Machu Picchu

So it is true what they say - seeing Machu Picchu really is a unmatchable experience, but I think so almost moreso for the natural setting than for the city itself. The mountains are green and jagged, and very dramatic, shooting up at steep grades all around the city. The city itself is built on the granite outcroppings at the top of a mountain, and each stone was literally carved out of the quarry right there. A few of the roofs have been reconstructed to show how they were during the period (thatched with a strawlike grass) but most buildings are roofless. The first closer view we had after the Sun Gate is from the Guard House, which is the famous view immortalized on every Peruvian postcard.
After the obligatory group photos, our tour guide Ozzy took us on a few hour tour through the ruins. He really loves to talk - a few people in the group could have done without quite so much commentary but I think it was interesting. I guess after hiking for 4 days straight you don't really want to listen to 2 hours of lecture! But we learned more about the history of the Incas, the different construction methods, and we saw various items of note like a 'sundial' like calendar and compasses made precisely out of stone. The terracing down the sides of the mountain was unbelieveable - and apparently only 60% of the city if actually uncovered. The rest is covered in forest, but they have decided not to uncover it as the forest aids in erosion control.

Some brave souls from the group went off for another 2 hour trek up Huayni Picchu, the small peak just behind the ruins. It is supposed to be a really steep, hairy climb which I would have been the first to do, but since I was still recovering from whatever bug I picked up along the way, we chilled out at the ruins instead. We incredibly ran into Vivienne Slack - a girl from the UK that we got to know in our language school in Santiago! It's a small world no matter what part of it you're in.

We hopped a bus down the mountain to Aguas Calientes, a town whose only purpose is to cater to Machu Picchu bound or returning tourists. There we had a final lunch with the group, Mike and Rebecca took a dip in the hot springs while I rested, and at 4pm we all took a 'Backpacker' class train 4 1/2 hours back to Cuzco. Only on a train full of hungry post-hiking gringos can you sell a can of Pringles for $6 US and get away with it!

That night a bunch from our group, no doubt led by the Irish contingent, met at the local gringo Irish bar to complete the 24 hour stretch since the 4am rise that morning. Mike and Rebecca made it out, and of course Rebecca shamed everyone with her stellar late night rallying for which she is famously known.

The sick one,
Beth