Machu Picchu

The much anticipated day had finally arrived. We woke up at an early 5 am to catch the first bus up to the famous ruins just in time for sunrise. We had the option to either walk from our hostel in Aguas Calientes at 3:30 am or take the bus for nine dollars at 5:30. I was very glad I chose the latter option as it was pouring rain for all of the early morning. Machu Picchu itself is right in the middle of Peru's cloud forest, a region of thick jungle that is cooler and wetter because of its high altitude, and our guide said that there is usually only one or two days a year where it doesn't rain at all. This made for some spectacular scenery. Our group arrived at the site just a few minutes before sunrise and everything was socked in. I was able to snap a few cool looking shots of the ruins flowing with mist before the sun rose.

Once it did rise, so did nearly all of the clouds and we could all see the ruins and Huayna Picchu, the mountain behind the citadel, in complete and full detail. It was incredible and could not have been better lit for photos. The clouds had dissipated, but not completely. There were still wisps of moisture blowing off of every peak. After a sufficient amount of picture-taking we started our tour. Abraham, the guide, pointed out every important piece of architecture and its significance. The Incans had built each building in Machu Picchu without any mortar or sealant. Every stone in every building is perfectly chiseled to fit in with stones around it. Abraham said that when the walls are made this way they are water-tight. The mortar-free construction is also the reason Machu Picchu has survived over six centuries of earthquakes. The plumbing system in the ruins is also incredible. The builders sloped each terrace in the city perfectly,so that any rain water would be discarded into the valley below. After an entire morning of downpours we didn't see a single standing pool or puddle of water. Any of the water waste used by the villagers was also funneled into a channel and discarded in a similar way. I found it amusing that the Spanish called these people barbarians when they had precisely engineering infrastructure that would surpass any in Europe for the next few centuries.

Abraham also told us the fantastic adventure story of the rediscovery of the city by a westerner in 1911. Hiram Bingham was a Yale professor on an archeological trip in South America. the purpose of his journey was to find undiscovered remnants of the cultures before the Spanish. He was a real-life Indiana Jones. Bingham was traveling down the nearly deserted valley of the Urubamba river when he happened upon a farmer living near what is modern day Aguas Calientes, at the bottom of the valley. The farmer told him that he had found a large set of completely overgrown, but still intact, ruins when he walked up a mountain down the valley a year ago. Bingham hired him as a guide and found what would be the biggest discovery of his life. For the next few years, with funding from the National Geographic Society, Bingham led an operation to clear the cloud forest overgrowth from the ruins. It would become one of the best known landmarks in the world.

After thoroughly exploring the ins and outs of the mountain-top city I started to walk up the Inca Trail with three others from the group. Our destination was the IntiPunku, Quechua for sun gate. This is a small set of ruins at the crest of a ridge behind Machu Picchu where hikers on the Inca Trail get their first view of the ancient citadel. It gave us a completely different view where all of Machu Picchu, along with the Urubamba Valley, is completely visible. From here I really got a glimpse of how many people visit the ruins. Every alleyway and walkway had crowds. It certainly took away from the feeling of Machu Picchu being the mysterious, lost city of the Incas but was also a demonstration of the tourist dollars being flooded into the area. This economic benefit is clearly seen from Machu Picchu to Cusco. All of the artisans, the tour guides, the hotel and hostel staff would be without jobs if it were not for the tourists. I got to thinking that it would be quite difficult to maintain the appeal and culture of the area while still addressing the economic necessity.

We took the train back to Cusco later that night and I enjoyed one more day in Cusco before heading back home to Andahuaylas. Getting back was quite an ordeal that could have been avoided if there was the slightest bit of organization in the bus system here. When buying my ticket, I asked if there were any buses direct to Andahuaylas. They said no and that I would have to take one to Abancay and then a van to Andahuaylas. I wasn't too frustrated until the bus that I got off of in Abancay read on its message board that it was continuing on to Andahuaylas. Why I was told there were no buses home, I don't know. To make matters worse, I was also told that the first van would not drive to Andahuaylas until 3 AM. It was then 12 PM. So I waited, trying to sleep a little on my backpack, on the floor of the Abancay bus station for three hours. I promptly went to bed once I arrived at the house after another night of sleepless travel.