Machu Picchu

We get to visit Machu Picchu today and Inca treasure. We had breakfast at 5:30 and
lined up for the bus at around six. Oh my God! What a lineup! There are hundreds
if not a thousand people in line! It took over three minutes to walk to the end of the
line from where we were at the hotel, the beginning of the line. We waited over an
hour to take the bus that would bring us to Machu Picchu. Walking might have been
faster -only problem, it’s uphill! I’ve done enough of that in the past five days!

The road up the mountain was 13 switchbacks on a single lane. When you meet the
bus that is coming down it can be a bit scary, as one of them has to back up to a wider
part, or a corner. You always hope you are not the one that has to back up! It’s almost
like playing chicken! What a ride!

We finally get to the top about 30 minutes later. There are no washrooms once you pass
the gate. What?? No washroom? That’s pretty ridiculous… How are you supposed to
hold it for possibly all day when you are taking Diamox for altitude and you’re
supposed to drink like a camel? Well we shall see…

Remi, Sophie and I spent the day with Jason and Tracy. We started with the washrooms
of course! Two Soles to use the public washrooms. Once out of “el baño”, Tracy
noticed she had lost her bus and entrance ticket. She was going to wait for the bus
to return. I told her to go ask if they could call the driver to see if it was on there
instead of waiting for what could be hours. Instead, they just re-printed it for her.
Off we go.

Machu Picchu was a bit of a disappointment for me. Is it beautiful? Absolutely!
Problem is, there are thousands of people crowding the place. After spending five
days with about 25 people, this was a major shock.  We had some time before our
guided tour and so we decided to walk the path up to Sungate. You read that correctly
- up for about an hour. The path consists of huge uneven steps. It was pretty tough
but we got excellent views of the city.

Went arrive at the Sungate, another disappointment.  I expecting some sort of
pyramid or sundial. You know, something. Nope. Nothing. Two walls. That’s it.
  The one good thing was the view. Breathtaking. After spending a few minutes taking
pictures, getting yelled at for doing a jump shot, and changing into shorts, we went
back down to meet our guide. It was much faster to get down! 45 minutes or so. 
I really, really had to go pee… I may or may not have peed right there in the middle of
the path while my partners in crime intercepted people who might have seen me, had
they not been intervened.

Our guides name was Victor Hugo. He was not a great guide. He spent most of his
time on his phone and didn’t really answer any of our questions. It was a painful
2.5 hour tour. Bright sun, difficult to understand the guide, but… beautiful views.
The Incas are interesting, I will have to research them on my own.

After our tour, it was time to get on the bus so we could go catch a train back to Cusco.
Tracy and I had time to walk around the market while Remi and Jason had a beer at
a restaurant.

The train ride was fun! We sang and danced, watched a fashion show, and just chatted.
We arrive in Cusco at 9 pm. I was so tired I went straight to bed. Until 9 am the
next morning -the last day in this beautiful place.