Travels in Peru: Machu Picchu

We left our hotel in Cusco in the morning and were on our way to the Pisac train station, ready to board the luxurious Hiriam Bingham train that takes passengers to Machu Picchu. Jessica and I had watched videos of previous travels on the train and we were very excited to ride it. The train is run by the same company (Belmond) who run the Sanctuary Lodge, where we would be staying in Machu Picchu, and the only hotel at the site. When we arrived at the train station, the mood was festive and we were given mimosas while they showed us to our seats on the train, at our 2-person table.

Before we could depart, there was a band and dancers performing just outside the train, so we took our mimosas and watched them perform, and I even did some dancing when they invited the crowd to join them!

We had just enough time to snap a pic of Jessica in front of the train, and then we were off.

We had been advised, by our tour guide in Lima and multiple videos, to head to the bar car once we ordered drinks and lunch, and enjoy the band and open air train car that was at the caboose of the train. So that’s what we did and we proceeded to enjoy the band (who would play a song from each country where the passengers were from; for us Americans, it was “Sweet Caroline” and we belted out every “so good, so good, so good!”). I danced with some of the train staff and some fellow passengers while the sun shone down on us. It was a super fun, and I sweating by the time lunch was served.

The bar car itself is very cool; we took the train to and from Machu Picchu, here’s us hanging in the bar car before the return trip left the station.

The views from the train of the surrounding countryside and so many mountains while the sun was shining brightly made for some great pictures and videos.

After lunch, we were prepared to head back to the bar car and do some more drinking and dancing, but the train had stopped. We waited and were given many drinks, and finally were told a local train had derailed and we would have to take another train. We weren’t the only ones delayed, our guide, Arturo, was on another train right behind us. We de-boarded the Hiriam Bingham and met up with Arturo, and then all proceeded to to the train that would take us onward. It was a fine train (there are three main trains that run to MP, the top is the Hiriam Bingham, and this was option two. the third option is cheapest and least luxurious), with an observation car that the three of us sat and talked as we took the final leg to Machu Picchu.

We reached Aguas Calientes (which is what the base town is now called, it was once known as Macchu Pichu) and all the hustle and bustle the town brings with; so many fellow tourists following so many guides, it was a bit overwhelming, but Arturo navigated us to the buses we would take up to Machu Picchu. After a 30-minute bus ride of switchbacks up a mountain, we finally reached Machu Picchu!

The only downside is we were running out of time; the train delay had cost us three hours, and now there was only a short amount of time we could get in and see the site before it closed for the day. We didn’t even change our clothes or shoes, just dropped off our bags in the hotel room and were with the last group (about 20 people) to get in the site that day. That’s why we look nice in the pictures below; it was really cool to be there at the end of the day, with few visitors and the early evening fog rolling in.

We only had about 30 minutes until they started ushering us out (seriously, they are on a time schedule, as we found out the next day as well), but we got to see it before the day was over, and we felt so lucky!

Then it was back to the hotel, for some much needed showers and change of clothes. Dinner was included in the hotel stay (since there is nowhere else to eat dinner), and we enjoyed our meal, Jesse ordered alpaca so we tasted that along with another tasty soup (who knew Peru had such good soups?) and a smoke-filled concoction that added a smoky flavor to some local fruits and chocolate to end a satisfying meal (Jessica’s blog has more on the food).

We went to bed early with an idea that we would try to use our 6:30am park entrance tickets (the site is now set-up in a few sections and different sections we booked for different times), but knew it wouldn’t happen, so we told Arturo not to worry about meeting us until our 9:30am climb of Mount Macchu Picchu. We slept well that evening, little did we know what was in store for us the next day.

We met Arturo at 9:35am, and he navigated us through the throngs of fellow tourists, to our entrance to hike (hopefully) to the top of Mount Macchu Picchu, the higher of the two peaks to climb at the site (the other being Huana Picchu, which is on the other side of the Citadel from Mount Macchu Picchu). We had done our research, and both climbs seemed doable, and there was less hand over hand climbing on the Mount hike (though we knew it was a longer and higher climb), so we had chosen that one when booking the tour.

We asked Arturo how often he did the climb, and he told us a couple times a month, which gave us confidence, and we had done some climbs before, in Frigillana and Asturias, so felt good with attempting the climb on this sunny, yet cool-ish, morning. As you can see below, our first 30 minutes up, we were smiling and having a good time.

Then, we kept climbing, and climbing, and climbing, with rests every few flights of stone steps; the thin air, and our lack of consistent walking in everyday life, was catching up with us. Arturo was with us every step of the way, but it became clearer that it was going to be a slog up to the top. We passed fewer and fewer people heading down from the top, and what we had expected to take about 90 minutes up, was taking past two hours, as the citadel grew farther and smaller away from us, and the path up the mountain became narrower and we were holding on to the side of the mountain.

A Columbian couple passed us as we neared the top; but they were the last people we had seen in a while; Arturo urged us on, telling us we were close; but at a certain point, “close” was always around the next corner, and never actually there. Finally, though, we saw the little hut at the top, and we had made it!

We actually had made it just in time, as the worker at the top of the mountain was ready to head back down, and we were the last people to reach the top that day! He was on a tight schedule it appeared, so Arturo convinced him to let us linger a bit at the top, but it wasn’t long until he was telling us it was time to go back down the mountain that we had worked so hard to reach the top of. Back down the mountain we went, and quickly, his walking stick hitting each stone as he descended not far behind us made us make the trek down in about 30 minutes (when usually it takes 45). When we reached the bottom, we were exhausted, our knees shaking. Above Jessica’s shoulder in the picture below is the peak we climbed, it didn’t seem real, even moments after we had done it.

We went to lunch at the hotel, which was a varied and tasty buffet spread; but we went for the carbs and sugar, in the form of Coca-cola and pizza. I don’t think a Coke has ever tasted so good. We were exhausted and ready to rest…but we still had one more entry, into the Citadel itself…in less than 30 minutes. Jessica said she would remain, so Arturo and I headed into the Citadel itself, which is a wonder on its own to behold.

Arturo and I entered the Citadel with the sun still shining overhead; we walked down pathways and corridors as he told me more about what went on in these rooms, like any normal home, just imagine thick, straw-woven roofs on top of these many stone structures. The coolest part to me, was the drainage system that ran from the topmost structure, out through the lowest, efficiently enough that it continues to work.

There is a tree, the last remaining one in the Citadel, that was too cool to pass up taking a pic of.

With that, Arturo and I left the Citadel and met up with Jessica, who was relaxing on the back patio grounds of the hotel, quite impressive in itself:

There we said good-bye to Arturo, who had been such an awesome guide, we couldn’t have been luckier to take this unforgettable trip to Macchu Picchu with him. We had a final snack at the hotel and boarded the bus back down the mountain to Aguas Calientes.

From there, back to the Hiriam Bingham and a lively train ride back to Cusco; our legs were too tired to dance but we enjoyed the bar car and sharing drinks with a lively group of friends from Cuba and Venezuela by way of Florida. We sang along and had a great time on the train!