Wednesday, the culmination of our 5 week journey: Machu Picchu (see above for stock photo). Quick history lesson: MP was an Inca village that was abandoned when the Spaniards took over the show in the mid 1500s. It had become overrun by jungle growth and was not re-discovered until 1912 by a dude named Hiram Bircham. He was looking for the lost city of Paititi which according to legend contains several Inca treasures hidden from the Spaniards when they rose to power. Instead he found MP.
After 5 restless hours of sleep at a hostel ranked “#1 Musty Hostel in the World 2001-2006”, we awakened at 5am to the tune of moshi mumblio speak and jumped on ANOTHER bus to get to the entrance of MP. In total, that makes 2 planes, 2 buses, 1 train, 1 rickshaw and a donkey ride. Whew. I guess it could be worse - some hippies hiked the Inca trail in the rain for 4+ days (paying $500+) to get to MP. Yeah, um, no thanks.
We were pretty pumped as we entered the gates, ready to see some of the most spectacular views of our life. Unfortunately when we got into the park, all we could see was…….......... not what you see above. SUCK! It was so foggy it was like being in San Francisco in July. There were brief periods where we were given partial glimpses of what were probably marvelous views on a sunny day.
We were disappointed, but felt like we saw enough of MP and officially got our fill of ruins and the Sacred Valley. Moral of the story sports fans is this: don’t go to MP in the rainy season (try March – August for better viewing).
Right now we are on a train ride back to Cusco. Brianna just had the Peruvian favorite, Inca Cola, which is pee yellow in color and tastes like bubble gum soda. Eeeeeew. Oh jeez, the train stewards just started having a fashion show. Guess what they are trying to sell…… wool sweaters and hats! Ugh. Calgon take me away………….
Ok, so I WAS on a train ride, but couldn’t get this post out until after I returned to the States. I'm BACK! The recap post of the trip will drop on Tuesday. THEN, on to the REAL South America...... the Confederate states.
Humpty said/sang it best, “Do what you like”.
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