Machu Picchu

We did a one day trip to Machu Picchu.  I did the same thing with my parents when I finished my mission in 2006. We took the 6am train. However, my Mom took care of all the details and I didn't pay any attention.  I just figured we would take the train to Aguascalientes, get on a bus up to Machu Picchu and buy tickets at the entrance.  Luckily, Ale had done a little research online the night before.  Apparently, most people get their tickets in advance in Cusco because there are a limited number of visitors permitted on any day.  It was a good thing we took the early train.  You have to buy the tickets in Aguascalientes prior to getting on the bus to go up to the site.  We eventually found the Tourism office which is in kind of a back corner of the town where you have to buy the tickets.  I got into a little bit of an argument with the agent as Ale and I were only carrying copies of our passports and not the actual passports.  He eventually relented and sold us the tickets anyways.  You then have to go to a separate place to buy a bus ticket.  Since it was peak season, we had to wait in a line to get on the bus and it was completely full.  It's about a 20 minute drive on switchbacks up the side of a steep mountain.

 The train was nice, breakfast was included. They try to sell you all sorts of overpriced things on the way.  The guy across from us bought this really cheesy-looking khaki "adventure vest" with all sorts of pockets. This isn't Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

 One major change is that you don't actually take the train from Cusco proper.  The station is now located about a 20 minute taxi or van ride from Cusco.  The reason is that for the train to get into Cusco it has to go through a series of switch backs which means that the train goes backwards and forwards all the while switching tracks until it finally gets down into the valley.  This would add a good 1-1.5 hours onto the trip.

The road which the bus takes to get up to Machu Picchu

After hiking up from the bus stop/entrance gate, this is the first view you encounter.

We were too cheap to get a guide.  I downloaded a self-guided tour to my Kindle the night before. It worked out alright.  Besides, the place was so crowded you could just stand with any of the large groups and listen in to their guide.  (Economists call this the "Free Rider Problem" - I had a professor that started out teaching this concept by asking the class "how many of you suckers actually donate to NPR or PBS?")

It was pretty crowded.

We then hiked up to where the "guardhouse" is located.  It's apparently the first structure that one encounters if they hike in on the Inca trail.  It's suspected that this hut was used by Inca guards to provide a sort of access control since the site is believed to be have been very exclusive and used only by the higher classes of Incan society. (Hut appears in image below)

We then decided to hike up to the "Inca Bridge", above is a view of Machu Picchu from the trail.  The bridge is basically a drawbridge consisting of some planks of wood that could be pulled up if the need to prevent anyone advancing further on the trail arose.  You aren't allowed to cross it or go near it.

Kind of anti-climatic actually.  The bridge is in the background, right next to Ale's ear in the image above.

Ipads are not very convenient camcorders as evidenced by the guy in the picture above.

We then hiked down to the actual site.  I doubt anyone is reading this blog to learn about Incan history or archaeology, that's what Wikipedia is for.  People look at blogs for pictures!  So I'll forgo any further historical or archaeological commentary.

 The Incans may have been advanced, but they definitely didn't invent escalators.

The line for the bus home(it curves all the way around to that roofed structure on the left).  We didn't anticipate this and almost missed our train back.

 

 The train ride ride home included a clown?!!??

Of course Calvin came along too.