I'm in Rio writing this and I'm having a great time at Copacabana beach and the Christ the Redeemer statue, I can't wait to post those pics.
However this post is about Machu Picchu, in short it was an amazing thing to see, however it was a long day, I'm talking 16+hrs long. I was up at 0500 to get my 0630 bus. Then I had a bumpy 2hr drive in a minivan to the furthest away (read cheaper) of two train stations in the area to hop onboard a train towards Machu Picchu. The 90min train ride was through a gorgeous valley (the carriage had windows in the roof) and the tracks ran right beside a river the whole way, so many stunning pics were taken.
I finally arrived in the picturesque base town of Aguas Calientes or Machu Picchu Pueblo, which is only acessible via train and serves as the starting point for the mini bus ride up to Macchu Picchu, which is situated high up on a peak in the surrounding mountains. The mini bus ride was an adventure in of itself, taking 30mins to traverse the many switchbacks on the one lane road up the side of a steep mountain, which for added fun was sans any crash barriers/safety railings.
Once the fun/terror of not falling to my death was over, I joined my guide and had a 2hr walking (lots of steps) tour of Machu Picchu. Then we were allowed free time to roam around, but the weather was closing in so I skedaddled back to Aguas Calientes just before it started raining (I had no intention of going back down the mini bus dirt access road in the rain, thankyou very much).
I was tasked with petting a Llama whilst at site, but I couldn't get close enough and had to settle for the best I could find. At 1700 I then did everything in reverse, except in the pitch dark and arrived back at my hotel a bit after 2200. It was worth it, just for the view alone but I definitely won't be going back anytime soon.
Enjoy the photos,
David
PS: The dog pictured was the cutest of the many stray/feral dogs in Peru.
PPS: Inca Cola was the best, it tasted like old school home delivered soft drinks that came in the yellow creaming soda flavour.
PPPS: I mentioned in a previous post that the airport at Cusco was precarious to get to, the 3rd to last pic shows the mountains surrounding the runway. Also on the same flight, much to my chagrin, the lady in the middle seat decided to snuggle up to me instead of moving to the empty aisle seat?
PPPPS: I flew out of Cusco, via Lima and then arrived in Santiago, Chile at 2300. I had a connecting flight to Rio leaving at 0630 the next day. The bench in the last pic is where I spent 6hrs sleeping and having the cheapest night of my trip so far.
