Land of the Incas
Day Three – 1 Oct 2011
Weather: Sunny, few clouds, low/mid 20s.
Yes, 4:30 comes quick. Actually, 4:20. The one day we have to get up at such an ungodly hour and my wake up call is 10 minutes early.
I should be happy. I had forgot to set my alarm clock. Good think I didn’t put my head down thinking it would get me up at 4:35.
Our luggage is not coming with us today. We can only bring an overnight bag to Machu Picchu. I have mine all packed and waved goodbye to my luggage for two days. I’ll see it again at the hotel in Cusco.
I went down to breakfast at 5:15 and had another feast on maple flavoured French toast. We boarded the bus at 5:45 for the 45 minute drive to the train station.
Actually, it was a 30 minute drive, but Luis told us 45. We all know why.
Yup. We still left 10 minutes late. So it worked out.
Trains run twice an hour up to Machu Picchu in the morning and back again in the afternoon. I don’t think they intended to have a 7 am depart time which required the early wake-up, but all that means is that we have the entire day at Machu Picchu.
The bus dropped us off above the station where Luis had told us it would be a ten minute walk with our bags.
It was actually more like 3 minutes.
Are we sensing a trend?
The train had three cars and we were all in the third car. There was even a snack service. Best part is that we could open the window down and take pictures without the window glare.
Getting a seat on the left side is preferable on the way to MP, but we were able to switch places to get pictures all along the route.
We had a brief glance at some white capped mountains then we pretty well went through a gorge the rest of the way with the Urubamba River to our left. Beautiful.
There were Inca ruins in the hills all along the way.
The trip takes 90 minutes and is the only way to get to MP. The railway was built in 1905 to reach a rich agricultural valley farther inland and MP was discovered in 1911. The town at the base of the mountain sprung up from there. MP had escaped being destroyed by the Spaniards simply because they never found it. When it was discovered, some local families were living there.
I imagine they run the hotels now.
Oh, and its discovery in 1911 means this is its 100th anniversary.
Yes, I’m looking for that t-shirt.
Sixty percent of the site is original. Thirty percent has been restored and ten percent was destroyed by vegetation and is awaiting restoration. To learn more about the site, wiki does a better job giving you the history etc:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu
Essentially, it was constructed in the mid 1400s and abandoned around 1572 as wars raged in the area. No treasures were found in the city leading them to believe that the inhabitants voluntarily left the city. The rocks for the terraces and buildings are all onsite and cut on location. There was enough agriculture to support 85 people but had a population of 600-1000 so they believe it imported food from surrounding sites that are obvious in the hills and also from the rich region on the edge of the Amazon.
Along the train route we could also see the Inca Trail on the opposite side of the river that people walk into the site. It’s a four day hike and splits off from the river where it climbs a 14,000 foot mountain.
I’ll take the train, thank-you very much.
We pulled into MP town, relieved to see that the sun was still shining. The one sunny day I needed on this tour and I got it, in spades. Cesar told us it was a 10 minute walk to the hotel and expecting that it would really be 3 minutes, I didn’t give my bag to the porters.
Seems Cesar hasn’t figured out Luis’ trick. The walk was a bit more than 10 minutes.
It was only 9 am so our rooms were not expected to be ready, but Cesar arranged to have our overnight bags stored and delivered to our rooms. We had a chance to take only what we needed and pack everything else. Most everyone was wearing fleeces. He said to leave them behind and to take only rain jackets as rain can move into the area very quickly.
I wish he had said “consider taking shorts.” I hadn’t packed them in my overnight and regretted it immediately. My jeans were too heavy for the heat and I would have had plenty of time to change in the washroom.
The Sumaq hotel is only one of two in the town and is very new. It’s built across the street from the river and up against the steep cliff behind it.
We got on the shuttle bus and started off on a dirt road (what am I saying? All the roads are hard packed dirt) for the site. It takes about a half hour to reach the top on a switchback that makes the Santorini one seem like a walk in the park. As we climbed, we could look down and see the hotel at the bottom of the steep valley.
It got smaller and smaller.
Then we got our first glimpse of MP.
<insert very long sigh>
We pulled up to the drop off area where the Sanctuary Lodge was located. We gathered at the entrance and Cesar gave out our tickets. We needed our passports to get in and could stamp our passports after entering. Make sure you get some good ink on the stamp and press with some pressure. My first attempt didn’t have half the stamp.
So, I stamped it twice. After all, I went back in the afternoon so I was, officially, there twice.
Luis kept a wonderfully leisurely pace so that we didn’t over-extend ourselves. The first place he showed us was the Sun Temple where the Incas had figured out the location of the sun on June 21st and had a window positioned precisely to let the sun shine through on their Winter Solstice.
The temple itself is built on an existing rock and had a tomb underneath. The building is sealed as earthquakes have made it unstable.
The stones used for the building were all cut with absolutely incredible precision. They literally fit together like a glove. But some had separated as a result of earthquakes.
The homes were all two story buildings with thatch roofs. Although windows appear to exist, they are all rocked up because it was too windy for the open window. Carpets would have been used to cover the doors. This area also sees a lot of rain between Dec and March. Around 76 inches.
So, you know when not to come.
Luis showed us the quarry.
Here, the stones had been cut and he showed us how a raised area was left on the rock so that it could be dragged on logs without damaging the rest of the rock, then it was carved flat in place. The fact that these raised areas remained on some rocks that were in place meant the site was still being built when it was abandoned.
Luis then brought us up to the top of the pyramid (no, it’s not that high) but gives us a nice view of the site and Wayna Picchu.
I had wondered if I might want to climb it. I changed my mind pretty quick. It’s 1000 feet higher, all steps and very steep. Luis offered the climb for anyone that wanted to do it in the morning, but departure was like at 6 am, so he got no takers.
He said there have been accidents. In the last few years, one woman was taking a picture of her husband and backed up one step too many. Took two days to find her body. The other, a Russian, was on top of the mountain with his tripod and camera taking pictures. I imagine he must have gotten a great pic of the lightning strike on the top of the mountain opposite Wayna, just before a second strike hit Wayna and killed him.
We walked down from the top of the pyramid down a set of steps where you didn’t want to lose your balance.
Because that second step is a doozy.
At the bottom, we all breathed a sign of relief in the shade of a thatched roof. It was just after noon (and our shadows were almost vertical), so we took our time walking back to the Sanctuary Lodge for lunch, walking through the buildings, up and down stairs and under rocks. Luis was very patient waiting for some of the less mobile people to keep up. I took some video of the area while I waited.
We met up with Cesar by the restaurant and he passed out our tickets for the buffet which was really nice with selection of fish, pork, beef and chicken and a wonderful apple crisp for dessert. It was all I could drink Coke and we could refill our water bottles.
This afternoon, we had a choice to explore the city on our own or take the two hour hike to the Sun Gate.
And when I say hike, I mean *hike*
I picked up a second bottle of water and we set off up a switchback that brought us to the spot where you can take that iconic picture of MP.
And yes, there were llamas there!!
Holding up traffic and pooping on the trail.
I managed to get a pic of a llama with MP in the background before someone shooed us off the grass. The pic can be viewed here.
Above there, we were given a choice. To the right is to explore the city. To the left is the “hike.”
About half of us chose the hike. The less mobile of the group had already returned to the hotel, but the majority of the group taking the “hike” was over 60 years of age. One man was 80 and climbed it faster than I did.
Oh, did I say climb.
Yeah, it’s a “hike.” It is the last mile of the Inca Trail after all.
The path is a combination of rock path and sheer rock steps. Despite the altitude, we kept a good pace and got some amazing views of MP. At one point, Luis said, only ten minutes.
And you know what we were thinking.
Only this time, he was telling the truth. The views from the Sun Gate are amazing.
I took some video of the view here.
We are 60 feet higher than Wayna Picchu, so we were looking down on the entire site. We all got our pictures taken at the sign that noted the altitude.
Even with a congested head and start of the cough that follows the onset of my allergies, I was able to do the “hike” with little problem. Just hard breathing like I would if I was climbing something as steep at sea level.
It took us an hour to get to the Sun Gate. It took us a half hour to get to the bottom and memories of my walk down from the Great Wall came back to me. I had gone up with a girl who didn’t like open chair lifts, so we had to walk right to the bottom through the forest. Neither one of us could climb stairs without grunting for another week.
The only difference here is that the trail wasn’t newly poured concrete sideway and steps in perfect condition in a forest. It was 500+ year old stones with a sheer drop to the right.
Yup. Trip up and fall in the wrong direction and it’s two days work for the search and recover crews.
It was 4:15 by the time we got to the site, but had no time to explore as the last bus leaves at 5, so we had went down the same way we had come up and caught a bus back down to the hotel.
We have the option of returning in the morning, but because we had gotten a full day (whereas some tours take a later train to MP, so they only get a half day) the majority of us were satisfied and decided to sleep in and visit the town to shop in the morning.
No one from the hike plans to return. None of us plan to take the stairs for a few days.
Now, on retrospect, I should have returned the next morning even though it was a bit foggy. If I had my time back, I would not have climbed the Sun Gate. As interesting as it was, the view wasn’t much better there than from the terraces near the trail (that “right” turn). By going up to the Sun Gate, I lost out on the opportunity to explore the city on my own. We thought we’d get back with an hour or more to spare, but the one hour walk that Luis promised turned into a 2 hour endeavor. In fact, looking back, I would have skipped lunch altogether and just went wandering.
I got back to the hotel and bought a couple of t-shirts at the hotel gift shop. Expensive but nice quality. The room is very impressive. I have free wifi, two beds, tv, bar fridge, shampoo and stuff, safe.
And a great view of the train.
Only, I didn’t know that till I was in bed.
*toot* *toot*
I had a very hot shower and downloaded my photos then went down for a briefing from Cesar. He took the names of the 4 or 5 that plan to return to the site in the morning and gave us our timings for the next few days. We take our train back at 1:30 in the afternoon and then it’s two hours to Cusco. Apparently our hotel is very close to the town square.
He took names for the optionals for Monday afternoon. I choose to visit the furry little animals at the farm rather than going to the salt mine. The salt mine is a four hour optional where you spend more than 3 hours on the bus in total.
No thanks.
The farm is only 35 minutes from Cusco and gives us time to visit the Cusco city centre if we want.
Once the briefing was done, we were off to dinner. We had a choice from a pre-printed menu that had our names on it. Fancy! We had made our choices that morning. I went for the Peruvian style chicken soup, Oriental Andean chicken breast with Peruvian Thai sauce, spinach puree and grilled veggies and Ice cream for dessert.
Not sure if I was having a Peruvian, Thai or Chinese dinner.
It’s a meal that I will remember. Gordon Ramsay would be proud. Yup, it had that kind of “first class” touch to the meal. We took pictures (I forgot my camera so I have someone who will send them to me later) and we had a great chat for a couple hours. With our choice to do nothing in the morning, we could relax at dinner.
Yeah, imagine that. I’m giving up a chance to return to MP for a few hours.
The heart and lungs are willing. The legs are not.
I finally collapsed into bed at 10:30.
Then my room began to rumble.
*toot* *toot*
Go to Day Four
Go to Table of Contents