Tag: Aguas Calientes

Machu Picchu

I finally get what all of the fuss is about & I see now why so many online dating male profile pics include the conventional shot in front of Machu Picchu. It’s unbelievably stunning. This crazy little town sits like a saddle connecting 2 mountains in a valley full of mountains as far as you can see. We didn’t do the 4-day Inca trail hike in as we were visiting in rainy season & that can be a bit risky. One benefit of visiting in the low season? No prebooking necessary. We bought our MP & Montana tix 2 days before in Cusco. That’s great for me as I am not a planner on these backpacking trips. It’s tough to change your mind & your route when you do that.
So we took the train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes (or Machu Picchu Pueblo), where we stayed the night & awoke before dawn to catch the first bus up to Machu Picchu in the morning (park opens at 6am). You can choose to walk from AC to MP & I’d be tempted if the walk didn’t take the exact same route (uphill, naturally) as all of the buses. On dry days, you’re walking in a dust storm. But on a morning like ours, it’s a muddy mess. That’s because when we awoke at 4am, it was pouring rain. It wasn’t going to slow us down so we geared up, caught the bus & luckily found that upon entrance to the park at 6am, the rain had ceased, the clouds were dissipating & it would turn into a beautiful day. Team Lucky in the house!

The train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Pueblo)

Downtown Aguas Calientes. For those following international events, this river through the middle of Machu Pueblo Town (& around the base of MP) flooded one week after we were there, forcing mass evacuations (of the tourists anyways). We were pretty lucky as far as timing goes.
A futbol field near the top of AC & near our hostel for the night. I happened to take this shot of kids playing & then saw a week later on the news this is where the tourists gathered for evacuation by helicopter. Nuts.
Clad in rain gear waiting for the bus at 5am.
After entering the park in tapering off rain, this was our first view. A bit cloudy.
 

But by the time we climbed up to el mirador (15 mins), this was our lovely view.
The weather was constantly changing throughout the day. Thankfully no rain but clouds moved quickly in & out. All of this meant the views of MP kept changing throughout the day so I felt the need to take a thousand photos of the same thing. I wonder why my blog gets behind. In addition to poor wifi, I spend a lot of time deleting needless photos. Better now than after my trip!


Chillin’ out maxin’ relaxin’ all cool

Malene & I discussed the only thing that could make the day better? Llamas! Specifically, llamas in the photos with MP. Wish granted.


Cusco, Peru – much more than just Machu Picchu

I find that most travelers gloss right over Cusco as their primary destination is the nearby Machu Picchu but it’s quite a lovely city. We also toured the nearby Sacred Valley including various Incan ruins before heading to Aguas Calientes to tour MP. I went caption heavy on the photos below so I’m keeping this brief. You’re welcome. 

Cusco – I feel like tourists bombard Cusco for Machu Picchu but it really is a beautiful fun city. I could spend a lot of time here.

Cusco city flag is the rainbow flag

Chinchero, a town in the Sacred Valley with Inca ruins. Lotso Inca ruins in these parts.
Amy & I w the kick ass Dane, Malene. We coined ourselves “team lucky” bc everything we did together, ever tour, every snorkel trip, every unofficial snorkel trip, every trip to MP during the rainy season in Peru, turned out f’g fabulously.
Incas built the tiers to grow food. They’re everywhere. Including Machu Picchu. Incas gotta eat.
The Maras Salinas salt ponds, in use since Incan times. Different families own each salt pond & it’s operated as a cooperative. Apparently I’m somewhat obsessed w salt everything in SA (blatant foreshadowing).
This llama popped up on Malene’s Snapchat (I say that like I know what that means) & we kinda fell in love w it. I’ll spare you more FAKE llama friend pics.
Weird that these salt ponds are so far from the sea & at 3300m right? An underground salt spring feeds all these salt ponds. Super cool.

Folks think this circular tiered planting system in Moray was an Incan agricultural experiment. I look at it & see a fantastic live music venue. And this was before the chicha.

Our driver / tour guide asked if we wanted to try chicha. “YES!!!” So he stopped at this cute little old lady’s house & bought a glass for the equivalent of 30 cents. He knew she made & sold it bc there was a mini flag pole outside her door with a red ribbon. Really.
So chicha is this drink made from fermented yellow maiz. I met this PHD anthropologist in Bogota who was giving a graffiti tour & he did his dissertation on chicha (bc crazy Incas have been drinking it for awhile) & said he spent 2 years out of his mind. He warned me when I tried it to start with a very small portion indicating a shot glass size. So this glass seemed a bit large. We drank it, or most of it, & went on our way. It put both Amy & Malene asleep & I was close until I felt the impact & thought I’d stay awake to see it through. Definitely not a drunk feeling. More like a mind altering stoned feeling. Or so I would imagine.
Ollantaytambo was our final stop of the day for standout Incan ruins & to catch the train to Aguas Calientes.