Our wake up call this morning
was 4:30am for a 6 am departure. The entire day was tied to the train
that we had to catch to get to Machu Picchu. The buffet breakfast in
the hotel excellent. I should mention that we were all on the bus at
the appointed time Of the 15 on the bus, there were 2 that had
canes; 1 who had to go to the toilet all the time and the other with
a wife who made us wait for her to go. More on her later. It was
clear to us that you needed to be fit to do the walking that was
expected
We were on the bus for 45
minutes before our first stop. It was in the town where the
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| Old Wall New Wall |
Ollantaytambo ruins are located. It was also a town in Incan times.
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| At Ollantaytambo |
Carlos walked us through the town where you can see the modern
structures built on the Incan foundations. On top of that were adobe
structures and then some white wash on top of that. It reminded us
very much of walking through Pompey. It had the same feel except
that this town was still occupied. It was Sunday and many of the
people were dressed in their finest. We did see roasting guinea pigs
which are consumed on special occasions. However everything seems to
e a special occasion!
We then went out to the Incan
ruins. It was a place of terraced steps, graineries, etc. It was
also the same place where the Incas defeated the Spanish for the
first time.
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| Ollantaytambo |
The Incas used sling shots. Our guide who was excellent
on the Incan culture showed us how the sling shot worked. It was not
like the ones we made as a kid. He also demonstrated how to made
rope out of reeds. When we tried to pull it apart, it held steady.
Quite remarkable really. Then we were off to the train station in
town for the trip to Machu Picchu.
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| Classic Machu Picchu |
The trip takes about 90
minutes. The narrow gauge railroad had very modern scenic (glass
top) cars. It was quite a pleasant trip through the Sacred Valley.
I always thought that the train ride went up to the ruins. However,
we actually went down to the base of where Machu Picchu is located.
We did see hikers doing the 3 night 4 day trek. As we went “down”
the vegetation changes to more forested areas. They even served us
a light meal with silverware and woven place mats! It was quite well
received by all the cruisers. It was another example of the first
class treatment that we received throughout the trip. After the meal
they had souvenirs for purchase. I bought a very nice Perurail ball
cap to replace the one that did not seem to make it out of the
security check in Lima!
We arrived in the town and
needed to catch a bus to the site. One lady (remember her!) said
she
rd
meal in about 5 hours!). The buffet was packed but very nice.
was going to the facilities. When told her we only had a 30
minute ride to the restaurant (and there were facilities on the
train) she said she did not care! We waited 20 minutes for her and
eventually this was part of our time at the site. The bus ride was
“interesting” as we wound our way up 1200 feet on switchback
roads to the actual site of the Incan village of Macho Picchu.
However before heading up the short path, we had to have lunch (3
We finally headed up a bit more.
They check your ticket and passport in
order to get in. It is hard
todescribe the site itself. The common photo of the place always
shows a peak in the back. This is only a portion of the village. It
only held about 6-700 people at the time of occupancy and there are
indications that it was never finished. It is not some holy spot for
the Inca. The word “Inca” refers to the “king” of the
people but has come to represent the entire race. The finest
building in terms of construction is in the centre. It has 2 windows
that are aligned with markers on a different mountain the signify the
start of the seasons. The workmanship in the area is utilitarian.
The rocks are not polished as we saw at some of the other sites. We
wandered and had full explanations for about 2 hours but were slowed
by the canes. As a result we did not have
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any free time. Although
the entire adventure was about this place and we spent 3 days of
travel, we were disappointed only in not having more time. It was an
experience that we enjoyed as much as we had anticipated it! As a
postscript to this visit, Carlos said they are now excavating another
site “close by” that is 5 times the size of Machu Picchu!
Something for the future? We headed back down the hill, having been
among the 2 million people that visit the site every year!
Back on the bus for the ride
down to the train station. As we walked backed to the train station
we had some free time to explore the stalls full of goods. However,
we needed to stop and wait because if remember “our lady” the one
that said she did not care if we had to wait, had stopped in town to
shop. Our guide had to go get them because he had the train tickets
and needed to show us where we needed to find the right train. There
are a number of them that stop at different places. By then the
group was “upset”. Ornery is the best way to describe Judy!
She bought a nice white El Paca shawl but was still ornery.
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| Back Along The Rail Line |
Back on the train for
another 90 minute ride. Another light meal, then a fashion show.
The things they were selling were top quality not the type of things
you find at the station stalls! The train ride was very relaxing
although the day was quite long. Back on our mini bus and back to
our hotel.
We decided to rest a bit before
dinner as we had been eating all day! In the restaurant we saw the
head guide. Now remember the lady incident. Judy was really not so
happy especially when we heard we were suppose to have had a glass of
wine with dinner. I stood back and watched her “asked” about
it. He said of course we were entitled and made sure we got 2
glasses that night. I am sure she did not want to deal with her!
Dinner was el paca (llama). Tasted a bit like beef. When we heard
that we had a later wake up call tomorrow 5:15, we decided go to bed
early again. Besides we we very tired from the long day. Back to
the ship tomorrow!
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