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**Just a quick note: I haven’t had great access to internet in a while so I’ll be uploading a few different entries right now… :)
The day we headed to Machu Picchu started at 5 am (which was quite a feat in itself) and we hit the ground running. Several people had gotten sick over the few days before and we found out that morning just how sick a few of them were. Two of the guys were not allowed to go on the outing to Machu Picchu, but were instead taken to Cusco to spend some time in a local hospital so our group was two short that day.
We left really early that morning to make up for having stayed in Urubamba the night before. We left the hostel a bit before 6 am, took a van to Ollantaytambo, rushed through the town, boarded the train to Aguas Calientes and an hour and a half later we were zig-zagging up the side of the mountain on our last leg of the trip to Machu Picchu. I’m sure if I hadn’t slept the majority of the way I would’ve been ecstatic upon our arrival, but as it was I was just drowsy. The day was amazing though- I’m really sorry the guys had to miss it.
The owner of the hostel we stayed in, William, said that he’s been to Machu Picchu approximately 30 times and sees or experiences something new and different each and every time. I don’t doubt this at all! This visit was so different from the first time I was able to make the trip with the fam and the Nevius’. Of course we were given the same history lesson about Hiram Bingham and the discovery of Machu Picchu. We saw most of the same sights and were given the same, or very close to as far as I could tell, explanations of how things were built and why (though with a little less enthusiasm and crazy antics of the guide we had two years back). There were two fun differences though: a new hike and an alpaca invasion.
First, we had a very close encounter with the local lawnmowers, aka alpacas. They actually wandered right into the middle of a group of people and were allowing people to touch them and were practically posing for the pictures we were all taking. I have the cutest picture of Andy C. with a baby alpaca that is about 3 feet tall. It looks as though he’s whispering sweet nothings to it. I can’t be too sure of my Spanish translations, but I think our guide was telling us not to get too friendly with the male alpaca because it is apparently mating season. Hmmm… weird. I don’t know about mating season, but they were definitely angry little alpacas. They kept spitting on tourists from the terrace above—wish I would’ve had a picture of that!
Then we had the chance to either walk to the Inca Drawbridge or to Intipunku, the “Sun Gate.” The majority of the group really wanted to hike up Wayna Picchu, but we arrived too late to be part of the first 200 or 400 or whatever hundreds of people are allowed up the mountain in a day. So these were our only two options. The majority of us decided to suck it up and attempted the longer, hotter and more difficult hike up to Intipunku. I just about died—I’m out of shape, in altitude about double what I’m used to and in black clothing because I use my noggin…. It was rough. Not to mention the fact that I forgot to refill my water and lunch time. Anyway, about seven of us made the long trek to Intipunku and it was very worth it. The view from the top, in both directions, was amazing. I was sweaty, exhausted and pushed for time, but it is still my second favorite hike in my life (Wayna Picchu being the first, of course).
Returning from Machu Picchu was pretty uneventful. We grabbed a drink while waiting for our van to arrive and had our first encounter with some very serious beggars. It really creeped Dulce, one of the girls in the group. I always feel so bad when they come around—I’m easily guilted and I feel as though I should give some money to them, but I never feel guilty enough to actually give it. Which in its own way makes me feel even guiltier. Ah, the circle of life… or something like that. The rest of the night went by without a hitch, a normal evening in Urubamba.
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