Peru Trip Days 6 & 7 - Machu Picchu

Tour of Peru

June 15-28, 2010

I figure that the easiest way to document this trip is to start from their itinerary and add my own comments, observations, and pictures. My stuff is in black.  Theirs is in blue.

Day 6/June 20: Board the first class tourist train for mystical Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas. It was here that the Incas succeeded in combining the wonders of civilization with those of nature. The sheer beauty of what is considered by some the most dramatic place in the world overwhelms you as you are immediately drawn into its "still alive" mysteries. After an extensive guided tour with your spiritually oriented guide, you have free time to explore and meditate here.

Well, that was an optimistic description!  The problem was that parts of the train tracks were still washed out.  As were parts of the road.  So we couldn’t use our great big wonderful buses, but had to get into a convoy of about 5 smaller buses.  Which spent part of the drive driving on the railroad tracks!  (Not next to them:  ON THEM.)  Then we did board a train for the last part of the trip.  But the hotel was beautiful.  Our room was on the train-track side of the hotel.

 

Railway Abutment - Machu Picchu

This is the view from our window.  The train tracks are at the top of this picture.  Trains only went by a few times while we were there, but occasionally you could see a group of 3 or 4 guys running along the tracks!  I think the porters used it as a shortcut back to the station from the hotels where they were delivering bags.  (And we who could barely walk at our normal pace at that altitude were absolutely amazed to see people running!)

The other side of the hotel looked out on a gorgeous river with HUGE rocks scattered in and alongside it.  No photos…

  

Day 7/June 21: Today is the Solstice! This morning visit Machu Picchu early to experience sunrise over the magnificent ruins. Experience a special meditation and ceremony with Gregg. Afterwards, morning and mid-day free time around Machu Picchu.  If you would like to, you may go to the nearby local, rustic hot springs at Aguas Calientes or bathe in the wonderful Vileanota River, fed by pure mountain springs.  Travel back to the Sacred Valley in the late afternoon and overnight.

I did not make it to Machu Picchu at all.  On the way to the hotel I managed to fall, banging both knees, so spent the afternoon of day 6 and all of day 7 in the hotel resting.  But, I didn’t miss the sunrise because it was cloudy and the sun basically did not rise for anyone.  So no one saw the light coming through the ruins which was the main drawing point of the trip for a lot of people.  Late in the day we took the train (and jouncing bus) back to the monastery for the night.