Machu Picchu trek: day eight.

Late last night and this morning it poured. We had a brief repreive during breakfast but the drizzle started again as we said goodbye to our wonderful chef/assistant chef and porters and headed out...

And then the drizzle stopped, and then started, and then stopped, lather rinse repeat. It became an exercise of "how hot in my raincoat can I stand to be, because as soon as I take it off I will need it again." It got warmer as we descended into the jungle and the rain finally ceased, for the most part. Our good weather luck was holding out.

entering a cave walk-through during a rainy portion

It was another slow day up to the Sun Temple so once again I treated it as a nature walk. We saw fern trees, fiddleheads, tons of varieties of orchids including the gorgeous MP orchid, and butterflies and birds galore.

Krustyus the Clownus species

Machu Picchu orchid

We also stopped at a few of the ruins along the way. Some were agricultural centers and others were shelters for the folks who maintained the trail back in the day.

room with a view at Intipata

Intipata ruins

Winaywayna ruins

Finally the top of the pass, the Sun Temple!

Viki attempts to greet the sun

And lots and lots of fog! What an odd name for a place in the cloud forest. Our first glimpses of the sacred city did not look promising - we saw it for a few minutes and then it disappeared into the fog.

no, really, it's there

We had a quick lunch and continued on down the pass, stopping at more ruins before the fog and clouds burned off...

Chema explaining the tomb of the high priest where a woman's skeleton was found

... and there was Machu Picchu. What an amazing site.

The weather cooperated as we took a two hour tour of the city. The amount of thought that went into every detail of where things were placed in relation to the sun, and how the serpent/puma/condor and "threes" were incorporated, was really stunning.

Chema showing the stepping-stone like architecture - three steps, of course

The giant rocks were pieced together like a puzzle and the numerous sets of steps carved into the huge naturally occurring boulders were mind-blowing. Puts modern architecture to shame to some degree...

steps carved in one ginormous boulder

Oh right, and the 360 panoramic views of the Andes weren't so bad either.

This is a poor (at best) summary but suffice to say, I was overwhelmed. Both from the cumulative week's events and the site itself.

We got kicked out because of the time, and I think two hours is far too little time to fully appreciate the magic of this place. But as soon as we heard it was possible to climb Waynapicchu to the north, Viki and I decided to return the next morning before our journey back to Cusco.

see you tomorrow, Waynapicchu

It would have been nice to sit with the llamas or next to the peaceful fountain for a little while this afternoon though - next time!

Aguas Calientas is a weird little tourist town by the river. Our hotel is perfect. We had dinner at a nice pizza place that played really bad 80s music really loud, and now we are heading to bed for our early start in the morning. Our guide was quite lively at dinner and shared more about Andean culture and life... The quote of the day is from him.

Quote of the day: "The problem is the Catholic church..." (in response to a question about whether birth control methods are taught to high school kids in the Andes - they are, but the church doesn't like it... what a widely applicable quote though)