Machu Picchu

Many conversations in Cusco have scripted questions. Where are you from? How long are you in Cusco? What are you doing? Have you been to Machu Picchu?  It doesn't matter if this person is from Cusco or another fellow traveler. The conversation often starts off like this. I was in Peru for 7 months answering that last questioin, "No, no I still haven't been to Machu Picchu, but I will! Trust me I will!"

I can now finally say yes, I have been to Machu Picchu. I have not been to one of the most visited sites in the world, and the reason most people come through Cusco.

The landscape was incredible. The area is filled with steep peaks and narrow river carved valleys. The fog, rain, and warmth makes for dense jungle like forest. While still in the Andes, the area is known as the high jungle.

First things we hiked Machu Picchu mountain in the dense fog. At the top the fog began to clear. It was like watching the sunrise as we saw the ruins slowly become visible far below. The wonder came into view.

Part of the Machu Picchu experience for most people is waking up in the wee hours of the morning and walking around the ruins dazed because you are tired and hungry. It's like Disney Land in that way. You can't see everything in a day and you reach a point where you aren't taking any of it in even if you are "Seeing it". So we spent the next few hours, before we reached this point, wandering around the ruins eavesdropping on other tour groups. Here are some of the things we saw. 

Machu Picchu llama

The group

Huayna Picchu in the back ground

 Machu Picchu resident

Other Machu Picchu residents