I’m still not feeling the best, the asthma is not liking the high altitudes plus I am trying to fight off a cold and something really unusual for me, I have no appetite!
We both conquered Machu Picchu today, it was tough going but we made it, and it was worth it!
Once we get some sea days on the boat, I’ll try to get this updated with some pictures.
The Main Event.
Ok, lets rename this entry. The main reason for this land tour was to see Machu Picchu, so here we go. The night before we had to leave our suitcases outside the room for pickup and onward tranportation back to Cusco. For our one night stop in Machu Picchu we were restricted to a single carry on bag each. You can’t imagine the problems this simple requirement caused amongst this group of seniors. Do we leave the carry on outside our room, how big can the carry on be, how much can it weigh, can I take two pieces of luggage as I need more clothes etc. etc. etc. may questions repeated a number of times in the hope of getting the answer they wanted. It really was quite pathetic!
The reason for separating us from our baggage was simple, we were taking a train to Machu Picchu and there simply wasn’t the space for all the bags.
We got rudely awaken by a 5AM (yes before sunrise!!) wake-up call. After breakfast we headed off to the Ollantaytambo train station to board the train. The number of visitors to Machu Picchu is now very controlled to prevent damage to the site. We required passports and rain tickets that bore the same ID number to get into the station, on to the train and into the site, any discrepancy……. no go!
It was about a 90 minute ride to the site following a valley . Agan, mostly pictures to tell the story!
Below are some views along the way as we follow the Urubamba River
From the station we had a further 25 minute bus ride up some interesting, narrow and unpaved switchbacks!
Our first views of Machu Picchu weren’t overly inspiring, is this what we travelled all this way to see!
OK, before we see the main event, the show got stopped by yet another alpaca, this time a 4 day ols baby nursing. While this was happening a guide was talking to us, then there was a THUMP! The baby had strayed to far while nursing and fell off the 8ft terrace!
Mother was in a panic bleating for the baby and trying to get down, but it was too far to jump. Baby got up ok, saw and heard mum and started crying because they couldn’t get re-united. A park warden and a guide then managed to direct both animals in the same direction toward the end of the terrace where the mother could climb down. They all lived happily ever after!!
Finally we got to see the place we had all been waiting for; Machu Pichhu. What an amazing sight.
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