Breathtaking. No other way to describe the ancient Incan ruins dropped in the middle of a bevvy of jagged mountain peaks. We arrived to eat a buffet lunch at the Machu Picchu resort, the only hotel and eating establishment on the mountain. The buffet was included in our tour price, which was good, because we avoided noticing that it was $30 US! That makes the food taste a little less savvory. Our tour guide Yvette took us through the ruins with interesting stories about the origins and reasons for this city (most likely a resort town/ get away for the Incan nobility in Cusco). The biggest difference is that it took the Incans 7-10 days to WALK (that`s right, llamas carry a maximum of 40 lbs and horses were not introduced until the Spaniards) to this place. It was a mere 4 hour train ride and a 20 minute bus ride for us. 

We decided that one day was not enough. We bought bus tickets and entry tickets for day 2. A ticket to Machu Picchu will run you about $48 US. All of us being on a budget,this is a testament to the undeniable magnatism of this place. We woke at 4:45 a.m. to catch the earliest buses from our base camp town in Aguas Calientes and arrived in time to watch the sun rise over the eastern most mountain peak and spill onto the ruins. We were up early to be one of the lucky 400 people who are admitted onto the trail up to Wayun Picchu (which means young mountain in contrast to Machu - old mountain). This is the peak that you see sitting behing the ruins in most pictures of the site. It is an hour straight up mostly with stone stairs hardly the width of a foot turned sideways. We all felt a sense of accomplishment getting to the top, but there was one lady who we claimed as out hero considering she was doing it just months after major knee surgery. We also gave Meagan a gold star for effort, considereing she did this in the midst of a giardia attack. She knew exactlly when to hang back and when to forge ahead, those parasites can`t stop her!

We head back to Cusco and then home later this week. More pictures to come. Love to you all.