Machu Picchu

0630 to Machu Picchu. The rain had finished and the sky was blue so we headed to the bus to take us up the mountain. It took 30 min on a switch back road. The place looks just like the pictures! We were glad we stayed overnight so we could beat the crowds when the train arrived at 10:00am. We climbed a steep hill to one of the higher points where the llamas were grazing and we watched as the trekkers descended from the Sun Gate down to the ruins. The sun was hot even at that time of day and we decided to take our coats to the checked luggage area to get rid of them. Sure glad we did and we felt really sorry for the people who climbed around the ruins in the 30+ degree temperature in their winter boots and coats. This is not an easy place to get around.Again I felt like a mountain goat climbing over rocks. It was amazing to see how the mist came up the mountian early in the morning and the colours changed as the day progressed. When we found the "Hitching Post of the Sun" stone I made Dave put his damaged hand on it to get full advantage of the energy to help with his healing. I don't think he is a believer, but I figure I will use anything I can find to help.

It’s not noted anywhere I could see, but after watching what others did we found out that you could get a Machu Picchu stamp in our passports. At about 1pm we lined up for the return bus trip down the hill, walked to the hostal to pick up our left luggage, to the train station for our 3:25pm departure back to Cusco. The return trip seemed much longer and we arrived in Cusco at 7:00pm. On board we had a small meal, a cultural dance demonstration and an alpaca fashion show.

We caught the 30min bus back to town and checked into the same hostal, Casa de Campo, but we were put in a lower room with only half as many stairs. It was a much nicer room. I guess we are now regulars. We had left our excess luggage with them and have done the same again for our flight to Puerto Maldonaldo and the Manu jungle.