Machu Picchu

Our day started out with a bit of stress. We had requested a cab for 8am to take us to the train station for a 9:15 train to the base of Machu Picchu.  It hadn't shown up by 8:07 so we asked our host about it.  He had to use a back-up cab company. That cab didn't show up until 8:37 and it's usually a 40 minute ride to the station.  Our cab driver rose to the occasion.  He whipped through little streets like this at 50 mph, beeping at anything that dared to move. On open stretches he hit close to 80! Even I was white-knuckled.  We went through little towns weaving around tuk-tuks and passing cars with little or no margin of safety.

We arrived at the station at 9:10, somewhat white faced. The official hesitated to let us pass for a moment but somehow sensed the desperation in our faces. We were the last people on the train.

The train ride was an unexpected pleasure.  It follows the Urubamba river for and hour and a half with spectacular mountain and river views. There is no road to Machu Picchu, only the train. And then it only takes you to the base of the mountain at Aguas Caliente. 

Here we at the town posing for a cheesy shot with a statue of the Inca king who legend says built Machu Picchu.

 Next we boarded a bus to zig-zag up the mountain to the actual entrance of Machu Picchu. That's where the steps start. Our exercise monitors said we climbed the equivalent of a 15 story building. Not bad considering the altitude and my lingering bronchitis.

And finally you go around a corner and your tour a Machu Picchu begins. We chose to use the same tour guide, Hernan, during our entire stay in the Inca Sacred Valley. He's been doing this tour for almost 20 years. You may see pictures of him in various blog posts. The following shots are picked from the 100 or so pictures we took up there..

The sun came out just long enough to get this shot	The obligatory shot of us overlooking Machu Picchui
The many stone terraces built by the Incas to make this fortress self-sustaining	Looking through one of Machu Picchu's many doors
This is the amazing engineering of the Incas. See how these heavy granite blocks fit	This is the Inca King's tomb
This is called the Condor. Can you see the wings on the wall behind it?	Llamas everywhere

We were so lucky to come when we did. We had some sun and no rain until we got back down to the town and boarded the train. This is the off season and our guide said the people at the site were about 10% of what we'd expect in peak season.

We got to spend about 6 hours in Machu Picchu itself.