We did it1. We were up early and left around 6:45 AM to go find a place to eat breakfast. We went down by where the buses line up to take people up the mountain to Machu Picchu (I will refer to it as MP). We pressed the man if he could deliver our breakfast very fast since the service here is very, very slow generally. But boy, they did a great job getting us eggs, bread, juices and so on. They called it the ‘Desayuno Americano’. After eating, we were ready to get on buses. However, we needed to hook up with the guide that we had paid. We were early. Our MP entry time was 9 AM and we could not get on the buses until a little after 8 AM anyways. Eventually, our guide showed up. His name was Jersey (for short). He spoke pretty good English. Once he was there, we got in line and eventually on the bus. Tickets for the bus to go up and back are $24 per person round trip. The ride is about 30 minutes and it is a switchback ride the whole time on a fairly narrow dirt road with buses going up and down passing each other. I had memories of the bus trips in Italy on the Amalia coast where I kissed the ground when we got off those! It was pretty amazing. We arrived at MP and immediately used the bathrooms as the Inca’s were not very thoughtful and did not create a bathroom in the MP site. Can you believe that!?!? We were finally here…the focus of our trip.
After going potty, we entered into MP grounds and started climbing up to the highest point on the MP grounds where we could get the best photos of the whole grounds. It was a pretty good climb on granite stone staircases. But it is nothing like the Inca Trails that you could see in the surrounding mountains. MP was a special place because it had a temple that faced where the sun would rise. In the other mountains, there were ‘villages’ but those did not have temples because of their location relative to the sun rising. The sun is the God of the Inca’s. Anyway, we followed a path stopping along the way numerous times where Jersey would explain things on the grounds and things that we could see in the distance. The place is amazing and I’ve been to some pretty amazing places (The Masada, Chichen Itza, etc.). But boy it is hard to beat what we just experienced this morning. The day was perfect too. Blue skies, cool breezes, lots of sunshine. We spent about 2.5 hours up there with Jersey leading the way. There are other hikes that take you up to other mountains that are above MP. They are so steep. People used to die trying to get to the top. And a few just reopened after being closed due to the pandemic.
After descending and getting off the bus in town, we quickly found a place to eat lunch. I don’t recall the name but it overlooked the river and the food was very tasty, It was a very nice place. Denise had Ravioli’s and I had Gnochis. Both were great!
After lunch, we started to head up towards our rooms. But this morning, they were all talking about getting massages. They run about $30 with tip for an hour massage. I’ve sworn in my life that I would never have someone run their hands and fingers all over my body. I’ve lived up to that sworn statement until today. Weak moment. So for one hour, all of laid on a table…different tables of course….and had someone massage your whole body with oils and stuff. I have to admit, it felt pretty good. They did the hot rock thing which felt good. But she really worked my calves. Not sure why. It kind of hurt. But other than that (and undressing with others eyes closed in the room), it was pretty good. I’ll probably try it again someday…in a weak moment.
After the massage, we stopped at one of the little markets and bought locks to put on the main bridge that crosses the river. This is a traditional thing done here I guess. Most of the bridges where a lock could be placed have them. We wrote,,,, 40 great years, Tim and Denise … on the lock and then we placed it there taking pictures of course. Tomorrow, October 13th, marks 40 years of marriage to this wonderful girl. We’ve experienced so much together. I know the last trimester of our lives is going to be fun, tiring and probably hard. But I’m glad I’m tackling it with her. Love you Denise!
The Smith’s and the Hayden’s then went shopping. We headed up to our room. Denise broke the arm of her prescription glasses at some point along the way. So we wanted to see if Carlos had super glue. When we arrived he greeted us and we asked him. He said that he would run…down the hill… to get some and then he would help us fix them. About thirty minutes later, all sweaty, he knocked on our door. He had the super glue. We paid him. He then said he would fix it. So we let him take a crack at it. And he did it! The seem to be ok. I hope it holds well and makes it through the trip. We’ll see. We let him keep the super glue. On a down note, he will not take a credit card for payment for this place. So tonight we have to scramble to get a pretty good amount of Soles to pay him. Kind of a bummer. But we will work it out.
It has been a MARVELOUS day. MP is the reason we trekked all the way here. And we were not let down for doing it. Low crowds…almost all people from Peru…great weather and an amazing archaeological site!
At around 6 PM we headed out to get more money from ATM’s to pay Carlos for our rooms. It took awhile to get money so that we can each pay our part. But we did it. We then looked for a restaurant and found one that did some Mexican food. So we went in. We ordered the large Nachos with guacamole. After waiting a very long time, our nachos arrived. I think there might have been 15 chips with some guacamole in the middle. The cheese…just sprinkled on…not melted. Nothing else was on it. We got took for our money.
After eating dinner, our host was playing a futbol game in the field near his house. So we went and watched him play. It was fun. 0 to 0 tie. It was like Rec leagues back home where the 35 and up’s were playing, chirping at the ref and at each other. I think the folks in the stands thought we were nuts as we yelled each time Carlos touched the ball. He was either embarrassed or appreciated our enthusiasm. I suspect the former. Nonetheless he had a bunch of gringos hooting and hollering for him. But the highlight of the game for the spectators was when Scott had a bug land on him…a flying beetle. He flicked it off only to have it go down Denise’s shirt. She almost went topless. The whole stands was watching her dance and pull her shirt down trying to get the insect out. And it took a bit as she would think it was gone and then it would move and then she’d start dancing again. The players on the field that she was an over zealous cheerleader. Eventually the unexpected guest came out of her shirt and all was well.
Pictures to come…..
Hello Machu Picchu! So amazing. We’ve seen it millions of times in pictures. But until you actually come and experience it….well, it is just a picture.
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