MACHU PICCHU!

Finally, after months of working and waiting for the right time Moose and I made it to Machu Picchu! We began our journey on Monday, May 4th at a local bus stop here in Cusco around 9 a.m. We took a decent sized bus to a small town called Urubamba for s/3.50 where we hoped on an even smaller local bus called a comvi to Ollantaytambo for only s/1.20! We didn't even have a proper seat on that bus, just a piece of a seat on the side of the bus with tons of local and indigenous people! Still, we arrived alive to Ollantaytambo and starving. I had the best burrito I've had so far in South America. After, of course, Moose and I bought our train tickets to Aguas Calientes for 7 that night. He had been there before and knew a woman who owned a hostel nearby. So for 4 hours he and I napped and watched movies there until it was time to get on board the train. It's kinda hard to sleep on a backpackers train considering the small seats but somehow I napped a bit. Once we got to Aguas Calientes we found a reccomended hostel called Hostel El Mirador for s/15.00 each. It was pretty nice but smelled kinda like mold in our room. Moose and I couldn't sleep and for about 2 hours stayed up reading and talking until we decided it was time we tryed to get some rest before we had to be up in 4 hours.

The alarm rang waaaay to early for my liking but nonetheless we got up and got ready to head out to Machu Picchu. It was pitch black and both of us were exhausted but we continued onward. After walking outside the town and asking a couple of people if this was the way I asked Moose what time it was...turns out his phone was an hour behind!!! We had gotten up an hour early and were now going to hike 2 hours in the dark with only Moose's cellphone light!!! I wanted to actually see where I was going so I convinced Moose to have a seat at the bus depot until the sun came up but luckily some other hikers with flashlights came along and we joined the trek once again with two frenchies and one Canadian. It wasn't long before we realized what exactly we had gotten ourselves into. After crossing a bridge over the river that flowed through Aguas Calientes and into the jungle it was only up from there...and by up I mean UP UP UP UP UP. The road to Machu Picchu winds up to the top and the trek to Machu Picchu passes every twist and turn except it was steps we had to climp, not the road. After two hours of constant hiking, stopping and resting, losing and gaining trekking partners we finally made it to the top of the mountain at 6 a.m.!!!

The night before I had packed on bottle of water, one apple and a granola bar. We drank half the bottle before we got to the top and after reaching the top I had a breakfast of an apple while Moose munched on half the granola bar...we saved the rest for later assuming that we'd be able to purchase more water and food in a bit. But we didn't stop to rest for long because we went straight to the line to hike Waynapicchu which was supossed to have the absolute best view of Machu Picchu for below. So lucky numbers 36 and 37 waited for 30 minutes until Waynapicchu opened at 7 a.m. to begin our real jouney!

Let me start this paragraph by saying, and I quote..."WE WERE NOT PREPARED"! Hiking up to the top of Waynapicchu must have taken us an hour and a half atleast. And again, by up I mean UP UP UP. The Incans must have been the fittest race that ever lived. I tryed to imagine having to walk that trek everyday and it absolutely amazed me! As well as just the shear height of what we were climbing was the fact that the only thing beside us was a straight drop down the side of Waynapicchu. Scary, to say the least. After reaching the top and getting some amazing photos (which you can see on myspace and facebook) we debated on whether to hike back down at the moment or continue on to the Grand Cavern. I thought we should just go back down because I didn't think I'd have enough money for the train back and thought we should walk to tracks, which would take about 6 hours. Moose wanted to continue on and after convincing me we started treking again. It took us about two hours hiking downward to reach the Grand Cavern and Temple of the Moon. Who knew it would be just as exhausting walking down steps as it would be walking up?! On the way down we had to climb down ladders made of wood and hang on for dear life while suspended over the side with only a rope to keep us company. The Cavern and Temple were really still being worked on so they were not worth the trek in our opinion. Perhaps in a couple of months they will be fully prepared to view in all their glory. Anyways, after viewing those ruins we found out that it was another hour or so upward to get to the intersection where we would begin back to Machu Picchu...UPWARD, AGAIN?! AHHHHHH

We were totally out of water and food so we were thirsty and starving to death. Luckily we met a nice couple who gave us some spare gatorade and water but that too soon ran out way before we even reached the intersection. At one point we finally got to walk downward but my pace was tortise style because I really couldn't feel my legs. I was so weak. There were amazing views and wonderous hikes tho. Who else can say they hike up Incan trails under slabs of mountain on stairs made of stone? And making it to the intersection was a glorious moment even though we still had an hour more to make it back to Machu Picchu. When we got to the entrance of Waynapicchu I was more than exhausted...that mountain had thoroughly kicked my ass. After 5 hours of hiking up and down all I wanted to do was lay down in the grass and rest a bit. And so we did! lol

We didn't really go through Machu Picchu...only what was close to the EXIT! :) Architect doesn't even begin to describe what the Incans were. Their water systems still worked! And their houses had windows and doors, proper windows and doors. It was beautiful and had I not been so tired I would have been able to appreciate it even more than I already do. Another cool thing was that there were llamas everywhere! I got some pretty awesome pics so definitely check them out. At the end Moose and I sat down to a 8 soles ice cream cone because the only other options for real food were 30 dollar buffets or 25 soles hamburgers...not happening on our budget. We took the bus down as we were not going to be able to make it by foot and had a big meal in Aguas Calientes. After that we bought our tickets for 6 that evening on the backpackers train and had a nice nap in the grass outside the train station. We attemped to sleep on the train but I kept getting a neck cramp and Moose never sleeps anyways. When we got off the train we caught another small bus to Cusco for about s/7.00 and on which I was not able to sleep on for the thought of a hot shower and good sleep. All in all it was a well worth jouney and one I will never forget. I really enjoyed my time with Moose especailly since he might be leaving soon. I highly reccommend visiting this wonder of the world!!