Hello, everyone. We are back today with another trip recap. Actually, it is a side trip that we took while in Peru recently. You can read about that here. I have to chuckle when I read about bloggers’ trips. Some bloggers can go on a long weekend and write three posts about it plus a post about their wardrobe, another about their luggage, and yet another about the meals they ate. Even though I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, to travel, writing about our trips is a real chore for me. I can be go on a three week trip and feel really lucky to get two posts out of it. That being said, we are happy to share with you our second post about visiting Peru – the time our trip to Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu is located in the Peruvian Andes and has been considered one of the man made wonders of the world. It is a village built by the Incas back in the 15th century and is about 8,000 feet above sea level. Mike and I hiked to Machu Picchu about 12 years ago. It took us five grueling days to get there from our starting off point.
This year we went up and back in one day using both a bus and a train. Most of our group of 20 friends, who were in Peru with us, went on the trip. We loaded up on warm hats and gloves from the local vendors as we entered the bus station, and they certainly came in handy later in the day.
Before going to Machu Picchu, though, we flew to Cusco, where the elevation is 11,000. Going from sea level to 11,000 in an hour’s plane ride was pretty tough for some of us. We were feeling the change in altitude and its affects on our bodies. The whole purpose of going to Cusco is to have some time to acclimate to the altitude, and since we had done so much manual labor on our volunteer project, we needed some rest, too.
We love Cusco. It is a beautiful old city in the Andes with beautiful old churches and buildings along with modern conveniences and good shopping. After being in the dry dessert like condition of Trujillo, the lush green mountains, trees, and grass along with the cooler temperatures were most welcome.
It took us between three and four hours to travel to Machu Picchu from Cusco. It was the rainy season, and we couldn’t take a train the whole way because some tracks were flooded. So, we ended up traveling by bus and then caught a train for the final leg of the journey. I love train travel and was as happy as can be when we stepped onto the train after being in the bus on curvy roads.
Once we got to Machu Picchu, the weather was rainy, overcast, and cloudy. It didn’t ruin our day trip, though.
We enjoyed getting a private tour from one of the local tour guides and seeing the amazing and sophisticated building skills of the Incas so long ago.
After our tour, we had just a little while till before we got back onto our train and returned to Cusco. (I have a camera under my jacket. That is not my belly!!!)
We had snacks on the train and even a fashion show where they modeled many garments made of alpaca. It was a long day but an enjoyable day and one we will always remember.
Take care.
