Monday, November 20, 2017
A big day: Machu Picchu. I woke up at 5 to the sound of pouring rain, which wasn’t encouraging. But we still had a few hours before meeting our guide at 8, so there was time for the weather to clear.
We had some logistics to attend to: checking out and leaving our luggage at the front desk, packing for the hike. Promptly at 8 we met Wilfredo, our guide, at the hotel’s Environmental Center. It was a little bit silly to have a guide for the entire day (as opposed to just at the archaeological site, where it is really necessary), but I was happy to have someone deal with all the tickets and tell us what to do. All the planning for this fairly complicated trip had taxed my tiny pea-brain.
Wilfredo led us through town to the bus stop. I’d heard from many friends and guidebooks that the wait for the bus could be very long, but not in late November! We walked right on. The bus ride itself is quite dramatic, with one switchback after another, buses passing each other, a dearth of guard rails, etc. You can also hike up from town to the site, as our son David did in July (actually he and his buddy sprinted up because they were in a hurry and were too cheap to pay for the bus — he claims they made it in 35 minutes which sounds implausble). I don’t really see the point in that because the views are even more dramatic up higher. We didn’t have 1.5 hours (the normal time) to spare on the lower part. From about halfway up the bus route:
The buses disgorge their passengers close to the archaeological site, where there are some amenities. Unfortunately it was 9:00 on Monday morning back in Philadelphia too (no time difference), which meant that my email was going nuts. It irritated Dave for me to be typing on my phone, so I hid in the ladies room for a few minutes while dealing with a client issue. I’ve practiced law from some strange places (ski lifts, dentist chairs, playgrounds) and this one will stick in my memory a good long while. Other women were sensibly applying sunscreen, as the weather had almost cleared, while I frantically pecked away at my virtual keyboard.
Satisfied that the crisis was averted, I joined Dave and Wilfredo to start the hike up Machu Picchu, the mountain. (“Machu Picchu” actually means “Old Mountain” in Quechua and refers to the mountain that we hiked, but everyone uses the term loosely to refer mainly to the archaeological site.) Here we are, getting ready to start up the mountain, with the ruins in the background.
First we had to sign into a log book with our names, ages, and start times. Like the activity guide’s warning the day before, this was another red flag: Flipping through the pages, I saw one 70 year old….and nothing else but 20-somethings. Was this really a good idea?
Yeah, it was a good idea. It just about killed me, but it was a good idea. Two solid hours (less for very fit people, which is not me) straight up stone stairs, in decidedly thin air. Fortunately there was a platform about every 100 steps to rest and catch the view, which was spectacular in every direction. Below, the view looking down on the ruins and Huayna Picchu.
As we got closer to the top, people coming down offered encouragement, but it was confusing: “Only 20 minutes to go” was followed by “You’re only half an hour away” but soon after the very specific: “You’re 8 minutes from the top.” Apparently there is a wide variety of paces. We were certainly on the slower end of the spectrum.
In the photo above, to the right are the ruins and Huayna Picchu.
I zipped off the bottom of my hiking pants, which I would later regret.
Below, a 360 degree (more like 300) at the top. The panoramas don’t translate well here. 
Going down was much easier, of course. I took it pretty slow, however, because I was quite worried about falling. Tearing an ACL up there would not have been good (and I’ve been known to tear an ACL…or two). Going down you realize just how steep and scary the trail is (because going up I was too exhausted to think about anything except getting to the next platform). Huayna Picchu is supposed to be even steeper and scarier, but it’s not as tall as Machu Picchu Mountain so it’s a much shorter hike (also it was never an option because entrance is quite limited and it was sold out months earlier).
At the bottom of Machu Picchu Mountain, we had a buffet lunch and a much-needed beer. Most importantly, we sat down for a while. Over lunch, Wilfredo told us that about half of the people he takes up Machu Picchu Mountain don’t make it to the top. He plays a game in his mind: “How far will these people get before they give up?” I felt pretty good hearing that, because I never even considered giving up. Wilfredo also told us that every year 5 or 6 people die on either Machu Picchu or Huayna Picchu. Glad I didn’t know that piece of trivia before we started.
Once we got a second wind, Wilfredo took us on a tour of the main attraction, which he referred to as the Citadel. I was prepared not to care that much about the actual ruins, but I found that I was quite enchanted. The setting is so breathtaking that you can’t help but be moved by it. It was not crowded at all, which I’m sure improved the experience. I imagine it’s a lot less spiritual in July amidst the throngs of humanity.
It was hard to choose from among my many photos, but these will give you the idea. They’re best viewed on a larger screen. Bright sunshine would have been nice, but given that this is the rainy season we were pretty happy with the weather.
In the photos above and below you can see Machu Picchu Mountain, which we had just climbed.
The famous Incan stonework up close. They saved their best work for the temples. Regular buildings were not as finely done as the example below from a temple:
I loved this: At one of the temples, rocks were placed to echo the mountains behind them.
Too soon, we had to head down, as we had a train to catch.
Dave and WilfredoThe train ride back was lovely again, although this time it got dark halfway through. The train employees gave a fashion show, modeling about twenty outfits made from alpaca. Naturally we had to make a purchase. Mostly we just rested, because we were beat. Here’s Dave enjoying the spectacular scenery:
The Belmond Monasterio sent a driver to pick us up in Poroy, and the luggage we had left at the hotel was waiting in our room when we got back to Cusco. We had a late (10 pm) dinner at the bar, and that’s when I noticed that my legs were covered with bites. Covered. Perhaps 200 bites. At some point in the afternoon I had noticed a swarm of tiny bugs around my legs, but I wasn’t aware at all that they were biting me. We were both also pretty badly sunburnt, because somehow we had never managed to put sunscreen on the whole day. And, of course, we could barely walk. So we were pretty happy to fall into bed!