Apr 06 - Machu Picchu to Urubamba

Apr 06 – Machu Picchu to Sacred Valley

Our train back from Machu Picchu to Urubamba in the Sacred Valley wasn’t until 4pm, so the morning was spent exploring the town of Machu Picchu (the town formerly known as Aguas Caliente but they don’t want to have a Spanish name now so it is now just known as Machu Picchu town……).
The town seems to have a permanent raging torrent running though it and whilst we might be raising the flood alerts, life seemed to rumble on regrdless of any movement of the 100 ton boulders.

The Vistadome train ensures a spectacular view

Last minute Llama purchases made, we met up at the train station for our trip back. 

Another lovely scenic trip back through the river canyon with high mountains and lush vegetation. A little fashion show on the train to encourage people to buy yet more alpaca clothing was done by the same teams serving tea and coffee – all very bizarre. Yet again Paul’s dancing skills came into their own as he was set upon again by the dancing dervish !!

Sheena and Eileen have spotted a gap in the market in Scotland and will now be contacting Scotrail to get the franchise to sell Scottish knitwear and whisky on the trains…….move over Richard Branson the Lassies are coming through…………….

The train meanders around the sacred valley

We arrived at the train station in Ollyantantambo to a complete zoo of minibuses picking people up and as it is a little bottleneck with only one narrow road in and out, it took us 40 minutes just to get out of the station !

We headed off to our next stop in Urubamba in the Sacred Valley. Where we were staying is within a school and centre for underprivileged children started by a Dutch lady. There are 8 bungalows set within beautiful gardens at the back of the school area (you drive across the basketball court once you enter the main gates !!). The school houses and feeds up to 100 orphan children and educates and feeds another 100 as day pupils. The money from the bungalow stays and donations support the whole enterprise.

It is all an eco environment, so the rooms all have fireplaces but no heating and the little main building houses a small but very nice restaurant where we all had dinner in front of another roaring fire.

Apr 05 - Machu Picchu

Apr 05 – Machu Picchu

The river flowing through the village

Today we were all determined to make the best of Machu Picchu in our one remaining day.

Sheena and Eileen headed off early to do the hair raising climb of Huayna Picchu the very steep mountain behind the site which is supposed to give the best views and the ones you see in the most iconic photographs.

Paul and Mandy and Steve and Janette were headed for the Sun Gate which also gives fabulous views of the site from another view. Paul and Mandy decided to head up before the train arrived at 11 to miss some of the people and Steve and Janette decided to go in the afternoon to take photographs as it had been quieter yesterday when we went back in after lunch.

Rendezvous back at the hotel for drinks at 7 to see how we had got on !

The weather yesterday had been really kind to us, cloudy for our tour of the site which was great otherwise we would have been too hot given our proximity to the Sun, but then the sun came out in time for our photographs.  Today was to be different………..

The clouds formed on the mountains and the heavens opened at 11am. Thunder, lightning and torrential rain followed for 2 solid hours. Then by 2pm the skies started to clear, blue sky could be seen and the sun broke through. The rest of the afternoon was beautiful.

Back at the hotel, the day’s stories were told.

Knee to chin and steel ropes.....

Round of applause on entry to the hotel bar for Sheena and Eileen who had successfully made the steep and narrow ascent to the top of Huaynu Picchu using steel cord supports in many places and with some nerve jangling narrow parts with sheer drops.

Dont look down...

They had started off at 10am and had just reached the top when the rain started so the ascent had been dry but the descent had been pretty wet. 

The mountain goats have made it...well done

Once down, they took the bus back to the hotel for a hot shower and dry off and then when the blue sky broke through, they hopped back on the bus and went back up to the site for more exploring and some more photographs in the bright sunshine.

All very impressive !!

Paul and Mandy had headed up to Sun Gate and were about an hour in when the heavens opened, so they sheltered on the path under some very handy foliage until the worst had passed and then carried on up to the Gate. From there back down to the main site in time for the sun to come out and they spent a happy afternoon exploring and taking photos.

Steve and Janette had explored the town and the local market in the morning and the heavens opened just as they had finished so 2 hours was spent drinking coffee waiting for the skies to clear.

By 1.30 we decided to risk it so hopped on a bus up to the site, we were the only passengers !

When we got to the path to the Sun Gate, the rain stopped and as we navigated up the steep rocky path, the skies broke, the sun came out and the views with cloud on the mountains were just stunning. 

half way up...

Sun breaking through the clouds

We carried on up to the Sun Gate and got some stunning photographs.  Very lucky !

The whole site from the Sun Gate path

Made it ! and check out the hair pin
roads behind me that the buses use

Sheer drops from the path to the Sun Gate

Winding our way back down the rocky path we were watching the clock as the last buses left at 5.30 and we didn’t want to have to walk back down the mountain ! Whistles were going as they cleared the site but we made it it good time.

The rocky road to "Sun Gate"..
not for the faint hearted

Back in the bar we realised we had all come back on consecutive buses but missed each other by minutes !

Wonderful !! We all loved Machu Picchu. It is a spellbinding, evocative place and if you just sit and take in the atmosphere you can feel why it was such a special place for the Incas. Just magical.

Celebratory drinks with the gutsy “Lassies” for their hair raising climb. Not bad for a pair of “Old Yins”……..   

Apr 04 - Machu Picchu

Apr 04 – Machu Picchu !!

Another early start this morning but we were all buzzing as this was our big day to Machu Picchu !

We left the hotel at 6.30am for a 2 hour minibus transfer to Ollyantaytambo through mountains and then down into the lush Sacred Valley which follows the flow of the Rio Urubamba through farmlands (more Quinoa!) and small colonial villages.

Sounds idyllic doesn’t it, but the road is a series of twisting bends, bumpy roads and we had a driver who thought he was Lewis Hamilton !! We all had shaken baby syndrome by the time we fell out the bus in Ollyantaytambo !

The train station was packed but our little guide Maria deftly steered us through the masses and into the queue for our Perurail Vistadome train to the little town at the foot of Machu Picchu (the town previously known as Aguas Calientes).

All aboard for Machu Picchu !

The train was great, large comfy seats and windows all round including on the roof which was much needed as we then wended our way long the canyon following the river that leads to the sacred Inca Site of Machu Picchu. 

The children on a train trip

On collection of our bus tickets, a clerical error had revealed Sheena to a 69 year old man which was news to us all that she had kept under wraps for some time as if being 60 wasnt bad enough!!

Glacier & mountains from the train

The scenery was dramatic, high mountains covered in lush vegetation and wild orchids and the fast flowing river which was completely brown due to the mud slides in the heavy rain that has been hitting Peru in this El Ninjo season.

We arrived in the town and a porter from the hotel spirited away our little overnight bags and we walked through the little local market that surrounds the train station to the stop for the buses up to the top of Machu Picchu.

Don't look down....

The bus journey itself was spectacular, 
a series of winding hairpin bends with sheer drops 
climbing ever higher until we got our first distant view 
of Machu Picchu on the top !!!  

Very exciting !!We piled off the bus and through the entrance to the site, up some rocky stone stairs turned a corner and there we all stopped, stunned by the complete view of the iconic Machu Picchu.

Our first view of this "phenomenal wonder"

 Having seen so many photographs and watched many tv programmes none of us had been sure what impact it would have when we saw it for real, but it was just completely breathtaking especially given its great condition and the dramatic location.

Spell broken, cameras were going like mad………

Machu Picchu was built around 1450 and no-one knows its exact purpose but it was an important site for the Incas they think for religious reasons, close to the sun with the Sun gate perfectly aligned for the winter solstice on June 21st (southern hemisphere)

It housed only 500 people, high priests and the families of the Inca Kings which seems incredible given the work involved in building this huge complex on top of a high remote mountain.

The site was abandoned but no-one is sure why and the Inca kings moved to Vilcabamba (The Lost City of the Incas) which was 50 miles away and in the jungle, but it was this that ensured the site would survive.

The Spanish never knew about Machu Picchu and it was therefore never destroyed or raided. It remained in its perfect state covered in foliage until Hiram Bingham (searching for the Lost City) discovered it in 1911. The picture from then shows how well covered it all had been.

The site when uncovered was found to be in perfect condition with the only missing feature the reed straw roofs for the dwellings. It must have been the most phenomenal day when he realised what he had found……..

After our three hour tour we went for a late lunch in the Belmond Sanctuary which is just outside the site. This was the surprise 60^th Birthday lunch for Sheena and Steve with champagne and birthday cake, 60^th balloons and banners hand packed in our day bag for this occasion !! It was rounded off by Happy Birthday being played by the Peruvian pan pipe group !! All very funny and very bizarre !
The background to this birthday celebration stems from 10 years ago when we celebrated 50ths under Sydney Opera House and now we have to do every ten years in some style.

The Birthday Duo (The Old Yins...)

Janette had organised a birthday cake on thre mountain...neat!

Happy Birthday played by the
Maccu Picchu singers !!

After lunch we high tailed it back into the site and spent a happy couple of hours taking photos and just drinking in the atmosphere of this magical place. Not a bad way to celebrate being 60……….

Great hats...........

Happy 60th Birthday to Sheena and Steve
.............happy day!

Tired and happy, we took the bus back down to the town and our lovely little hotel for a nice dinner to round off our wonderful day……