WOW! - Machu Picchu, Peru

FYI - Due to a recent lack of quality internet access to upload posts, we are adding 3 posts at the same time. As a result, the Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo, and Cusco posts are all new. Feel free to read them all.

Machu Picchu Slide Show

The three of us just tried to come up with a word or phrase that concisely describes Machu Picchu. Sorry, but the best that we could come up with was WOW! For those of you that have been there, you understand. Machu Picchu by itself is an awe-inspiring architectural feat, completed around 1450. Throw in the majestic location of the city, encompassed by gorges and mountains in a region between the Andes and the Amazon rainforest and all we can say is WOW! It definitely has earned it's inclusion in the New 7 Wonders of the World.
Getting to Machu Picchu takes a bit of work and money due to it's remote location. The adventurous people hike for 4 days on the Inka Trail to get there. On the other end of the spectrum are those that use a combination of trains and buses to get there. We took the somewhat in between route as we got up at 5 am in Ollantaytambo to catch a train to Aguas Calientes. Then, instead of taking the bus up to Machu Picchu we decided to hike up. We found out that most people are content with a bus ride since we only met 5 people walking along the 2 hour climb. What did they all know that we didn't? Well, the climb is a very steep climb up through the jungle on old Inka steps. Noah could have run up the mountain, but he had to keep waiting for his elders to stop and catch their breath.
On the way up we saw birds of paradise, impatients, butterflies, and fronds (Jennifer threw out that word - I have no idea what a frond is) of ferns that grow naturally in this tropical forest. We saw small lizards and flocks (I know what a flock is) of parrots during our climb. We liked all the plants and animals except the sand flies. Noah and I had shorts on which led to our legs looking like a chicken pox outbreak by the time that we reached the top. Bug repellent would have been nice. Jennifer, once again the most prepared one, had pants on and was left unscathed.
The architectural feat of moving these large (in some cases, thousands of pounds) stones up a steep mountain peak 1,000's of feet above the river where they moved them from is unfathomable. The source of the stone that they used was from Urubamba, an area 30 miles away. They moved the stones from Urubamba by diverting the river after moving the stones to the riverbank. Once in the river at the base of the mountain, they then had to move them up the mountain and build a sophisticated city complete with sewer and drainage systems. The tiered terraces were used for agriculture.
Noah didn't believe the Inka's could have done this on their own and is going with the divine intervention theory. He might have something there. After hiking up the mountain and walking around all afternoon, he changed his mind and went with the "Inka loco" theory. Shortly after coming up with the "Inka Loco" theory, Noah noticed an area of Machu Picchu that was isolated enough that Noah and I could play catch. I did a little research on the web and I did not come across anyone else who has played catch at Machu Picchu.
While at Machu Picchu, the grandeur and serenity of the place was interrupted by the filming of a Bollywood movie. Go figure. The lead actors were from India and the dancers were from Peru. It made for an interesting, albeit odd viewing while we sat down for a snack. Even Machu Picchu is becoming in touch with the modern world - which I could argue is not necessarily a good thing.
The day ended with a train ride back to Ollantaytambo on Peru Rail. Besides a meal on the train, their was an entertainer with a painted ski mask dancing up and down the aisles followed a fashion show of local Alpaca wear. The German tourists on the train were a little more into the experience than the 3 of us. We chose to lay our heads back and dream of Machu Picchu.
To see our slide show of Machu Picchu, click on the following link ==> Machu Picchu Slide Show.