Day 5: This is it! Machu Picchu!
If you have ever been on a trip with
Adventures by Disney, you are already aware of this routine (and if you have never been, what's been stopping you?). Because we can't be trusted with a schedule, the tour guides always remind us the night before about the time and place to meet the next morning. Last night was no different. Now, with
ABD, the days are usually long and while we're always waiting to hear the words, "Adventurers! Tomorrow, you get to sleep in! We'll see you at 11am!" That has yet to happen.
Our guide Ken drew the short straw this time and was the one giving us the reminder speech. He did a great job, I think, of leading up to it. "Now, remember Adventurers, Machu Picchu was on most of your list when we first started. In fact, Machu Picchu is probably on many your bucket lists. How long have you been waiting for this moment? Think about how long other people have been waiting for this moment that may or may not happen for them? Now, all that excitement, isn't worth it to get up early and get excited?!" Then he dropped the news, "So, tomorrow, we'll be meeting up at 6AM!" Everyone cheered, and one girl chirped in, "Why not 4?!" Ah, to be young again. Everyone was excited. You can feel it in the air.
Fast forward to the (early) morning of Day 5, we met up at the gathering point in front of Sol y Luna. Everyone was there - even those who'd been out sick the few days before. NO ONE was going to miss this. As it was pretty early, we were all pretty quiet as we boarded our buses and headed down to Ollantaytambo to catch our train.
Tip: BRING YOUR PASSPORT on this day. No passport, no Machu Picchu!
While on the bus, our guide (I don't remember which one...it was 6AM, give me a break) handed us our train tickets. I was giddy because the ticket said Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu. I'm going to Machu Picchu!
Tip: The train ticket has two portions: top and bottom. Fold it in half and tear it in half, keeping the one where you need to hand over to the ticket taker on top. Trust me, it saves time because otherwise they would have to do this at the front of the line and you would hold up the line.
We were told that the Mouse has gone ahead and reserved all the tickets in the same car. Do not freak out if you're not sitting with your family according to the tickets. DH and I were one of the first to get on, and we sat with the family we met the first night we were here to chat on the hour-or-so train ride. The trek was fantastic! The view was stunning! Your ticket entitled you to a coffee/water/tea and a snack (we got carrot cake). Just like the plane, everything else was extra.
Tip: Sit on the opposite side of the boarding door. You'll get the full view of the mountains and river.
We arrived at our destination, and we stopped for a short bathroom break.
Tip: Go to the restroom here. After this point, restrooms were scarce and you have to pay to use them.
We had to walked a little way to get to our buses that will take us to Macchu Picchu. "Don't stop to shop! You'll have time later!" can be heard throughout our entire walk. The buses that were waiting for us were not Disney buses, and they do not know that we were in a group together, and they do not care if all of us were on the buses. So, DO NOT STOP or get separated!
When we got on to the buses, it finally hit me that it was still early in the morning, and I was tired. The windy roads going up the mountain did not help either. I totally fell asleep. On the way up, we actually saw people hiking up the hill. I admire them and applauded them for their determination...as I adjusted my air-conditioner and fell back asleep on the comfy bus seat.
When we arrived at the top, IT. WAS. A. MAD. HOUSE. There were people EVERYWHERE waiting to enter. If you have your junior adventurers with you, hold them tight! We were waiting for awhile for people to use the (paid) restroom with the lines about 15 deep. (Again: Go when you can, not when you have to.) Once everyone was done, we walked up the steps to get to the entrance of Machu Picchu. You have to have a Peruvian tour guide with you to enter, and we split up into 3 groups: Rudy, Diego, and Jose (our new guide for the day). DH and I were in Diego's group.
Fun fact: You need your passport to get into Machu Picchu.
What I expected was the beauty of this world wonder, but what I didn't expect was how soon we were going to see it. Within 5 minutes from the entrance gate, and as we walked through an opinion, we were greeted with the amazing vista. Of course, we took our family photo.
Here's a shot of the entire valley. So beautiful.
We hiked and explored Machu Picchu and learned about why the location was chosen and the significance of it. We also learned about the Inca's three worlds. I was amazed at the "technology" they used to be able to tell the time of year - particularly the winter and summer solstices. We saw the living quarters eat Machu Picchu which made me immediately thankful for my townhouse (especially since I don't have to hike up to my house). About halfway up, we took a small detour as a group for more story about Machu Picchu, particularly the serpentine stone and the Inca Cross as we would continue our trek to the temples of Machu Picchu.
As we walked over to the Principle Temple and walked up to the inithuatana ("The Hitching Post of the Sun"), we came across this stone that was carved to look like the mountains behind it. I thought it was pretty cool.
Then we hiked up to one of the most important spot for the Incas - the Intihuatana. We were told to not touch or go near it. There were staff members stationed before and after it. Apparently, back in 2000, a beer company shot a commercial here, and a crane fell into the rock and chipped a corner off. The Peruvians went nuts (understandably so). The operator was found guilty and sentenced to 6 years in prison, and the beer company was fined millions of dollars. DO NOT TOUCH this rock.
Tip: The hike up to this point wasn't terrible, but watch your steps. The grounds are uneven, and the Incas are not known for making the perfect staircase.
There wasn't much to do at the top as we were hurried down the other side of the Intihuatana...and it was almost lunch time. On our descent we saw llamas on the grounds of Machu Picchu. These llamas were spoiled! Again, in my opinion, the hike up was tough on the body, but the hike down was tough on the fear of falling. Watch. Your. Steps.
We left Machu Picchu and headed to lunch which was at the restaurant right across from the entrance. It was buffet style, but again, the Mouse yielded no power here and we had to fend for our own seats. The food was probably the second worst meal I had on this trip. The food was not anywhere near spectacular - bread, meat, warming trays, and pre-made desserts. But I get it, there wasn't really any other options.
Apparently, at this point, we were an hour behind schedule. Maybe it was me and my "hike at our own pace" team that delayed the group. Oh well, at least we didn't pass out. Part of our groups were itching to get going, and the other part (ahem, me) wanted to sit down in the A/C for a bit to cool down.
Now most people would consider themselves lucky to go to Machu Picchu even once, not us. We're Disney. We got to go TWICE! Once we were done with lunch, we headed back in with our afternoon entrance ticket. This afternoon, we said goodbye to Jose, and we were split into 3 groups. They called them the "Sun and Moon Gates" group, the "Guardhouse" group, and the "On Your Own" group, but I called them the "Overachievers" group,"We-don't-want-to-die-at-Machu-Picchu-but-we-want-to-see-it-all" group, and "We're-just-here-for-the-participation-ribbon" group. I went with the "no dying" group and hung out again with Diego and Ken.
The overachievers group ran ahead (literally) and made their way up to Sun and Moon Gates via the Inca Trail which is quite a hike. They had about 90 minutes to do the hike, and I admired them for their bravery. Our group took the less strenuous route and split from the "On Your Own" group at the bottom of the hill. Now I made fun, but I get it. Some folks with acrophobia and/or with kids chose to stay at the bottom.
Now, even though I said it was less strenuous, it was still a hike. Our group stopped every 5 minutes to catch our breath.
Fun fact: Don't forget, you're still 8,000-9,000 feet above sea level.
After a few stops, we made it to the beginning of the Inca Trail where the other group set off toward the Gates. Hey, at least we can said we stood on the Inca Trail, right? A few steps later, we snapped this picture:
It. Was. Beautiful. This is the angle of Machu Picchu you saw on
National Geographic. It was beyond words. Oh, did I mention that somehow the cellphones here are more reliable than Seattle? Yeah, I FaceTimed my Mom. It was awesome. I FaceTimed my Mom from Machu Picchu:
We continued to walk a few more steps toward the Guardhouse and then to another area for another photo opportunity. (For WDW fans, this would have been the Nikon Picture Spot if they could put up a sign.) This was when it really hit me of what a humbling experience this was. I consider myself fortunate in the sense that I have been to a lot of places and in some cases, more than once or twice. But I knew standing at the top of this sacred place that there is a very strong chance that I would never set foot here again in my lifetime. That made this place much more special in my mind.
We hung out up at the top for a little while, and apparently we were so loud that staff members came by to tell us to quiet down. DH and I took one last shot of this beautiful place:
We trekked down the slopes and exited the front gate. Surprisingly, there wasn't a gift shop...well, at least not a legit one.
Tip: There's a little hut by the exit that has a Machu Picchu stamp that you can use to stamp your passport with. I'm not sure about the legality of it, but hey, everyone was doing it, and they can't arrest all of us...right?
We boarded the bus and headed toward the train station. We were given about 10 minutes to shop. DH got himself a flute that he's been asking for since we arrived in Peru. I now had to find a way to hide this flute or I feared that it will become my nightmare. (Note: it's been 3 weeks since we got back, I have hid it so well that he has not even asked for it. Success!)
While we were on the train, something...cool(?)...happened. I am not even going to ruin it for you, but let's just say I had to ask myself if whatever was happening was real life or did the coca leaves finally caught up to me.
By the time we got back to Sol y Luna, it was very late. Some of us went to dinner while others ordered room service. It had been a long day, and tomorrow, we're leaving this peaceful oasis.
Tomorrow: We're going up! It's Cusco time!
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