Week 3: Finally Machu Picchu

On Sunday morning we boarded our bus with a overnight bag we packed just for the night.  We were headed again for the town of Ollantatambo. This time we weren't going to tour the town but instead take the Inca Train to Aguas Calients and then a bus onwards to Machu Pichu.  However on the way, we made a stop at a famous chicha brewer.  In case you aren't familiar with chicha, it is a corn brew, in this case alcohic. This is family run business where the brew is made daily.  There are two varieties.  The yellow one is the normal brew and is made primarily for men.  The pink one has strawberries added to the normal yellow brew and is made primarily for women.  For my taste, the yellow one is awful but the pink is at least drinkable.  

We had a little contest and these two fellow tour members were the winners

We the made it to the Ollantatambo's train station, note the beautiful glacier mountains in the background.

On board the train, OAT provided us with a box lunch so we could go directly to Machu Picchu upon arriving in Aguas Calients.  On arrival, OAT arranged for the hotel in Aguas Calients, El Santuario, to pickup our overnight bags.  There was an angry crowd at station trying to get back to  Ollantatambo as they went to Machu Picchu without tickets and couldn't get in.  Now they were struck in Aguas Calients as the train is the only way back to the real world.  But the trains were fully booked!

In the mean time, we were lead directly to the bus stop to take the bus to Machu Picchu.  Besides walking, three local bus companies are the only way to Machu Pichu.  Thus, they have a monopoly and charge $24 RT for the 25 minute trip.  But at least the buses were fairly nice Mercedes which were needed to go over this switch back dirt road.  When we arrival at Machu Pichu, there were literally thousands of people waiting in line for the return trip.  This was puzzling as Peru supposedly has limited the number of attendance daily to 3,000.  But according to Richard, a local guide OAT provided, the real number is closer to 5,000 daily.  Any way, Carmen, our main tour guide, gave us a nice overview of the ruins as we toured the city.  We were one of the last groups of the day to leave.  Fortunately, there really wasn't a line for the bus at that time.

On Monday morning, I and 7 of 8 of my fellow tour members elected to get up early to see sunrise at Machu Picchu.  So at 5:00 AM prompt we left the hotel only to discover a line at the bus stop of thousands.  Richard, the local guide, was with us and he said this was normal this time of the year.  Well, since the buses didn't start running until 5:30 AM, we had a long long wait.  It took us until 6:45 AM to get a bus.  Just in time Carmen, the main guide, and the other tour member to join us.  We couldn't help but feel that Carmen set us up to secure a spot for her without the long wait.  Needless to say, we weren't in time for the sunrise.  But it was so foggy early that day, it made little difference.

So once we arrive at the Park, I join Richard and most of the tour group for a trek to the Sun Gate.  

Well, this turned out to be too much for me.  My breathing got more and more forced.  Finally, about 2/3 the way to the gate I elected to go back.  So I went on my own to the gate house which sets on you of the ruins and allows sights such as this

I was still having difficulty breathing but now my stomach was doing flip flops.  Since I had to wait until 11 AM for the return bus, I still decided to walk to the Inca Bridge.

I saw this overlook of the local hydroelectric plant on the way

After the bridge, I decided I had enough as it was so hot and I was feeling totally lousy. So I made the seemingly long trek back to the park entrance.  I just wanted to sit down in the shade.  Fortunately, one of the other tour members was sitting in the shade by the entrance and I got a seat by her.  Then at 11am the others joined us and we made the trip back to town without any issues.  Next we had lunch provided at a local Aguas Calientes resturant.  But all I could eat was a small bowl of chicken broth and a ginger ale.  We boarded the train at 2:30 PM for the 2 1/2 hour train trip back to Ollantatambo.  The train was very hot due to the weather and lack of A/C.  At Ollantatambo, our bus driver met us for the 2 hour ride to Cusco.  I thought the trip would never end but it did.  We arrived at the Hotel Jose San Antonio Cusco before 7 PM.  Dinner was provided but I ate little as I wanted to get to bed and rest.  Finally about 8 PM I got my wish.  

On awaking this morning, I feel much better.  My stomach is still a bit upset but the breathing is normal.  I just need to take it easy the next few days.  Speaking of that, we did a walking tour of downtown Cusco this morning.  The first stop was the Chapel of Santo Domingo and the Koricanche complex.  The Incas built this temple, their main temple, over bot pre Inca and Inac walls.  Then the Spanish built their chapel over the Inca Temple destroying much of it in the process.  The Inca temple had it walls lined with gold, silver, and alloy metals.  The Spanish took all this metal for themselves and then painted the walls with frescos. There is little left today of these frescos.

This is the whole comple.  Note the relatively poor construction of the walls on the bottom (pre Inca), the better construction of next higher wall (normal Inca contruction)' the really nice wall 3/4 of the way up (Inca temple contruction) and finally the Spanish for their chapel.

Some of the remains of the Inca temple

The courtyard in the chapel with the Inca temple ruins on both sides

The we walked to the mani plaza, Plaza de Armas.  There are Catholic Churches all around the city including this one on the plaza

But none can compare to the Cathedral.

This massive church was started in 1560 in the shape of a Latin cross with a 3 sided nave supported by only 14 pillars.  It took over 150 years to compare - lengthened a bit by the 1650 earthquake. To say this church is huge is an understatement.  Not only is it the largest in Peru, it is the 5th largest Catholic Church in the world.  Everywhere you look inside there is another chapel. Unfortunately, photos were not permitted.

After lunch, we toured the Koricancha Site Museum.  This was an odd underground housed in many small rooms.  It had several nice Peruian mummies but many of their other exhibits were duplicates of what we saw in the big archaeology museum in Lima.  After the museum, I went back to the hotel to continuing my recuperation.