Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu -- South America's most impressive archeological ruin and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World -- had us in complete and total awe during our visit. We were beyond thrilled to see Machu Picchu with our own eyes, and so grateful for the entire experience. Here's how that went:

The morning of Tuesday, February 15, we woke up in Casa De Don David and packed up our bags. We grabbed breakfast in Ollantaytambo's main square (just couldn't take the free, watered-down Don David coffee) and then returned to our hotel to check out. Throughout the morning, I kept checking my email to see if I had a response from Peru Rail about our luggage. As a reminder, the Peru Rail policy is that each passenger can carry one bag onto the train; the bag could be no more than five kilograms or 11 pounds. I had requested special authorization from Peru Rail to bring our backpacks plus two smaller bags. By the time we left for the train station, I still hadn't heard from Peru Rail. Tim and I agreed to chance it -- to walk past the Peru Rail storage center and see if we could get all of us and all of our bags onto the train platform. And that's exactly what we did, with our face shields on, of course (another Peru Rail policy).

I had booked us on the 10:32am Vistadome train to Machu Picchu. There were only two cars heading to Machu Picchu at that time; I imagine in the high season, it's a lot more. About 10:15am, we started boarding. I showed our tickets to the train porter, and we were motioned on -- with all our luggage (success!). We found our assigned seats and settled in for the ride to Machu Picchu.

Hmm. Wyatt is due for a haircut...

On the train...

...with our face shields.

We loved our time on the Vistadome train. During our ride, announcements were made in Spanish and English about the towns and ruins we were passing, so we could learn while we rode. 

After about two hours, we arrived in Machu Picchu Town, also known as Aguas Calientes. This place was hopping! There was a ton of energy and excitement here -- and we immediately picked up on it. There are no cars or taxis in Machu Picchu Town; you walk everywhere. From the train station, we ended up walking in the wrong direction to find our hotel, but ran into Machu Picchu guides offering their services. You cannot enter Machu Picchu without a guide, so on my to-do list for Tuesday afternoon was to identify one. (In fact, this was another element to our Machu Picchu visit that I went around and around on. I had considered booking a guide in advance through GetYourGuide.com, but they weren't cheap. In the end, I decided to wait to find a guide until arriving in Machu Picchu Town, and I'm so glad I did.)

A licensed guide named Elisban came over to us and, first, pointed out our hotel, and second, talked to us about how the Machu Picchu guides work. He quoted us a price of $60 -- he'd meet us at our hotel in the morning, take us to the bus stop, ride with us up to Machu Picchu, tour us around, and then take us back down to Machu Picchu Town. We wanted to do a little more research before booking, so I grabbed his WhatsApp number and said I'd be in touch.

From there, we headed to our hotel and checked in. I had arranged for a room at the Casa Andina Standard Machu Picchu (www.casa-andina.com). This hotel was great; I'd highly recommend if you're visiting Machu Picchu. The staff at Casa Andina told me where to purchase bus tickets and offered to print out my electronic Machu Picchu tickets (yep, you need to the paper tix to gain entry). Bonus!

A note about buying tickets to Machu Picchu: The cheapest way to buy Machu Picchu tickets is on Peru's Ministry of Culture website. But that website is only partly in English, and wouldn't allow me to purchase the half-price tickets for the kids. I could also buy tickets in Machu Picchu Town, but I had this scenario in my mind where we'd get to the ticket booth and they'd tell me all Wednesday tickets had been sold. So I ended up paying for peace of mind and purchased our tickets -- at a higher cost -- in advance on GetYourGuide.com. In hindsight, because we visited in the low season, we could've just paid the regular ticket prices at the Machu Picchu Town ticket booth; the tickets would not have been sold out. Lesson learned.

We ate a delicious lunch at Full House and while there, were able to verify that the going rate for Machu Picchu guides hovered between USD$60-70. I sent Elisban a WhatsApp message and let him know we'd like to book him for our tour. He wrote back, and confirmed that he'd be at our hotel the following morning at 8am.

Lunch at Full House.

After lunch, we walked across town to buy bus tickets. These tickets ain't cheap, but it's the only way to get up and back from Machu Picchu, unless you opt to hike up or walk down. We weren't prepared to do either with the kids, so it was the bus both ways for us.

The rest of the afternoon we spent walking around Machu Picchu Town (took about 15 minutes -- it's just not that big!), grabbing ice cream at a French boulangerie (go figure), and doing some schoolwork.

At dinnertime, it was raining outside, so we opted to eat just down the street from our hotel. Back in our hotel, it was off to bed. We had to get a good night's sleep!

Wednesday morning, we woke up super pumped. And by we, I mean me and Tim. We went downstairs for breakfast, then packed all our bags, and checked out of our hotel. Casa Andina staff placed our bags in storage, and we waited for Elisban in the lobby. At 8am sharp, Elisban showed. He ushered us out of the hotel and over to the bus stop. We were lined up for a 9am entrance to Machu Picchu. We waited in line for maybe 20 minutes; Elisban shared that in the high season, tourists can wait up to two hours to get on a bus (!).

Waiting for the bus with Elisban.

The bus took us up a ton of switchbacks and the ride lasted about 25 minutes. At the top, the bus turned around and let us off. We all used the bathrooms outside the entrance; there are no restrooms inside Machu Picchu. We showed our passports at the ticket gate; our actual tickets had been scanned while we were waiting for the bus.

Once inside, Elisban took us to the very top of Machu Picchu. He said we'd do the hardest climbing first (smart, smart man). At the top, we saw where the Inca Trail enters Machu Picchu. Elisban pointed out the Sun Gate and a few other features. He took us around the up-top ruins and had us stop at the famous photo op where he took our picture. Along the way, Elisban told us about the discovery of Machu Picchu, its history, its use, what happened where ("here are the homes," "here are the temples"), and so much more. It was like drinking from the historical fire hose, and we absolutely loved it. And by we, I mean me and Tim.

You can learn all about Machu Picchu here, but I'll share a few nuggets from Elisban:

1). Machu Picchu means "Old Peak" in the native Quechua language, which the Incan nation spoke. Yet, according to Elisban, 'machu' also means big, and the Peruvians who helped American explorer Hiram Bingham find Machu Picchu thought Bingham was a big man (he was very tall). So Bingham became known as the big man on the mountain -- Machu Picchu.

2). Hiram Bingham is a bit of a controversial figure, as we learned. During his exploration of Machu Picchu, he removed thousands of artifacts and took them back to Yale University, where he worked. For about 100 years, Peru kept asking for the artifacts to be returned, to no avail. Finally, in 2011, artifacts were returned. You can read more about this story here. Bingham also labeled Machu Picchu as "The Lost City of the Incas." That's a mistake and Bingham knew it -- the true lost city is actually a place called Vilcabamba, which Bingham never found.

3). The Incans did not have a written language, so archeologists really don't know what happened at or with Machu Picchu. They have theories and assumptions, and tourists and the public alike just go with it. But it's thought that those Incas at Machu Picchu learned of the Spanish conquistadors' arrival on their land from a chain of Inca runners that functioned, essentially, as mailmen delivering oral messages. The Spanish conquered the Incas, oftentimes brutally. The Incans at Machu Picchu would have abandoned the site for fear that the Spanish would soon arrive (it's presumed they fled to Vilcabamba). And when visiting Machu Picchu, you can see so many unfinished areas. The Incans were only at Machu Picchu for 80 years -- such a short time.

There were so many more facts and stories that Elisban shared with us, and we're still sifting through all of them. We spent about three hours walking around Machu Picchu, and it was just incredible. We learned, too, that in the low season, about 3,000 tourists visit Machu Picchu each day. In the high season, Elisban shared that 8,000-12,000 tourists visit each day (!). 

Elisban showed us floating steps the Incas had made. These Incas were astounding!

A panoramic view.

Getting closer to the main part.

Following Elisban.

AMAZING.

I mean, look at this gate -- look at the precision with which the stones were cut.

You can see that the Incas were in the process of cutting this rock -- but obviously didn't get to finish.

And the Incas were in the process of moving this rock -- you can see the 'wheel' underneath it.

Behind us is an Inca 'auditorium' -- where the Inca ruler would have spoken to large crowds. The way this space was designed allowed for natural acoustics.

I mean, just incredible...

Elisban explaining to us about these Inca homes.

Making our way through Machu Picchu.

In front of the Temple of the Condor. It's hard to see from this photo, but by the triangle stone at the bottom is the condor's head; the two large striped rocks behind the condor are its wings in flight. Stunning stonemasonry by the Incas.

At the end of our Machu Picchu visit.

After we had made our way around the entire Citadel, we exited Machu Picchu and boarded a bus for Machu Picchu Town. Amazingly, we stayed dry for most of our Machu Picchu visit; it had started to rain just as we were finishing our tour. Back in town, Elisban dropped us off at a restaurant he recommended for lunch. We paid him, thanked him profusely, and said goodbye. He had been a tremendous guide for us.

Shortly after lunch, we headed back to the train station and boarded the Peru Rail Vistadome for Ollantaytambo. About 15 minutes into our train ride, a traditional Saqra dancer (Peru Rail staff dressed up!) appeared and danced his way up and down the aisle. Why, yes, he did invite me to dance -- and dance I did. Then two more Peru Rail staffers presented a fashion show that featured Peru Rail's exclusive baby alpaca clothing collection. All of us passengers clapped in time to the traditional, fantastic music while the fashion show was going on. Our trip from Machu Picchu to Ollantaytambo was a blast.

Saqra dancer.

And again!

In Ollantaytambo, we had -- we thought -- just a few minutes to get from the train station to the bus station to catch the 5:15pm bus for Cusco. But a couple of us had to go to the bathroom. We followed the flow of passengers out of the train station, then ran into a Peru Rail staffer who informed us that no, there wasn't a bathroom on our bus. But he assured us we had time to go. So we doubled back and used the restrooms at the train station. Then we once again exited the train station, and the Peru Rail staffer walked us to the bus station. There, our bus tickets were verified, and we were put onto a 15-passenger van. The travel gods must have been smiling upon us, and perhaps the bathroom break worked in our favor -- for that van takes about an hour less to get to Cusco than the bus. It appeared that the bus was full, and that's why our family was shown the van. 

The three Peru Rail staffers from our Vistadome car also joined us in the van, and we were all driven back to Cusco. While daylight lasted, it was a beautiful drive through the Sacred Valley -- the same way we had come into Ollantaytambo in the first place. And once darkness came, the many lights of Cusco beckoned.

We arrived at the Cusco train station about 7:30pm, thanked the Peru Rail team, and climbed into a taxi to head to our hotel. 

Our trip to Machu Picchu had been one in a million billion trillion. We know this phenomenal site is on the world's bucket list -- and we feel elated and grateful to have had a chance to see it, feel it, and be in it.