Machu Picchu, Peru

So, like any traveler who finds themselves in Peru one of my biggest - if not THE biggest - goal was to see the Machu Picchu. For those of you that may not know, Machu Picchu is a site of Inca ruins located in southern Peru. It was only discovered in the early 20th century after being abandonded when the Spanish conquered South America in the 1600´s (I think . . .). Before going I heard all kinds of stories about what its like as well as got tons of advise on how I should get there, what I should do and so on (its a bit complicated of a process and can be very very expensive). Despite my best laid plans and efforts to save money and bus all the way there I only made it to the first town from which I couldn't´t find the next bus so I had to take the train the rest of the way. I arrived in Aguas Calientes which is a small tourist town and the base camp for people who are visiting the site. Ohh my, I have never in my life encountered a place so overpriced and tourism orientated. Ehhh I didn´t like it.

The next morning I woke up really early in order to get in line at 5am for the busses that go from Aguas Calientes to the entrance to Machu Picchu (if you walk its really far and really steep). As soon as I got into Machu Pichhu I had to make a bee line to the other end of the ruins to get my ticket to walk up Wanu Picchu (a mountain that is part of the site that they only let 400 people each day climb). After that I got to watch the sun rise over the mountains surrounding Machu Pichhu and it was absolutely breath-taking. Just to see the rays of the morning light breaking over these impressive mountains - my pictures are amazing but not even close to how it was to actually be there. Machu Pichhu itself is this aww inspiring place because the architecture is so well done, advanced and just impressive. Especially when you take the time to think that this place was built on the top of a mountain over 500 years ago. I still wonder how they actually did it. This question was even more present in my mind when I hiked Wanu Picchu because it is soo steep and tough to climb that I can´t imagine how they hauled up the stones to create the structures that are on the mountain. The hike is more than worth it though for the incredible view of Machu Picchu and all the surrounding area. So incredible.

Honestly, my description of all this fails miserably at capturing what its like. Seeing pictures you can kind of have an idea but really you have to be there. After spending all day in Machu Picchu I went back to Aguas Calientes and went to the natural hot springs (thus the reason for the name of the town) with a group of people I had met in the ruins. Also tried Pisco which is a Peruvian liquor. Dangerous stuff . . . The next morning I bussed and trained back to Cusco.

Cusco, Peru

From Copacabana I bussed it with the Argentines to Cusco, Peru. First we took a small run-down bus from Bolivia, crossed the border (easiest border crossing I´ve experienced) then arrived in Puno, Peru about 3 hours later. Here we had a small break and then boarded a large normal long distance bus for the rest of the trip to Cusco. I decided that I really don´t like long bus trips during the day because they tend to be more uncomfortable and I feel like I´m wasting a lot of time. And night busses are great cuz I just watch a movie, taking a sleeping pill and then wake up in the next place. Plus I save money not paying for sleeping accomodations that night. Anyways, we got to Cusco in the evening and checked into a hostel called The Point, another larger party hostel (but this time I picked it). The hostel was really nice with a big screen tv, bar, outside area with hamnocks, amazing showers and comfortable beds. The first night we got dinner at a nicer resturant and even though it was a bit pricy it was worth it for the delicious tuna melt I had.

Cusco at night is absolutely beautiful. The main Plaza is called Plaza Armada and is surrounded by nice boutiques squished inbetween these massive anciant churches. The churches are very impressive and at night are lit up beautifully. In the center of the plaza is a grassy area with a big fountian, benches, flowers and lots of Cusco flags (they are striped with a bunch of colors - kind of like the gay pride flags). In addition to the botiques there are also a bunch of resturants and tourist offices. And each one has at least one person out front trying to convince you to come in and try this plate or take that trip. Also, there are a ton of ladies trying to sell massages and pedicures. Of course they are targeting the mainly English speaking tourists so its pretty funny how they use broken English to sell stuff. Ok maybe I shouldn´t laugh but wait til you hear an impression of them. Haha.

The rest of Cusco was similar to Sucre, lots of Spanish architecture, cobble stone streets and hills in every direction. The weird thing tho was the massive amount of tourists. Almost everyone comes to Peru to see Machu Picchu and almost everyone stays in Cusco before or after Machu Picchu. Especially around the main plaza it felt like there were as many tourists as locals. I noticed that there were two types of tourists. The young tourist about 20-30, traveling alone or in a group of 3 or 5, dressed in trekking shoes, striped pajama pants (purchased in Cusco) or jeans and a sweater made of Alpaca (plus maybe a hat of Alpaca or a bright/bag purse thing. Then there is the old tourist. Always white (mostly European) dressed in trekking shoes, kaki pants, neutral colored t-shirt, kaki safari vest, large hi-tech camera, walking stick and safari hat or ball cap. Always in large groups and generally with a guide. Part of me found it funny but the other part of me was really weirded out cuz I´ve never seen so many tourists in one place - let alone so many tourists that stick out as much as in Cusco. Of course, I must add that I definitely fit into the first category myself unfortunatly.