mountain followed by the 4 hour train trip back to Cusco, arriving just before 10pm, in time for dinner and to pack my bags... for a TEN hour train ride southeast from Cusco to Lake Titicaca the following day! But this time around I ponied up for first class tickets (well worth it) which I'll write about the next time.