Machu Picchu!

Saturday April 14

It was a very early morning since our bus to catch the train left at 6:45am.  Travelling through mountainous country the bus brought us to Ollantaytambo where after we feasted on french toast and granola/yogurt at the train station we boarded Peru Rail to complete the journey to Machu Picchu.  Such a scenic route it was hard not to snap a photo every 10 seconds!

  

Ramiro, his brothers and even the lady we purchased the bus/train ticket from all think we are crazy to want to spend 4 days at the base of Machu Picchu in the town called Aguas Calientes.  But we are so excited to get away from big cities and all the traffic!!  For a family who is not fond of large cities we sure have spent a lot of time in them.  

Tianna insists on wearing the biggest back pack!!

this is the town of Aguas Calientes (hot springs)
JC & Landon borrowed camping gear from Ramiro and will have some male bonding time while the girls will enjoy a mother/daughter date in the hostel, warm & dry:-)

Sun rising over Machu Picchu and the boys campsite 

Monday was the day we chose to climb Machu Picchu and the sun was shining down on us!  This might not seem like a big deal but it was considering that the other 3 days were raining!!  I had prayed for sunshine and God heard me and provided a perfect day.  Tianna & I woke early (all on our own, no wake up call) and after breakfast walked to Landon & JC's campsite.  JC made the decision to climb (literally) one of the other mountains close to their campsite instead of doing what all the tourist do when they come here.  

 WE MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!

 Our hike up to Machu Picchu took about 45minutes straight up not zig zagging like the buses full of tourists did.  My initial thought upon arriving and seeing it for the first time was "Wow, it is a lot bigger than I expected".  We've seen so many pictures that I was worried that it wouldn't be an awe moment but it was.  
We were captivated by the stunning architecture!!!     

 

 
Calling it a city is a good description and I tried to imagine myself living here over 600 years ago. Primitive but very structurally sound built entirely of chiselled boulders that fit perfectly without cement and strategically placed which would impress any architect even of today.  Abandoned by the Incas when the Spanish invaded, Machu Picchu was not re-discovered until 1911.

Tianna & I had booked a climb to one of the mountain tops directly above the city but it took some time to find the entrance into Machu Picchu Montana (mountain).  See Tianna's Post for her experience and impression. 

Ok, so here is where your true character shines, my daughters is one of optimism and perseverance.  The path to the top of the mountain (which is the highest one, even higher than the more popular Waynapicchu on the opposite side) is made of stone steps, we never counted but I am guessing at 3050 m that there were about a million that zigzagged at a 45 degree angle.  
 this view is only half way up!
To be honest I would have likely turned back if it hadn't been for Tianna's constant encouragement.  She was ahead of me (of course) and would yell back "Mom, we're almost there, I can see the top"  this was after about 15 minutes and for the rest of the 1.5hrs. it took us to climb to the top.  JC contacted us on his walkie talkie to say he reached the summit of his mountain and seemed happy to have accomplished this goal of his own.  

We made it.......INCREDIBLE!!  The view was one that I will remember forever and sharing this moment with my daughter was a highlight not only of this trip but of my life.  

Once at the top we contacted Landon below on the walkie talkie to let him know about our accomplishment.  When we sat down to rest I said to Tianna, "you know you can do anything you want with your life" she replied "yeah I know, I want to be a photographer."  I was thinking more along the lines of an astronaut but oh well whatever she decides to do I know she will be successful and happy.  What amazed me was that from this height we had a perfect view of Machu Picchu below but could not see one tourist even though we knew there were a couple thousand of them walking around down there.  

After about 20 minutes at the top we headed back down......in half the time it took to go up!  Even Tianna's legs were shaking.  Waiting for us at the bottom was Landon who was ready to leave so he & Tianna boarded the bus back to Aguas Calientes.  JC met them and they all went for a smorgasbord.  

Compliments of Katherine (my new aussie friend)

"Machu Picchu dates back to 1400AD and sits in perfect harmony between mountain peaks at 2400m above sea level. It was 'discovered' in 1911 by an American explorer, Hiram Bingham, who was in search of the lost city of the Incas. Surrounded by mystery and still debated by archeologists and historians, it is truly deserving of being one of the 7 wonders of the world." 

I stayed for a couple more hours hiking through this ancient Inca city in the glorious sunshine, thanking God for answering my prayer with the weather and for arranging my birth in the 20th century:-)

 the kids even managed to fit in a bit of school work on our last day before leaving Aguas Calientes:-)