In ancient society, only the most powerful and revered individuals were allowed to climb to the peaks of Machu Picchu and reach true enlightenment; In modern times, anyone with 80 dollars is allowed that privilege. It's hard to describe the feeling you get when you walk through the gates and see the ruins slowly unveiling themselves from the fog. The greenness of the grass is unreal, almost appearing to be fake as no color could possibly be so crisp. As you soak it all up, you forget about how tired you are from the hike, reveling in the fact that you're literally in the clouds. You can look at the surrounding mountains to see where you started biking all the way to where you wrapped around the river and came up to the entrance. Realizing how far you made it leaves you with a feeling of gratisfaction.
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| All those steps, all that pain... Definitely worth it! |
After gathering our group, Papapuma started to give us a quick tour since he had to leave the ruins by 8 a.m. to catch a train back to Cuzco. The ruins don't seem that large or intricate from the terraces, but once you get inside you quickly realize how expansive and complex it really is. I could spend a lot of time describing it, but words can't do the justice that pictures can.
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It's a pretty steep drop off the edge. It's crazy how it's built along the edge of a mountain.
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| It looks entirely different in the morning, when it's still shrouded in fog |
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| Regardless of the time of day, some views always look incredible |
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| We started doing a recurring pose called BEAST MODE, coincidentally Craig no longer has a left ear. |
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| I see one llama and one ass in this picture. |
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| Machu Peekaboo! |
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Oh yeah, my name is Josh and I'm going to take a totally bad ass picture when Sean isn't around. Then he'll see it a day after we've left Macchu Picchu and he won't be able to take a picture doing this pose. Then he'll be forced to use a picture of me looking awesome in his blog, while he forever regrets not getting to take that picture...
Yeah, fuck you brah. |
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| Did I kill my sister for a $47 life insurance policy? Find out in her obituary... |
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| The bowl cut in mesmerizing HD resolution. Look at that mustache and that prominent chin hair. This is what a man looks like ladies, soak it up. |
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| We also stopped briefly for breakfast in Papapuma's special spot. Bryn had a traditional (and healthy) Peruvian breakfast of Lays potato chips with mustard. |
If you look at the first picture in this post you'll see a mountain peak behind Machu Picchu, which is known as Waynapicchu (alternatively Huayna Picchu). Only 400 people are allowed to enter Waynapicchu each day, but we were lucky enough to get tickets. Including the 1800 steps from the morning hike, it's a staggering 5000 steps to the top. Knowing that my future self would be writing a blog about my journey, in which I would describe my physical greatness and beauty, I realized I had no choice but to make this ascent. I was joined only by Josh, who wanted to make the journey since he skipped it on his first trip to Machu Picchu a few years back.
Kathryn also decided to make the journey, but once again left us in her dust. Realizing I was yet again physically inferior to a girl, I debated taking the soft dive of oblivion off the edge of the mountain. It can be an intimidating hike, as the only thing available to stabilize yourself is a piece of rope that's taked to the mountainside. Barely being capable of putting one foot in front of the other, I asked Josh what A-hole came up with the idea to make all these god forsaken steps. Thinking I was being literal, he responded, "The Incas, they made all of these ruins", in a tone that clearly implied I was retarded. Fully accepting that I am retarded, I forged ahead.
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| We started at the right side of the ruins and worked our way up |
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| There was randomly a cave that you had to crawl through |
There were so many times along the hike that I wondered how my legs were still moving, feeling a level of physical exhaustion I never deemed possible. But no matter how tired I felt, I knew that I wasn't going to stop until I reached the top. Everyone has a mountain to climb whether it be physical or figurative; This was mine and I was going to fucking own it. So with each excruciating step I ascended towards the heavens, and when you get to the top... well there's not many feelings better than peering down at the clouds and realizing you're on top of the world.
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| It's good to be king |
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| My body was trembling from exhaustion, but nothing was going to stop me from going beast mode. |
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| Too bad neither of us thought to bring water... sooooo thirsty |
45 minutes to climb up and 30 mins to climb down in order to spend 30 minutes there... Was it worth it? Absolutely! Once we made it back to the main ruins we met up with the rest of the crew and enjoyed clif bars and other snacks for lunch. Everyone was so tired from the hikes that we mostly ended up lounging around on the terraces. After a few hours we decided we should head back down to Aguas Calientes to grab some pizza before taking a train/bus combination back to Cuzco.
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| The sign at the entrance/exit of Machu Picchu reads, "May peace prevail on Earth" in several languages... very fitting words for such a peaceful place |
You all know how I feel about public transportation in South America, but let's just say that once again, everyone screwed me on the bus. The 6 of us got seats next to eachother, 2 people per row. So guess who gets stuck with the wheel well? Yup - me. This was after I had to sit on a separate bench from everyone at the train station and also a separate row on the train. So what if my right foot smells like a decaying walrus, is that really a reason to.... alright, they were probably justified in their decisions. After making it back to Cuzco late that night, we headed our separate ways. The rich people back to their 5 star hotel, Josh and I to the closest 8 dollar/night hostel we could find.
We mostly bummed around the city picking up souvenirs the next day, before meeting up Kathryn and the Chileans for a few drinks and dinner. We all headed back to our hostels pretty early since some people had morning flights, while the Chileans once again went out to the disco. Ahhh to be 19 and wasted.
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| A final beast mode photo to wrap up the trip |
My flight wasn't until 4 o'clock the next day, so Josh and I bummed around the city for a while and ran a few quick errands. He decided he was going to bus it down to the canyons before making his way up the coast to take surfing lessons and meet some friends in northern Peru. Wow, he has a really rough life. Before heading down to the main square to catch a taxi to the airport, I decided to enter a state of irrational panic and decided to convince myself I had lost my car keys, which meant I wouldn't be able to pick up my car when I got home, the car to which I have no spare keys. I spent thirty minutes rummaging through my bags and running back to the hostel room I stayed in the night before to search for them. With my hopes dwindling, I looked through my backpack for the sixth time and found them in a velcro sealed pocket, right where I specifically placed them in order to make sure I didn't lose them. As the feeling of knowing I am an idiot became clear to me once again, I was snapped back into reality and realized my playtime was over. As I flagged down a taxi and rode towards the airport, my mind couldn't help but wonder what my next adventure would hold...
As Rosa finished tidying up her room in the hostel, she glanced out the window and saw several pigeons congregating outside. Unable to contain her curiosity, she slowly made her way to the roof to see what was happening. As the cool breeze lightly swept the hair from her face, her eyes drifted towards the ground where the sewage from the hostel bathrooms pooled. She gasped, staring in wonder as a single rose was blooming from the abyss. Slowly shaking her head in disbelief, Rosa was startled to see all the neighborhood dogs staring towards the sky in unison. Lifting her eyes upward, she saw a single plane fading into the distant sky. A small smile spread across her face as she softly whispered, "Gracias", while a tingling sensation dissipated from her body.
