September 13, Friday Second visit to Machu Picchu

Destination: Machu Picchu 

Accommodations: EL MAPI BY INKATERRA 

Activity Note: Today’s discoveries involve extensive walking on steep and uneven planes and an altitude of more than 7,000 feet. We recommend you stay hydrated and rest if necessary. 

Today, we did the upper circular route in Machu Picchu, much higher than we walked yesterday 8,200’ at the top – and definitely out of my comfort range. If you have a fear of heights, you know what I mean. It’s paralyzing being that high up. Throw in uneven stone steps and stairs without handrails, it’s terrifying. But… even though my friend Sharon, who is also not happy dealing with heights, couldn’t go on the walk because her knee was really bothering her from yesterday, undaunted, I made up my mind I would do it!

The Inca civilization did not have a written language, and unfortunately, there are no records as to what life was like back in the 1400’s or why it was abandoned. Many archaeologists believe Machu Picchu was constructed as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti as his palace. Others think it was constructed by the Incas as a spiritual site.

The names of the buildings and what they could possibly have been used for, is based on what archaeologists presume. They think that it was abandoned after about 80 years because the people came down with small pox introduced by travelers. There are many places where workers are restoring parts of the ruins that have deteriorated. The ruins were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

It is thought that about 800 people lived there and according to skeletal remains, they were immigrants. Alpaca and llama remains were found in the ruins so they must have been brought in from another part of Peru. Dog remains were also found, usually in the same area as a human.

A man named Hiram Bingham is thought to have been the first to discover Machu Picchu in 1911. He knew it was an important archeological site and began to document his findings in a book entitled The Lost City of the Incas. However, Bingham didn’t exactly “discover” Machu Picchu. Apparently the locals knew of its existence for centuries.
It is amazing that given the area and its almost inaccessibility at the time, that the Incas were able to create such an amazing site. It is truly one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

After breakfast, we walked to where the bus would pick us up. There must have been 2,000 people waiting for the buses that take you up the winding road to Machu Picchu. And this was about 8 am!!!
Obviously, Machu Picchu is the most iconic site in Peru and probably of the whole of South America.

The lines moved pretty fast as buses were coming and going at regular intervals. Again, the hair raising turns the bus takes going up the mountains, sometimes inches away from the edge of the sheer drop, was already giving me angst.

We finally arrived and Patty told us if we needed to go to the bathroom, do it now since once you start the walk, there are no bathrooms. The walk would be about three hours and we had to hydrate with water and electrolytes often along the way. We had our mosquito repellent on as well as sun block. We are very near the equator and the sun is unbelievably strong. Yesterday and today, people who rolled up their sleeves because it was getting hot, were bitten on their arms. So far, Allan and I have been lucky. The Sawyers repellent is much better than Deet. It doesn’t disintegrate plastic when you touch something with insect repellent-laden hands like DEET does. And the Sawyers cream is a wonderful moisturizer for your face as well as an insect repellent.

We had to show our passports to enter Machu Picchu and we were given a lanyard to wear during the walk. Patty explained to Ricardo, the guide who again was accompanying us, that I was afraid of heights. He was amazing. He walked with me almost the whole way, telling me to breathe slowly, don’t look down, and encouraging me the whole way. The first leg if the journey was arduous. Between the stone steps, the wooden steps, sometimes no handrails, and the heights, I was breathing heavily and just praying I’d get to the top sooner than later.

As we climbed the final steps to see our first glimpse of Machu Picchu from above, everyone congratulated me and Ricardo said “Well done!” I had tears in my eyes and my hands were shaking because I couldn’t believe I had gotten that far.

We continued our climb to the very top and finally were rewarded with the iconic view of the ruins. The mountains in the distance were in a haze, but it was still breathtaking.

We took many photos at the top and then slowly made our way back down, sometimes descending over huge stones and rocks. My wonky foot held up pretty well considering the depth of many of the rocks that I had to walk down and the fact that my broken bone is still healing.

Patty hugged me at the end and I took a picture with Ricardo. Patty was also so very helpful, offering a steady hand during the descent.

We got on another very long line for our return bus trip down the mountain road, but it actually only took about 20 minutes to get in the bus.

We went for lunch and Allan had the alpaca. I tasted it and it was very good and tasted similar to lamb. I stood up and thanked the group for their encouragement while I was climbing up to see the ruins. They were all very supportive.

We were exhausted, myself because of the anxiety of the climb, the heat, and the steps – Allan because of the heat. We came back to the room and promptly fell asleep for two hours.

10 of us including Patty went out to dinner at a French-Peruvian restaurant. The food was amazing!! Allan and I had the onion soup which came with shredded Peruvian cheese that we could put in the soup ourselves as well as lime and a spicy sauce. The entree we had was pepper chicken that came with vegetables and homemade potato chips. I had a rich chocolate mousse for dessert with homemade ice cream and Allan had the apple pie with the ice cream. What a meal. It was so much, we couldn’t finish it and we couldn’t take it with us. I said to Patty that I didn’t want to waste the food. We all agreed. She said to have everyone’s leftovers packaged up and she would take me to deliver the food to a needy family in the street. We found a mom and daughter just closing their stall and they were very grateful to get the food. It would have been even nicer to buy a fresh meal instead of giving our group’s leftovers, but we did what apparently people do all the time. Our 2 meals together, including wine and two waters cost $69.34. Unbelievable!

Time for bed because we are leaving the area tomorrow at 8:30.

Along the winding road to Machu Picchu.

I was shaking so much. In this pic I had just climbed the stone steps that are all open without hand rails as well as the wooden steps that sometimes had handrails. The steps went on and on and was the only route to get to the top. I was proud that it took me less time than a few others in the group to get to this point, but we were still nowhere near the top.

You can see some of the steps on the right. And… you can see the height.

These are typical of the stone steps we had to navigate.

Our first look at Machu Picchu ruins from up above. Notice the smile. I DID IT!!!

It was unbelievable!

Now we are making our way back down. The entire upper circular route took about 3 hours. Some of the steps were about a foot high. Thank goodness for Ricardo and my walking pole.

See the people to the left of the little building? Way up? That’s how high we were.

Walking through the ruins.

Below is a picture of The Temple of the Sun

Ricardo my hero.

The Main Temple

The Temple of the Condor. The rock carving looks like the head and wings of a condor, the sacred bird of the Incas. The natural rock walls form the bird’s body. Behind the carving, several connected caves and windows were possibly used for ceremonies or to hold mummies.

At lunch, Allan tried alpaca. I tasted it. It tastes a bit like lamb.

The restaurant – Indi Feliz

Our group at Machu Picchu