MACHU PICCHU

This was probably the coolest weekend I've ever had.

At 6:20 on Saturday morning, we were picked up by a representative from PATAS, who took us to the bus station just a couple blocks away. We got on the shuttle and rode for two hours through gorgeous countryside to Ollantaytambo. After arriving there, we got on a train (it was my first time on a real train!) and rode for another two hours to Aguas Calientes, where we would be spending the night. The train ride was actually really enjoyable, for a few reasons. One, the scenery outside was INCREDIBLE. We had huge windows as well as skylights so we just stared outside for a good part.
But the best part of the ride was the people sitting by us. In the trains there are tables between each two rows of chairs, so you are facing the people sitting across from you. The first people we met were this older couple named Bo and Sylvia. Sylvia was originally from Ecuador, and Bo from California. They had met in Ecuador and lived there together for some time before moving to Alaska. Bo's work has him moving all over the planet: Ecuador, India, Europe, and now in Alaska. Sylvia goes to school in the States for culinary arts and picks up recipes from wherever they go. It was really fun to talk to them and hear about the things they've accomplished. They seem so happy and know how to live life to the fullest and be succesful. Sitting next to them were two Peruvian girls; one spoke English, the other didn't. But when she asked us where we were from, and we said Utah, the English speaking girl freaked out and said she lives in Provo! And works in the Springville Walmart! SMALL WORLD!!! The Spanish-speaking girl lives in Lima but they've been friends all their lives. They're both members of the church and the one who lives in Lima served a mission in Chile. It was such an enjoyable ride and we were sad when it was over.

We arrived in Aguas Calientes and were taken to our hostel. We dropped our stuff off, and walked around the town for a while. I was surprised by how much I actually really liked Aguas Calientes. It wasn't too full of tourists and just a happy little town. (Dangit...I sounded like Bob Ross there.) Anywho. We decided to go up to the hot springs - which is what the town is named for - and spent a good couple hours up there. We came back, got dinner, watched a few hours of this hilarious reality show, met our guide, and then headed to bed. Sadly, Kass and I barely slept at all, before having to get up at 4:45 the next morning.

So we woke up, and headed down to the bus station where we waited in line and then hopped on a bus to take us to Machu Picchu. It was pretty short, only about 25 minutes, but when we got off, we had to wait in this HUGE line to get in the gates. Eventually we made it in, met up with our guide Miguel, and we were on our way! He took us around the ruins and explained a lot of history and cool significant places like temples and such. I'm really glad we had a guide just because it was really interesting to learn what things meant and what they were for instead of just walking around a bunch of rocks. Machu Picchu was definitely the coolest place I've ever seen. I can't even describe it. If you have the chance, GO THERE. After the tour, we had the day to explore for ourselves. We were going to hike Huayna Picchu, which is the famous mountain right behind the ruins, but Miguel told us he highly recommended to climb Machu Picchu Mountain instead, which is on the other side, and almost twice as high. There are only 400 people allowed to climb HP in a day, so it's hard to get onto and very crowded, but anyone can climb Machu Picchu Mountain. However, no one really knows about it so very few people do. We only saw maybe ten other people the whole time on our hike. It was an amazing hike, the trail was pretty and the views at the top were spectacular! You could see not just MP at the bottom, but a whole 360 degree view of the mountains and the Urubamba river. It was a steep hike, and lots of stairs, but definitely worth it. AND we didn't have to get up at 2 to get in line for Huayna Picchu. Bonus.

After hiking for 4 hours and getting back to Aguas Calientes, we were absolutely exhausted. So we grabbed some dinner and just sat at the train station, dreaming of hot showers and sleep. We got on the train at about 4:30, which we almost missed...scary...and started our way back home. We finally got home, Yoni warmed us up some leftovers, and we each took a hot shower (which, by the way, felt like heaven), and got right into bed. Best night's sleep ever.