Machu Picchu

We were at the bus stop for our ride up the mountain to the ruins at Machu Picchu before 6:00. A big effort on our part, I know, but we were excited. We got on a bus and shortly afterwards it left for the 8km trip up the hill. I think we were on the 2nd bus. We reached the ticket gate, which had a huge queue, but we already had our tickets, so we went straight in. We followed a path before immediately turning left and climbing up a steep hill to reach `the spot` for that `classic` view of Machu Picchu. You know, the one that is in every photo and guidebook on the planet. And it was here we got our first view of the ruins. We were not disappointed. Even though the view IS in all of the photos and guidebooks, it is still spectacular. We couldn´t believe we were standing there. It was a similar feeling to the one we had at our first glimpse at the pyramids of Giza.

Although it was light out, the sun still had not risen above the towering mountains, and it was chilly. We just sat there for at least an hour, enjoying the view of the ruins and the views of the surrounding Andes. In fact, throughout the day, it´s possible we enjoyed the mountain views a bit more than the ruins themselves. Machu Picchu was discovered in 1911 by American Hiram Bingham (I kept thinking of Chandler Bing) while he was searching for the legendary lost city of Vilcabamba. Not much is known about Machu Picchu because there are no written records of it, and in fact, the Spanish conquistadors who took over Peru never even knew it exists. It is not even known how old the ruins are, but a good guess is around 500 years old. As a result of this lack of knowledge, archaeologists rely on speculation and educated guesses as to Machu Picchu`s history. This was clearly evident to us as we eavesdropped on many guides throughout the day and heard different ´stories´ and explanations from each (we were supposed to have a guide too, but we didn´t meet up with her earlier as we wanted to get up to M.P. on the first bus and we never found her the rest of the day). Of course Nigel and I assigned our own explanations to things, as we do at all ruins we visit. It makes it much more fun and interesting, and, being educated people, our guess is as good as theirs, right?

After the sun rose and warmed us up, we spent the next few hours wandering around the ruins. It seems that M.P. was a little Incan village of some sort, with temples, tombs, plazas, prisons, farm plots, and residences scattered about on top of this mountain. Some of the buildings are constructed of random stones and others are more carefully put together with perfectly fitting carved stones. Some of these carved stones are bigger than either Nigel or I, making us wonder (like the pyramids), how the heck did they do it? Although the town looks relatively small from `the spot,` we were surprised at how big the village actually is, once we were among it and walking around. The site is also inhabited by a small herd of llamas which are still relatively shy of humans. Really we think they are sick of people interrupting their grazing to pat them and take silly photos of them. Nige stood and watched (and attempted to take countless photos of) some hummingbirds in a tree amongst the ruins. Some were normal hummingbird size and a beautiful shining green but one was tiny, barely bigger than a bumblebee. After some time, we hiked along a jungle path along a cliff to the Inca Bridge. In order to get across a steep part of the cliff, the Incans built up a rock wall and a small drawbridge to continue one of their many mountain paths to who knows where. We then went back to the main ruins and sat for over an hour, eating some snacks and again just enjoying the view. Nearby there was a beautiful eagle of some sort that was taking some crackers from a tourist. We think it was a bit old or sick due to the lump on it´s chest and the fact that it was becoming dependent on humans (being animal experts and all). It was still great to get close to such a beautiful bird. By this time it was after 1:00 and we had been up there for 7 hours. The sun was hot and fierce, and I was covered in tiny bites. I didn't realize I was getting bites of course, until I looked down and had all these tiny spots of blood on my legs. There are these tiny black bastard bugs up there, and you can´t even feel they´re on you, let along biting you. So, reluctantly, we headed back down the mountain.

We have heard from more than a handful of people that Machu Picchu is disappointing. Why this may be the case for some could be attributed to the fact that it is so heavily photographed. Or maybe it´s because the ruins are small and isolated. Or maybe it´s due to the hassle in getting there, especially now with all of the governmental B.S. that is involved. But whatever their reasons, we felt that Machu Picchu is anything but disappointing. Just the setting alone makes the vist worthwhile, and that doesn´t even include the rich Incan history behind it all.

Back in town, we had a late lunch, where again the restaurant tried to rip us off, but we were on to them. When we returned to our hotel, the girl tried to kick us out. She explained (all in Spanish) that when we checked in yesterday, we told her we only wanted to stay 1 night. Now she has a reservation for 5 people in our basement room. I explained that when we checked in (with a different girl), we told her two of us were staying only 1 night (the Aussie and the Frenchie) and 2 of us were staying 2 nights. We would look today for 2 others to fill the beds later in the afternooon. She clearly understood me and all was okay. But the story was changed now, and the girl said we had to go find another hotel. Since it was around the same time as yesterday when we were walking around struggling to find a place, I knew our chances were slim to none. So, I just explained that it isn´t our fault, it is their problem, and we are NOT leaving. After some arguing (the girl who checked us in yesterday was there, and she didn´t argue with my version of things) she decided that they `all of a sudden` have a free double room upstairs, which is normally 50 soles but we can have for 45. But we were only paying 30 for the basement room, which we had booked for 2 nights, and no way were we paying more. We argued back and forth and eventually the girl relented. I think deep down she knew she was screwing us over. In fact, after thinking about it, we think that she KNEW we wanted the beds for 2 nights, and that someone had rung only that morning to make a booking for 5 people, and she could get more money from 5 than from 4, so she decided to kick us out on the street to make an extra 15 soles. Although she was a total bee-atch to us the rest of the evening and the next morning, I´m glad we didn´t let her screw us over like the lady yesterday and held our ground, refusing to leave. By the way, the hotel is called Chaska Hotel and I wouldn´t recommend giving them your patronage.

After that ordeal, we wandered around the maze of markets, each stall selling only a slight variation of the ones next to and across from it. We then went out for some cheap beer and cards before heading to the same hamburger stand for a cheap, delicious dinner. On our way back to our room, we saw that people were setting up some tents and a bandstand for a fiesta. Today is Peru´s Independence, so we asked some girls sitting nearby, and sure enough, there was to be a huge fiesta later. We would have gone back to help them celebrate, but there was a covercharge and we didn´t really feel like paying. Plus, by this time, those oh-so-tiny bites I got up on Machu Picchu had turned red, swollen and SO ITCHY...they may as well have been mosquito bites. I counted exactly 22 on each leg. Weird. Maybe it´s the magic Inca number. Whatever, I was feeling miserable. So we headed to bed.