Machu Picchu

Today we travelled to Machu Picchu - it was quite a journey -  a half hour bus journey to the train in Ollyantambo, then an hour and a half train ride to Aguas Calientes - the town at the base of Machu Picchu - then a transfer to a bus for the 20 minute ride to the entrance. 

In Ollyantambo there are children who follow the tourists.  They come into town with their families.  The father comes to town to be a porter - a local who comes down from the mountains to work for hire on the Inca Trail by carrying luggage, food, tents, supplies etc., for those who hike to Machu Picchu.  They will carry over 100 pounds on their backs.  They will run ahead of the groups and their guides on the trail to set up camp and begin preparations for meals.  The porter's wife accompanies him into town and brings potatoes to barter or sell for other supplies.  Their children, who dress in their native costumes, follow tourists and will let you take their pictures and then hold out their hand saying “money”. They hope for 2 soles which is about 65 cents. The families all come together when the father returns and they pool their money.

We took pictures of 4 children and gave them 12 soles which is $4.00. They gathered in a circle counted the money and had such big smiles. The oldest girl picked up the little boy and swung him around. It made our day!

The children in Cusco also dress up to have pictures taken for money but they return home and change into their jeans. They don't seem to be doing it for the good of the family. There are also women carrying baby lambs for tourists to pet and take pictures for money.  The lambs are actually too young to be taken from their mother who will not take the baby lamb back with all of the other smells they have accumulated so the baby lamb dies.

After arriving in Aguas Calientes we immediately walked through the tourist area directly to the bus that took us up the road - with many switchbacks & to the entrance to Machu Picchu.

Once inside Machu Picchu you are immediately struck by the beauty of the place.  Terraces, buildings temples, living quarters and farm land etched into the side if the mountains.  All of it is handmade, with huge stones that cannot be carried by one person.  The more sacred the location or the more important the inhabitant - the better the construction.  The engineering used in the country is also phenomenal.  Down to the temples that are built around the solstices and equinoxes to the earthquake built in protections.

But what makes this place so special is the sheer beauty.  The mountains, fog, rain, mist, clouds and greenery.  Machu Picchu is in the rain forest and left unmaintained it can start to become overgrown in as little as two weeks.  It was never found by the Spanish.  In fact, it wasn't discovered by "outsiders" until 1910.

We did not visit this wonderful site on the clearest of days - it was cloudy, rainy and misty - but it was truly one of the most magnificent places we have seen in our travels.

To get back to Aguas Calientes we waited in line about an hour  to catch a bus.

We checked into our hotel, the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Hotel, had dinner and retired for the evening.  The hotel, which contained fireplaces in every guest room, appeared to be older, was very rustic and was not up to the standards of the others that we have stayed in on this wonderful trip.  It is in serious need of a remodeling.