Machu Picchu

Saturday, March 16th
Urubamba, Peru
Ollantaytambo, Peru
Aguas Calientes, Peru
Mahcu Picchu, Peru

Getting to Machu Picchu is a Planes, Trains, and Automobiles kind of experience.  Fly to Cusco, take the train to Aguas Calientes, and take the bus to the entrance of the park.

One of the advantages of the Tambo del Inka is that the train to Machu Picchu stops right at the hotel.  Except that it doesn't.  That spur of the tracks never seems to be in operation.  The train actually starts in Cusco, but we don't have to go back that far.

The driver picked us up at 5:50 AM for the ride to the train station.  After three straight days of travel, it was exactly as brutal as it sounds.

Driving in Peru is an interesting exercise.  I am sure there are traffic laws of some sort, but they are not in evidence on the road.  For instance, there are no speed limits, just speed bumps.  You are free to go as fast as traffic, stray dogs, and road conditions allow.  And, the road conditions are no bueno.  It was a 45 minute herkey-jerkey-swervey-curvey ride to catch the train in Ollantaytambo.  The old town is truly that, paved with washboard cobble stones that left us rattled the rest of the day.

The train ride is truly beautiful on the PeruRail Vistadome.  Toward the end of the rainy season, everything is blanketed in the most verdant green, with glimpses of the river and the solid granite of the Andes still capped with snow.  The train is furnished with rows of opposing seats with tables in between.  We had good conversation with our tablemates, German businessmen extending their stay with a trip to Machu Picchu.  Recommendation:  Sit facing forward on the left side of the train for the best views.  Our seats faced backward in both directions, but the view was still awesome.

We met Reuben, our guide for the day, at the train station in Aguas Calientes.  We were concerned.  He was slight in stature and soft in speech, but he was the perfect guide and took great care of us.  Aguas Calientes is a maze of souvenir shops and stalls, just a tourist town on the way to Machu Picchu.  Reuben escorted us through side streets and back alleys to the bus, cut us in front of dozens of people in line, and put us in the front seats.  There is only one road in and out of the park, and there is only one lane.  Busses meet going opposite directions in hairpin turns and manage to squeeze past each other.  After 15 minutes of switchbacks, we arrived at the park.

We have done a fair amount of research for this trip, but nothing can prepare you for what to expect.  It's a mass of humanity at an ancient historical site, in a developing country that is doing its best to preserve the site in as close to its original condition as possible, while meeting increasing demand from global travelers, and protecting their legacy from being loved to death.  Accessibility is not really even a consideration.

Reuben took our tickets and our passports to security at the entrance, and ushered us through the gates.  The plaque courtesy of Rotary puts Hiram Bingham in proper perspective as the "Scientific Discoverer" of Machu Picchu.

The typical route is to go high and left from the entry, up to the Caretaker's Cottage for a panoramic view of the park, and then proceed down through the highlights in the heart of the site.  Nope.  The stairs are original.  They are steep and narrow, rough and uneven.  There are no handrails, no landings, and nowhere to rest.  And then there is the elevation.  Even if we had made it all the way to the top, we would have surely fallen down, taking dozens of people with us.

So, we entered just below midlevel, and worked our way up through the highlights, and then back down and out without exploring the highs and lows at the extremes.  It was still an arduous day up and down the ancient rocks.  We were incredibly fortunate with the weather.  It was mostly cloudy to partly sunny, with not a drop of rainy season precipitation.  What was difficult today would have been treacherous in the rain.  Reuben provided the most efficient route possible, great narration with visual aids, and a helping hand in the hard spots.  We wouldn't have survived without him.

This was our route, highlighted in yellow, beginning and ending at the "Tourist Entrance" on the left (map courtesy of machupicchu.org).

Our first look through the morning clouds down the mountain to the Urubamba River below.

Restoration is a work in progress.

We walked along the agricultural terraces.  The introduction of terraced agriculture was a technological innovation that allowed steep slopes to be farmed.  Note that this terrace is being restored.  A sturdy structural plastic grid has been laid and seeded, so it can withstand the footfalls of thousands of visitors.

Since this is an outdoor living museum, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, you would think there would be strict rules and a team of docents/rangers to enforce them.  Not so.  Touch, climb, foul, and pillage.  There are just a few guys with whistles around the site who will chirp at you if you are, or your conduct is, out of bounds.

This is the industrial sector, and our favorite tree.  You will be seeing more of the tree.

A sense of the verticality of the site.

Moving along the agricultural terraces toward the heart of the site.  The sun is just starting to burn through the clouds.  Tres,  you better put on a hat.

Llook at the Llama.

Stairway to Heaven.

Grooves cut into the stone manage drainage.

Looking back along the terraces to the point of entry.

These are the best of our pictures, but they do not begin to do justice to Machu Picchu.  The journey is spectacular.  The setting is spectacular.  The ruins are spectacular.  The achievement is spectacular.  It's all worth it.

There is exactly one bench in the whole site, covered in a fringe of fronds, at the very beginning, and the bittersweet end, of the route we took through the park.  It was occupied upon our arrival, but we sat for a minute to appreciate the view one more tine before heading out.  We are so thrilled to have made it here, and so grateful to have survived.  We know we won't be back.



Reuben unofficially "stamped" our passports with the stamp of Machu Picchu, and we wished him well.  Our tour included a buffet lunch at the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge just outside the gates.  The rainy season finally made an appearance for our walk back through Aguas Calientes in a downpour, followed by a three hour layover at the train station.  The conversation was not as stimulating, but the views just as beautiful on the Vistadome train ride in reverse.

Dinner at the Kiri Bar featured more local ingredients, and some very good Peruvian-Chinese fusion food popularized in restaurants called chifas, all in view of the most amazing glowing barback you have ever seen.

ENSALADA ANDINA
ANDEAN SALAD
Quinua, vegetales encurtidos, aceitunas y nuez de macambo. Quinoa, pickled vegetables, olives and macambo nuts.

MIXTURA DE PAPAS NATIVAS Y POLLO CROCANTE
WILD ANDEAN POTATOES WITH CRISPY CHICKEN

TRADICIONAL PAN CON CHICHARRÓN DE CERDO
CRISPY PORK RIB SANDWICH
Pan francés, costillas de cerdo, camote frito, lechuga y sarza criolla. French bread, fried sweet potatoes, lettuce and creole salad.

Next Stop:  Lima, Peru