We celebrated Paul's birthday with a visit and hike around Machu Picchu by taking another ride on the Peru Rail.
We were met by a tour guide who then brought us to the bus for a 20 minute ride up the hill. Because we were visiting during rainy season, there were less people but it still felt like a lot. I can't imagine what it's like in the summer!
The next morning on February 2, we headed back up to climb Wayna Picchu. You can hardly see it in the photo below since it's covered in clouds and/or fog!
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| About an hour or so train ride |
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| Not as fancy as the last train ride but comfortable enough |
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| Scenery along the way |
We were met by a tour guide who then brought us to the bus for a 20 minute ride up the hill. Because we were visiting during rainy season, there were less people but it still felt like a lot. I can't imagine what it's like in the summer!
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| Machu Picchu was discovered in 1911 |
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| It's so beautiful and almost unreal |
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| It's hard to believe we were actually there! |
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| On this day we visited the Inka Bridge, guardhouse and Sungate |
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| We walked around with the tour guide first |
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| That mountain covered by the clouds is Wayna Picchu and we have tickets to climb it the next day; you have to get the tickets in advance, which our tour company, Latin America for Less, did for us. |
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| Another amazing view |
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| Panoramic |
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| Inca doorway - sloped sides built to withstand earthquakes |
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| Amazing architecture |
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| Double jamb doorway |
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| Folks can also travel here using the Inca Trail - see the white lines on the mountain? Yeah, no thanks! |
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| Clouds are everywhere at 2,340 meters (almost 8,000 feet) above sea level! |
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| The rocks at the top form the shape of a face |
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| Built in the 15th century |
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| It's still in great condition! |
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| Lots of restoration to the site since the early 1900's |
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| Restoration continues |
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| This baby llama was just born |
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| It was trying to stand up |
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| Another pretty view |
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| Unreal! |
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| Selfie |
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| You can clearly see Wayna Picchu here |
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| It is actually quite steep |
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| Altar of the Condor |
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| Can you see the condor and its wings? |
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| Close up of its face |
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| We then headed up towards the Guard House |
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| Paul is always a few steps ahead of me |
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| Another nice view from atop |
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| And even higher |
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| And further away |
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| Panoramic |
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| Paul making some manly pose in celebration of his birthday |
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| We then headed towards the Inka Bridge |
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| About a 30 minute walk each way |
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| Looking down is scary |
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| See, Paul is afraid |
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| My favorite part of this photo is Paul's hair |
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| Finally we spot the Inka Bridge |
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| We wanted to get a closer look |
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| Not easy to build! |
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| We think this was an escape route |
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| Paul thought he saw a flower |
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| One of my favorite shots! |
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| After walking back from the bridge, we headed to Intipunku aka the Sun Gate |
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| Once again, Paul is looking for me |
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| We weren't sure what the black moss was all about so Paul went to investigate |
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| Kitty wanted to take part in the adventure as well |
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| We got a South African tourist who happen to live in our old neighborhood of NYC to snap a photo for us |
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| Mystical looking - heading back down after a long day of walks |
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| That afternoon there was a lot of rain - so much that the water was overflowing! |
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| We walked around town to find some food |
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| The river was gushing |
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| Lots of water |
The next morning on February 2, we headed back up to climb Wayna Picchu. You can hardly see it in the photo below since it's covered in clouds and/or fog!
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| Pretty cool cloud effects even though it was a little hard to see |
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| We opted for the 2 hour trek - wasn't feeling the 4 hour version... |
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| No view...too cloudy! |
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| More steep steps |
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| Um, yeah, we can't see anything! |
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| We had to crawl through a cave to get to the view point |
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| A bit uncomfortable for Paul...and me but more him. |
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| Paul needed to get to his zen place |
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| The clouds moved just enough to get a clear shot of Machu Picchu from the top |
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| Paul was a bit afraid trying to take this photo |
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| We got someone else to snap one but it didn't make it less scary considering how high we were |
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| Heading back down |
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| Amazingly steep |
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| Yeah... |
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| Paul's clown feet don't fit on the stairs |
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| See? |
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| We caught a couple more good shots going down |
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| Mystical |
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| Of course now that we finished the hike, it really started to clear up...we were at the top of that! |
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| Leaving Machu Picchu |
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| This llama is the Machu Pichu mascot, Pikachu |
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| Had some time to kill before our train back to Cusco |
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| So went souvenir shopping. Butterflies are everywhere. |
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| Not much bargaining here but I think I got a good deal on some stuff |
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| The train to Cusco included a few shows |
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| Paul was entertained |
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| Scenery |
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| Back in Cusco there was a festival |
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| Nice view from our hotel room |
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| What a nice day! |
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| The streets are narrow so we had to walk to the car to take us to the airport |
