machu picchu and the sacred valley

today i caught the train from cusco, peru to aguas calientes, peru. aguas calientes is the last pueblo before machu picchu. as this is the winter season in peru, the mornings are actually very cold. this morning it was -5. most homes and businesses do not have heat as they rarely get this cold. my hostel was one of these buildings. the floors, walls, beds were all ice cold. i took a ´hot´shower (in canada we would call this a luke warm shower) on the freezing ceramic tiles. the upper half of my body was slightly warm and my feet were freezing!

at 6 am i caught the train to aguas calientes (300 locals, 500 tourists). the train ride was fairly uneventful. i am happy to say that i didnt pass out or throw up on the train trip. there were a number of people would passed out and at least one person who had a plastic bag around their head. aguas calientes is designed for tourists ... everything in the community supports the tourism industry. from aguas calientes, machu picchu is a 20 minute bus drive winding through the sacred valley (or a 2 hour hike). driving through the sacred valley was breath-taking. i had never expected the scenery ... mountains crashing into the rio de urubamba river, thick lush vegetation growing on the mountains, and birds flying everywhere. the drive through the sacred valley was well worth the ticket. i was concerned that after this spectular drive that machu picchu might be a dissappointment.

machu picchu lived up to all its glory. i was amazed at the size of the structure when i first entered the grounds. the inca site had to be at least 10 times larger than i had expected. the ruins run down the side of the mountain with many structures still standing. there were lots of tourists, however, it never felt crowded because of its size. i spent the better part of 3 hours walking around the ruins. in that time, i think i covered only 20%. Just after lunch i was fortunate, to hike waynapicchu. this is a mountain that looks down onto machu picchu. the park only allows 400 people a day on the hike, and you have to leave before 12:30. the hike is to take about 1 hour and is described as a ´moderate hike with some steep sections´. after hiking up the mountain, i would suggest the park to change the sign to ´trail consists of ALL steep sections, with small steps meant for children, no places to stop along the way, and the altitude will make you dizzy. PS-you might fall off the trail to your death. enjoy´. somehow i dont think the park will modify the sign to my suggestion! that being said, the view from waynapicchu was unbelievable and i am very grateful that i did the hike. i am sure that my legs will pay the price tomorrow!