Machu Picchu

we had gone to bed early the previous night in anticipation of getting up and starting the long trek up to machu picchu. even though we had been given the two free bus tickets we decided to eschew them on the way up in favor of hiking and getting a real sense of the experience. we left while it was still dark and followed the road up to the start of the hiking trail. the occasional bus would creep by us, shining their lights and warning us towards the side of the road and illuminating the low hanging clouds that swabbed the road.

i secretly wish i would have counted the number of steps from the first since the path soon seemed interminable: the clouds surrounding us only permitted vision of fifteen feet ahead, creating the impression of a path with no end, and before too long, the clouds enveloped behind too, shrouding the beginning in forgetfulness. it was like ending up in the forest maze in the first "legend of zelda." further along, we were both sweaty with rolled up sleeves and pant legs, lost and unsure how much further there was to go and through most of the water we had brought along to spell us for the day. the sun continued to rise and we felt we must be getting close as we could see the mountains around us clothed in clouds. eventually, we made it to the entrance with a fine commemorative plague in honor of Hiram Bingham, who found the place in 1961.

many pieces written about machu picchu often speak of a spiritual feeling evoked by the place. an hour and a half hike that was mostly solitary amongst only the sounds of nature definitely prepared me for that kind of experience. still, the clouds were thick and obscured vision. once through the gates and on a landing, we were unable to see anything except the terraces above and below us on our slope. we decided to sit, wait, and watch.

while i was reading about some of the history of the place from Elizabeth's guidebook, the winds blew right and revealed our first overview and glimpse of the ancient city, our very own south american shangri-la appearing before our eyes.

the effect was stunning. a few minutes more and it was cloaked in opaque whiteness again. we continued up our slope and encountered a guard post and a giant alpaca. for 25 peruvian soles, you could walk across his back, a strange capitalist encounter in the middle of the austere surroundings.

we continued along a trail that led to an authentic bridge. by this point it was obviously no longer in use, but i was struck and impressed by the craftsmanship that would go into making something that stable and sturdy at that time in such a tricky environment.

afterward we returned to the main ruins we had overlooked earlier. the sun continued to rise, along with the temperature, which slowly helped to lift the clouds, brighten the day, and improve sight lines in all directions. i feel like refraining from detailed explanation for many of the next pictures because so much of the beauty is captured in the images themselves.

for the entire six hours we spent on the site we had it almost entirely to ourselves. as i saw all the terraced levels, stone doorways, and half-crumbling walls penning in rooms, i was overcome with the desire to bring all my friends here and play a gigantic game of hide and go seek, although that would definitely be profaning the mystical aura i wrote about above. we decided to use our bus passes on the way back into aquas calientes, sat down and ate the worst tasting pizza i had in south america, played a few games of cards, and waited for the adventure that would behold us upon our return to cusco that night after the long train ride.