Sleep = Awesome. I slept better then a man in a coma and that is no lie, but 4am came fast and with the furry. It was odd and inconvenient to wake up to the sound of an alarm clock. Where were our Sherpa’s with hot coca tea? For those few seconds between the time the alarm wakes you up and you gather yourself to consciousness, I thought I was back home waking up for another miserable day in a cube. But I soon realized reality. Today was the day we had been waiting for. We hiked nearly 60 miles to see this lost city and we couldn’t be more excited. We quickly took showers (again, odd) and met at a local restaurant where we were served another 4 course breakfast. Super pressed for time, we had to slam the food into our faces and rush out the door to get a good spot in line at the bus station - we had busses take us from Aguas Calinentas to the top of Mt. Picchu....weak I know, but by now we deserved it. Its 4:45am and we are excited to catch the first bus to the top....until we turn the corner. There were already probably 300 people in line. This bothers me. #1 because we may as well have enjoyed our breakfast and #2 because I now realize we are going to spend the day with a thousand other tourists. What has been so nice about this trip is the extreme solitude we had all experienced on the trail. We got to share time with people who share our interests while enjoying the "escape" from civilization. But, at the same time this is the new "seventh wonder of the world" so I guess I should have expected a crowd.We finally get on a bus and it takes us up a narrow, windy, steep road. And it takes us up fast. Way too fast for comfort. I spend most of my time looking out the window at the magnificent scenery while wondering how many busses have fallen off these cliffs. I instinctly find myself inching away from the window. We reach the top in no time and get in another line to get into Machu Picchu. Now, we were told we could bring backpacks with us to carry some food, water, and rain gear. My day pack is cutting it close with the size requirements, so I tighten all the straps as tight as they could to make the bag look smaller. My trekking companion, Steve, has the same size bag as me and does the same thing. We decide to walk in together so it doesn’t look like we have larger bags then the rest of the group. Now, I don’t know what it is about me, or my bag, but the bastard checking our tickets wouldn’t let me in! Said I had to go to the "bag check" at the front of the building and leave my pack there. This pisses me off, but I don’t put up a fight because I don’t want to get banned from Machu Picchu. As I turn to Steve to say "alright, lets go put our bags in storage and get back as fast as we can" I see him walking through the gate, backpack in toe. WHAT? Steve must have gave him a wink, or slipped him a sole or something. How the hell did he get in and I didn’t? So off I go to check my bag - which contains all my food and water. 7 hours without food will make me a little cranky. I strap on my rain gear, check my bag, and rush back to the line and give the ticket guy an eat shit look. MF'er.
All my built up anger and emotion blows away in the wind as soon as I step foot on Machu Picchu. Words cant even describe how beautiful and surreal this place is when you see it in person. Pictures do not do it justice at all. I was immediately amazed at how big Machu Picchu was. We come in from the south side where most of the agriculture stacks are. Our first destination is clear across on the north side to Waynapichu so we can get a climbing stamp. They only let 400 people on this mountain and I soon learn why. While in line it begins to rain, 
which is a daily occurrence at Machu Picchu especially in the morning hours. Im glad i grabbed my rain gear! We get our ticket stamped for the 10am climb. For the next 2 hours Hubert takes us on a mini tour of the ruins, explaining its history in detail to us. You can tell he loves what he does as he passionately talks about the ruins and many theories that surround Machu Picchu and the Inca's who inhabited it. What is so great about this place is the lack of history that has been discovered here. When the Incas left (if that's what they did) they didn't leave any 
kind of evidence that scientists can really use to learn about this site. It isn't even really know what it was built for! most think it was a city build to hide the "upper class" of the Inca's, which makes sense because it is so remote and so hard to access. Others believe it may have been used as a sacrificial prison. What they do know is that is was only inhabited for around 100 years. Why it was abandoned is another mystery. Some scientists think the Inca's were wiped out by smallpox (smallpox killed thousands of South Americans in the 14th century) while others believe they may 
have been chased out by the Spanish Conquistadors. Either way, what is so amazing to me is that nothing of significant importance was left behind. Because of this, we may never really know what was going on up there. Hell, we can learn all about Dinosaurs that roamed the earth millions of years ago but we cant learn much about a civilization that lived less then 600 years ago. My theory? I think they abandoned the site as soon as they got wind the Spanish were coming. They Took everything with them and headed to the hills where they all died of some disease. You watch, we will soon find them out there in the Ande's holding on to some fine pieces of Inca treasure. I'm the first to say it right here on this blog. I could go on for hours about the stuff i learned, but i wont give you a history lesson. But i highly recommend reading up on it, it is very interesting stuff.
10:00 comes and We head to Waynapichu for the climb. I have to admit, i am a little nervous about this. When Hubert declines an offer to join us because it is "too dangerous" we know we are in for some trouble. He hikes for a living for Christ's sake. And to make it even more interesting, i am not good with heights. But off we go. This mug is a big, steep mountain. the first 30 minutes is an exhausting giant stair climb up to about 4/5 of the way to the top. This is where about 70% of the 400 people that came to climb turn around. When you reach the last part of 
the ascent and see what you have to climb to get to the top, it almost makes you sick to your stomach. Or, at least for me it did. But I wasn't going to be one of those 70% pussys. I came 3,400 miles for this and if i die trying then so be it. (The picture to the right doesn't do it justice. this was just one of the easy parts where you were able to release your claw grip and snag a picture. Seriously, if you slipped at all you had about a 50/50 chance of survival at this point). I took my sweet ass time climbing up to the top. Baby steps isn't even a good enough analogy. Now, as I'm 
climbing I expect there to be some kind of look out platform at the top for everyone to gather at and enjoy a picturesque view of Machu Picchu. Absolutely not. Its literally a pile of about 5 or 6 boulders perfectly balanced at the point of this devil mountain. Throw 15 people on them at once and you have your self a serious life or death game of twister at 7,000 feet. I finally position myself at the top of one of the rocks and just sit holding tight, clinging my jacket tight so i don't do a Marry Poppins into the wind. Its very windy up there and you honestly feel like you can get blown away (see the death grip i have on the rock?). But there is nothing quite like feeling like you are on top of the world. the view is amazing. 360 degree views of the sacred valley. Truly unbelievable. 
We hang out at the top for about 45 minutes, moving about the boulders to get different views of the surroundings, just trying to soak it all in. IT soon starts to rain a little and we decide it might be a good time to head down before the rocks get "slippy". Going down is a lot easier then i expected. Usually that is the hardest/scariest part for me. Maybe it was because i was eager to 
get down? Or maybe it was the ass hole who behind me who was on my heals the entire way. There is a section of the mountain where you have to crab walk down some Inca stairs. these bastards must have been some tiny people, because these stairs are no more then 5 inches wide. not build for a man with a size 14 shoe. But we make it down successfully and congratulate each other on a climb well done. Well worth the risk. If you ever go to Machu Picchu, make a point to climb Waynapichu. As much as i may have discouraged you, trust me it is worth it. I wish i took more pictures from up there.
As the day comes to a close, we decide to wander around the ruins and visit sections we didn’t get to see on the tour. We probably had about an hour and a half to kill before we had to catch our bus back down to Aguas Calinentas. I honestly don’t remember much after the climb. All I could think about was how the trip was coming to an end while trying to take advantage of every last second. While doing that I must have clogged my brain because the last hour on Machu Picchu was mostly a blur. I do remember Greg, Hutto, and myself making it to the top of the west end where we had incredible views of the ruins. This was the section that had the "post card" views. Again, pictures and post cards do not give Machu Picchu justice. We run into Justin and Steve coming back from their short trek to the Inca Bridge. We were glad to see them and to be able to share the last few minutes together. We had a lot of fun goofing off, taking pictures, enjoying each others company. Spirits were high as we knew the journey was coming to an end, and what a perfect setting we had to finish it off with.
Next stop: Aguas Calinentas to catch our train back to Cusco.....the adventure continues
No comments:
Post a Comment