Nice to Machu Picchu

"No re-entry! Only one way and four hours maximum." The entry to Machu Picchu is very strict with set time slots and no walking back along the path.
Or so we thought.

Our flight from Rio to Cusco took us via Lima. Our breath was shortened and a small headache greeted each of us as we exited the plane. With the city at 3200m, most tourists found the altitude noticeable. Already we were higher than any mountain in Australia.

After checking in to our accommodation, we walked the streets and visited the local markets. All full of colour and daily routines for locals. We loved the dairy aisle with the ladies sitting on the table tops ready to slice rolls of cheese for you.

At our dinner that evening we sampled local Pisco Sours, a cocktail of egg white, lemon juice, sugar and pisco. Quite nice but I wouldn't drink a session with them.

The following day we were up early, 4am, to begin our journey to Aguas Calientes, the small village beside the Machu Picchu ruins. You had to reach the town via train and only two operators ran on the route. We chose Peru Rail and during the wet season there is a risk of lanslides in the first section of track. So the first two hours out of Cusco were by bus, then another 90 minutes on the train.

It was all a well executed journey. The staff are very accommodating and lead you every step of the way. The landscape became more jagged and steep the closer we got to Aguas Calientes. Towns became villages and farm land became smaller paddocks and clearings. Eventually the forest took over and the cliffs became too steep.

Funnily enough, Aguas Calientes, translates to Hot Water, in English. Sadly, our accommodation had only cold water for showers.
We had the opportunity to explore the town in the afternoon. Our plan was to head up to Machu the following day. Visiting the ruins was a very coordinated affair. You could hike up to the ruins, 2hrs, or take a shuttle bus. However, the line to get onto the shuttle bus grows throughout the day. When you buy your ticket to enter the ruins, which must be in advance, you select a timeslot you wish to enter. The day begins at 6am, we tried for then but a month earlier it was already sold out. So we gained tickets for entry at 7am.

We lined up for the bus at 5am, already there were at least one hundred other people there waiting in line. around 5.30am, the buses begin to take passengers. So we gradually inched forward as one after the other left.

The recommendation for staying a night then taking the bus first thing in the morning, was to avoid the tourists that attempt the ruins in one day from Cusco. The first train of the morning arrives in Aguas Calientes at 7am. That is when the bus line grows incredibly long and actually wraps around the village. The wait for a bus can be up to 2 hrs at that stage.

With our early rise, we were successful in reaching the ruins entry at 6am. We tried to enter but were refused as our tickets were for the 7am group. Approximately 150 tickets are issued for each hour. We waited around, in the light mist of the early morning for the time to pass. It was fun to watch the tour guides calling out for their tourists to make sure they had everything in order.
At 6:45am we then lined up for our entry to the ruins. As a part of the package when we bought the tickets, we also selected entry to another part of the ruins called the Waynapicchu Mountain climb. This was an additional area that involved a 2hr climb and a view back over the ruins. Again, we had to select a time slot and we chose the same, 7am to 8am. This meant, that when we entered the Machu Picchu ruins, we had to rush through to make sure we reached our Waynapicchu entry in time.
With light mist and fog about, we skipped past the bulk of the ruins, thinking we can come back to those after our climb.

The Waynapicchu mountain, from those that have seen the iconic photos, is the tall mountain in the background of the machu Picchu images. It involved particularly steep stairs and various scrambling parts to reach the top. There were ruins on the edge you could look around, but the best was the view back towards the Machu Picchu ruins along the steep hill side.

On the day we were there, heavy cloud was about. Though it made the entire scene quite surreal and mystical. It also meant we sat on the hill top for awhile longer as we could see patches in the clouds as they moved across us. Sure enough after 20 minutes the clouds cleared, the sun shone through and we were greeted with a glowing vision of remarkable ruins atop an incredibly steep cliff. Quite memorable.

We then made our way down the mountain and back into the main site ruins. we then realised a little of our predicament. As there were now site staff present at each corner and pathway and they were directing tourists all in a single direction. We weren't able to return back up to the main ruins, and instead had to continue following the one way which lead out towards the exit.
We tried to negotiate with a few of the staff, explain our situation and that we hadn't actually seen the rest of the ruins. They didnt seem that inerested and told us to continue exiting and speak to the ticketing booth.

As we exited, and made our way back around to the entrance, we noticed all the very strict signs warning people of the one way direction and maximum time permitted in the ruins. Jacqui, Alex and I all thought we were doomed and would have to return back down the mountain. Jamie put on her game face and wasn't having a bar of it. She strode to the ticket staff and began remonstrating our situation. As we all looked sheepishly on. After a short period of gesturing and posturing, amazingly, they decided to let us back in.
We all applauded Jamie and her negotiation skills.

By now it was 11am and the site was considerably full of tourists and large tour groups. we had two hours before we needed to return down the mountain to catch our train back to Cusco. We thoroughly enjoyed those hours relaxing at the ruins, taking photos of the llamas, the atmosphere and stepping between the other tourists.

The site truly is remarkable for its location. The canyon walls and sheer drop down to the river below. Stunning.

In the late afternoon we made our return to Cusco, arriving at 7:30pm, it was a quick check in to accommodation, dinner and bed.

By now we could breathe a lot more comfortably and our small headaches had gone. The following day we walked the streets some more and stretched our legs.

Cusco equally provided some impressive views. Sitting in a basin of hills, with a small climb you could turn back and view the city wrapped by mountains. Being a Sunday, the church bells sang, the markets were busy and of course a town marching band walked the squares.
We strolled through markets and enjoyed the city murals.
In the evening the markets turned into fast food stalls and on the streets the town folk played simple gambling games to win a few extra coins.

Four days and we'd had an amazing time. Cusco was wonderful, Aguas Calientes lovely and Machu Picchu stunning.

It was now off to our next adventure, the Amazon. The next day we would fly to Puerto Maldonado and prepare for an Amazon experience our final week with Alex and Jacqui.