Machu Picchu Trip

For our 10th anniversary, Jen and I took a trip to Peru.  Normally we wouldn't leave the country so soon after arriving, but we decided that the availability of Liz to watch the kids, a long weekend to minimize vacation time use, and our 10th anniversary justified it.  So we (actually mostly Jen, surprise, surprise) planned the trip, and we mostly forgot about it until it was upon us.  We figured we must be too accustomed to international travel when we took about 30 minutes to pack up everything we needed.

Anyway, we flew from Santiago to Lima, then missed our flight to Cuzco.  We were fortunate that there was another flight a bit later, and we arrived just an hour or so after our expected arrival.  There were people from our hotel waiting for us, which was particularly good since there was a general strike that day, and so taxi drivers weren't really working.  But we got checked in just fine, and went for a walk in lovely Cuzco.  The next day was spent seeing the sights, although most of them didn't allow photos of the interiors, forcing us to just enjoy them rather than trying to frame photos that most likely wouldn't turn out well anyway.

Cuzco town square at night.

The last part of the protest that night.

The main entrance to Cuzco cathedral

The front of the Jesuit church on the square

Some of the many people out enjoying the weather

After Cuzco we took a train to Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of the mountain housing Machu Picchu.  We wandered the town, had some food, bought lots of stuff, and attempted to scale a mountain using ladders.  We did not finish scaling the mountain, but we did have a good time there.

A shot from the train windows

The view from half way up the mountain

Me at the base of the first of many ladders

After our exhausting attempt at climbing, we had a nice dinner and went to bed early, ready to begin our ascent to Machu Picchu early the next morning.

We were waiting at the bus stop at 5:30 or so, but the line was so long already that we waited until around 6 before we were on a bus.  Apparently people start lining up around 4 to try to get up in time for the sunrise.  We didn't miss much, though, as the day started like this:

We headed straight for the other side, taking some time to enjoy the sights, but we really wanted to get a ticket to climb another mountain very nearby, from which spectacular views are possible.  We got tickets for the 10am entry, and then proceeded to explore the rest of the site before the hordes on the first train from Cuzco arrived.

Smiles in the fog

We made some lovely friends

The view from the entrance area

And the view from the mountain we climbed at 10, after the mists cleared

A glimpse of part of the path we climbed to get there, and the road the busses take up

to Machu Picchu proper

After our morning in Machu Picchu, we went back to town for lunch and a bit more shopping.  Yes, many of you will be getting a bit of Peru for Christmas.  Then we got on a train and went to Ollaytantambo, one of the ancient towns in the Sacred Valley.

We managed to get from the station to our hotel, had a nice dinner, and settled down for the night.  The next morning we headed to the fantastic fortress/religous complex on the edge of town.

The fortress is built into the side of the mountain

The ruins just blend into the modern town

We met a wonderful guard at the site who said he is a descendent

of the people who inhabited the city long ago.  He gave us a great

tour, and really made the visit worthwhile.

After Ollantaytambo we headed back to Santiago, where Liz and the kids were sleeping soundly.  We had a great trip, and look forward to another exciting excursion in 10 more years!