Train to Machu Picchu

I was in Cuzco again getting set to go to Machu Picchu. The plan was to take a train from Cuzco and then a bus up the mountain to Machu Picchu. I had met a young girl in Cuzco that was also going solo to Machu Picchu so we ended up traveling together. We were having a good time together. Cusco is at a higher elevation than Machu Picchu is. We would be going down about 3000 feet all together. We took a taxi that my guide had arranged for me to the train station and got on the train. The train is a slightly smaller version of a normal passenger train but it was comfortable. They served us some tea and pastries on the trip then they did a fashion show that was funny. I enjoyed watching the scenery go by as we headed down the mountains. We were mostly running next to a river that was flowing fast whitewater for most of the way. It looked like a good river to raft down. We stopped a few times to pick up or drop off passengers but we finally made it to the station for Machu Picchu. I had a hotel for the night so I checked into it. Then our guide met me at the hotel and we went to the bus stop to take the bus up the mountain to the entrance to Machu Picchu. The bus ride up was kind of sketchy since the road was too narrow for the bus and the hairpin turns were kind of scary but we made it up to the top safely. The sight of the old Inca ruins in the distance made some great scenery on the ride. My guide got us our tickets and we entered the sacred site.

We took pics at the mandatory first stop overlooking the entire area. I was happy to finally be here. For many years I had heard about all the power people feel when they get here and I was hoping for the same lift. The weather was perfect, warm and sunny with good visibility to see all the features from our lookout up high. We took pics and moved on to the entrance to the city. Our guide explained all the engineering and features of the walls made out of precisely carved stones as we went along. We saw the residential areas of the city and the main governing areas with space for games and assemblies as well as worship and such. Then we went up to see the main source of the energy. A large rock that was carved into an odd shape was the main spiritual source for Machu Picchu. Lots of tourists were standing around it with their hands outstretched trying to get as close as they could to the stone without actually touching it. The claim is that the stone exudes energy and the tourists were trying to absorb as much as they could. Some people standing around looked stoned but not from the energy of the stone. I am not sure what they were on but they looked ripped. They told me it was just from the energy they had been absorbing from the stone. I stood there with my hands outstretched but all I got was tired arms. I have always been more of a science based person and I am not very spiritual whether that is organized religion or energy from rocks and crystals. If you can energize yourself holding your hands near a rock more power to you.

My friend was enjoying herself and told me she was energized by the entire site not just the one stone. She seemed happy. We watched some llamas walking around the site feeding on the grass growing between the stones. I enjoyed that. I was trying to visualize this place before the stupid Spaniards came and destroyed the city. The llamas seemed to help me see the past better--sort of a visual aide for me. We spent hours walking around the large complex. I liked the engineering and all the planning that took water right to where they used it. I asked about human wastes but my guide did not seem to know the facts on that. They must have had some type of outhouse or something I figured but there was no mention of it anywhere.

I was starting to have some problems with my pain from all the hiking around at Machu Picchu and so I was happy when the long day was over and we climbed back on our bus. I looked at my young girlfriend and I told her she looked sunburned. She laughed it off but refused to put on more sunscreen. Big mistake! She got thoroughly cooked by the high elevation sunny day. I had been reapplying my sunscreen all day long and I had a good base tan from living on the beach in Costa Rica so I was ok. Later on in the night she paid dearly for her cute spaghetti strap top and skimpy skirt.

We rode the bus back down to town and we were dropped off at our hotel where we ate a great dinner of classic Peruvian cuisine. It was served family style and I was hungry so I kind of pigged out. My friend had a hard time eating because she was starting to hurt from the sunburn. After we ate I went looking for some sunburn medication. I found a pharmacy just up the road from my hotel and I bought her some. Then we went out to a bar for a few hours of listening to music and rehashing the long days events. It was fun but by the end of the night out she was in tears from pain. We went back to the hotel and I helped her apply the medication to try to relieve some of the pain. She had blisters on her shoulders already. I felt sorry for her but there was not much I or anyone else could do until the damage healed on its own in a few days time. She could not even lie down to sleep. She sat up whimpering all night in a chair. Such is life. Live and learn.

Every Spanish class I have ever taken uses Machu Picchu as a lesson in words for thieves and pickpockets and general crime problems. I found no such problems but maybe we were lucky. I asked around and nobody else seemed to have had any problems with crime either. Maybe the authorities have cleaned up the crime problem around the site, I don't know but we had no problems. I highly recommend Machu Picchu for a visit, but wear sunscreen or you may regret it.