I think I’ve mentioned before that I have about zero experience with train travel. I have also commented about how much I love the colorful Peruvian textiles. Imagine my delight when the attendants on the train set our little tables with these wonderful table runners. The ride between Cusco and Aguas Calientes is approximately four hours. One goes to Aguas Calientes in order to access Machu Picchu via bus. We spent the night in a tiny hotel called RupaWasi in Aguas Calientes. Attached to the hotel was an outstanding restaurant called The Tree House. Both the eco-hotel and the restaurant are very high off the ground and we had to climb many steps to get up there. (No elevators.) The rooms were sparse, but charming. The food was the best we had the whole trip, in my opinion.
We arose very early after our one night in Aguas Calientes in order to catch an early bus and sunrise over Machu Picchu. It occurred to me that I should get a photo of the steep stairs we had to navigate so I took this one. That’s fellow traveler Jan at the foot of the stairs with a smile on her face as she anticipates the day ahead of us. She wasn’t disappointed. Nor was I.
Below is the first picture I took when I arrived at Machu Picchu. It might have been a better shot with a better camera and a better photographer, but I love it dearly just as it is. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The sun was just rising and had not yet burned off the fog and vapors that usually accompany mornings in the mountains. If you look lower left in the photo you can see a little of Machu Picchu.
The photo below makes me grin. This stone monument is a place that Shirley MacLaine mentioned in a book or maybe on her website, or maybe both. According to Ms. MacLaine there are sacred sites in various places around the world, and this spot at Machu Picchu is one of them. I think you’re supposed to get some sort of energy or vibrations from it and that’s what all these people pictured here are trying to feel. There was such a crowd around it that I didn’t try to feel it. It’s now roped off. I guess that’s to keep one person from getting all the vibes. 🙂 It was interesting to hear the comments. One person said, “Well, I don’t feel a thing!” Another person’s comment was, “Oh, man! Feel that. It’s amazing.” I couldn’t help wondering if the latter was getting a call on his cell phone.
Here, as everywhere, I found myself people watching, and listening. My very unofficial tally told me that the tourists in Peru sounded as if they came predominantly from The United States, the UK and Japan, with a fairly large number of Spanish speakers whose nationality I could not discern. I have not done any research to verify or dispel my theory
Here we are back down in Aguas Calientes and ready for refreshment. You can see by our smiling faces that we had a good day. The one brave male who completed our little quartet is noticeably absent from this picture. It wasn’t because he photographed the three of us sitting here. A restaurant employee did that. He was probably seeking refuge from the rest of us. I have to admit that I’d had enough togetherness at that point, too. I imagine we all had but I must say that it was nice to share the wonders we encountered that day with other human beings.
When can I go back!?
Back On My Own 