This is a very difficult entry to write because it is hard to put into words how amazing Machu Picchu is. The beauty and power is overwhelming and although Megan and I took many, many pictures, I doubt they will even do it justice.
We woke up very early in the morning on Friday (I had my days wrong in my last entry) and caught a train to Aguas Caliente (which is now officially called Machu Picchu Puebla) which is about 4 hours from Cuzco and at the base of the mountain on which Machu Picchu rests. When we arrived we found our hotel and took a walk around the town. During lunch Megan, her sister, her mom, and I decided that Aguas Calientes is kinda what Disney would make if it made a Peruvian Village. It was just a bit to perfect and was very geared toward tourists. It was very easy to have a good time in this little town.
Later that day we went to the hot springs that gave the town its name. It was nice to just relax in the hot water. We talked to some Irish and English travelers who had just made the 4 day hike up the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. This and the train are the only two ways to get to Aguas Calientes. It sounds like a great hike, and hopefully I can come back and do it some day.
The next morning (Saturday) Megan woke up very early (5 am) and skipped breakfast to catch the first bus up to the site at 5:30 am. Megan's mom, sister and I all woke up about 5:45 am had breakfast and caught a bus that left about 6:15 am. Megan was lucky enought to be one of the first people up to the Machu Pichu and got to see the entire site when it was almost totally empty of people. The pictures from this time are some of the best because of the lack of other tourists. I arrived about 6:45 or so and there weren't a ton of tourists. We walked around almost the entire site for the next 3 1/2 hours and it was just mind blowing.
I don't think I can capture the entire site, so I'll just try to write about a couple moments that really stand out for me. The first would be walking up the imperial temple near the center of the complex and seeing a falcon siting on the top of the ruin. This bird on the edge of the ruins while I was able to take many pictures of it. It was really amazing.
Walking alone through parts of the complex was great as well, I was able to get away from everybody else and just look at the architecture of the buildings and find small places with amazing beauty.
At about 10:30 am we started a pretty long walk back down to Aguas Calientes. We caught our train about 4pm and were back in Cuzco by 9pm last night.
This morning we went to 4 more ruins very close to Cuzco that all had unique beauty, but it is hard to beat the beauty of Machu Picchu.
Just a few minutes ago Megan and I found out about a proccession of a saint that was happening a few blocks from our hotel. It was a beautiful display of the unique catholisism that exists in Latin America.
Tomorrow we leave Cuzco for Puno (near Lake Titticaca). Cuzco is a great city and I really enjoyed my time here. It will be very hard to leave.