Magical Destinations

                                            Greeting the dawn at Sol Y Luna

Today is the day, this is what I have been waiting for most of my adult life, and even some of my childhood.  Today we are spending a full day at Macchu Picchu. Macchu Picchu is most amazing urban creation of the Inca Empire at its height; its giant walls, terraces and ramps seem as if they have been cut naturally in the continuous rock escarpments. It  is beleived to have been the summer home of the Inca emperor Pachacuti.  In order to make the most of our time there we needed to start our Adventure at literally,  the crack of dawn.  The day was cool and cloudy, I was hoping for better weather.  What if we can't see the ruins or fully appreciate the view?  I have wanted to see Macchu Picchu forever, but what if I actually can't see it!?!?  There was nothing to be done other then to board our "chariots" for the short ride to the town of Ollayantatambo.  In Ollayantatambo we were to board our train for the hour and a half ride to Agua Calientes, the springboard to Macchu Picchu.


I am constantly astounded by Peru, you must remember this is an emerging country.  Not really 3rd world and not industrialized, but they have the most splendid hotel accommodations, fantastic food so why was I surprised that the train to Agua Calientes was as fabulous as everything else I have seen.  The train station was very quaint, with some small cafes surrounded by the train office, they even rang a large ships bell when we departed.  The train itself was a vistadome train and only 2 cars long.  The lead car had the engine built into it .  With Disney you can be assured your trip is first class.   Which means we has luxurious leather seats, with a fold down snack tray, panoramic views ( large windows on the side of you and overhead) we had a small meal and a drink served onboard by the cabin stewards.  And some of the most beautiful scenery on earth.  The train follows the Urubabma River, you meander past Incan ruins, and then the landscape begins to change as you travel from the mountains to the onset of the jungle.  It is astounding.



It was still cloudy, misty and a little drizzly when we arrived in Agua Calientes, it was not promising weather for that picture postcard shot of Macchu Picchu.  It was a short walk from the train station to the center of town where we had to board a motor coach to take us to the entrance to Macchu Picchu. There are only 2 ways to get to Macchu Picchu from here - walk or take the bus.

I want to stop here and mention that wherever we go our guides already have our tickets on hand - whether it is a train ticket, a bus ticket and entrance ticket to an archaeological site, we never wait.  We did not even wait to check into any of our hotels, our keys were always ready as soon as we arrived - this is the way it is throughout the trip with Adventures By Disney.  You could never duplicate this level of service by yourself or with most other tour operators.  Even at the airports Disney has your boarding passes ready and we are wisked thru to security- I think this is how celebrities must travel and I certainly can get use to it!

If you get car sick then I suggest you get the front seats of the bus since the half hour ride to the entrance to Macchu Picchu is a series of switchbacks on a very narrow two lane road with no guard rail.  I had to shut my eyes a number of times when a bus that was coming down the mountain squeezed past us.  I almost thought we were going over the edge - BUT - we didn't.

At last we arrived!  I FINALLY MADE IT TO MACCHU PICCHU!!!!Well not quite....we only made it to the entrance, and it was still cloudy. We were asked to bring our passports to Macchu Picchu because in order to get into the archaeological park you need them.  As a reward you get your passport stamped that you were at Macchu Picchu, I love that stamp, many countries do not do this anymore, so to get one at an archaeological site, it is a bonus!

NOW we could say we arrived and were inside the archaeological park.  It was everything I hoped it would be and more.  I was not concerned that it was still cloudy it only added to the mystical nature of the site.  This is how it was meant to be seen.  It was crowded and our guides were very cognizant of the fact and took us to parts of the ruins that were not as busy. The climb was not that bad, or maybe I was just getting used to it.  We were at a lower elevation then the other sites we visited so far, and we took a slower pace and stopped more. Ernesto and Harvey our expert Peruvian guides gave us the most current archaeological explanations of what we were seeing. I say this because there is no written word about what Macchu Picchu was, it is conjecture based on  local oral history and of course theories from other sites and some written history of the Spaniards as they interpreted what they saw at those other sites.  No Spaniards saw Macchu Picchu that we are aware of.   As we neared the top we were seeing a break in the clouds, could it be that we were going to see the sight that the Inca's who lived here saw every day?  And were we going to be able to record digitally.



It was very quiet, almost church like,  at the (almost) top.  Everyone was looking around seeing the beautiful ruins, the Andes, the river snaking its way through the valley, we were up in the clouds and the mist surrounded us.  All of a sudden the wind starting picking up and the clouds began swirling around the mountains.  Sometimes we could barely see in front of us and then all of a sudden:


                                   It was magical!I still get the chills when I see this photo. 

I did not want to leave but our guides said it was time for some sustenance.  So back down we went.  The climb down is always worse then the climb up, especially when the rock stairs are muddy, wet and very slippery.  At this point I was not feeling well, maybe it was the excitement of being here, maybe it was the altitude, or perhaps it was something I ate.  At any rate I knew I was done for the day. I could not believe it!!!  I was feverish, my body was shaking, I was nauseous and I knew I could not climb back up after lunch nor could I hike the Inca Trail to the Sun Gate as some of my fellow Adventurers were doing.  I needed to stay in one place and rest ( and do a little self indulgent crying) so I stayed in the cafe where the group ate lunch ( I drank coca tea and had a few crackers)  and rested and waited for everyone to come back.  It was a long 3 hours. In the interim it started pouring outside.

At around 4 pm we started making our way back to the Sol Y Luna Lodge the same way we came.  The highlight of our return was a fabulous fashion show on the train by the conductors of stunning baby alpaca sweaters, coats, ponchos, etc.They were really gorgeous with some nice price tags to match! 
As soon as we returned I went to our casita, and snuggled with my hot water bottle.  I did not wake up until the next morning when it was time to leave this gorgeous resort and head to Cusco.



Next Up Loco for Llamas, Alpacas and Vicunas!