Machu Picchu

Last Thursday evening, Valerie and I left Ecuador to go to Cuzco, Peru together before parting ways. We flew from Quito, Ecuador to Lima, Peru, spent the night in the Lima airport, and flew to Cuzco in the morning. After dropping our stuff off at the hostal where we would stay, we wandered around the city to find food, an ATM, and entrance tickets to Machu Picchu. Cuzco is a quaint (and touristy) city with pretty plazas and many good restaurants. Even during "low-season," there were plenty of foreigners around.  

Although we enjoyed a less busy town, there is a problem with visiting Machu Picchu during low-season: rain. Hence, the low tourist season. No one wants to travel thousands of miles and pay hundreds of dollars  to visit a world wonder during a rainstorm. We knew this could be a problem when planning our trip, but we went forth because it was the time that worked for both of us. We could only hope and pray the rain wouldn't ruin our visit.

Our first day in Cuzco, we noticed that the morning was sunny and beautiful, but the weather turned dismal in the afternoon, cloudy and wet. Walking back to our hostel in the pouring rain after buying our tickets to enter the Machu Picchu historic park, we feared our luck would turn dismal as well.

The next morning we woke up before dawn to take a taxi to the bus station. After a two hour bus ride through the mountains, we arrived at the train station Ollantaytambo. From there, the train took us two more hours to Aguas Calientes, the "Machu Picchu City." Yet, another leg of the trip was still ahead. We found the bus station, bought tickets, and boarded a bus that goes back and forth from Aguas Calientes to the Machu Picchu park all day, every day. For about 20 minutes, we twisted up high into the mountains.

All morning, the sky had been clear and sunny. The weather was looking good -- until we stepped off of the bus. Rain.

Luckily for us, the rain lasted only a few minutes. By the time we found a guide and agreed on a price, the rain let up and we entered the park. After a quick puff up a hill, we turned to see the postcard view of Machu Picchu.

So, of course, we had to take pictures in front of it to prove we were really there and didn't just steal photos off the internet. 

After posing for our "postcard shots," we followed our tour guide into the ancient city. 

When the tour was over, Valerie and I found a place to sit and take it all in. We imagined what life was like there before the Quecha people abandoned the place to avoid the conquistadors (according to our guide). Not too long after, the rain began again, so we took a final look at the view and said "good-bye" to Machu Picchu :)