Part 2: Setting Foot in The Lost City, Machu Picchu Revealed

Continued from Part 1: Our Journey to Machu Picchu: Biking, Trekking, Climbing

Day 4

Waking up at 4:00am is not usually on my to-do list, but for our visit to Machu Picchu, it was a "must-do" in hopes of seeing the sunrise and arriving at The Lost City as it opened. By 4:30 we were walking from our hostel towards Machu Picchu. About 30 minutes outside of town we found the check-in booth where we had to show our passports to the guards before walking through the gate. Then, it was time to climb. Almost 2,000 steps. Not an easy task after trekking a full day and climbing a mountain the previous day. There was some minor complaining along the way, as legs got tired, stomachs got hungry, and sweat soaked through clothes. But as we got closer to the top we were expectant of the amazing place that awaited us and it got easier. Especially as the sun rose and the few clouds around the mountain tops turned pink.

Smiling through the pain because the scenery was amazing 
and we were getting close to the top!

About an hour after we began our hike up the steps we arrived at the gate. (Machu Picchu is still just an image in your mind at this point, nothing can be seen until after you show your passport (again) and pass through the gate.) We met up with our guide and began to walk forward, towards a place we've only seen in photos, yet dreamed about. Suddenly we were inside, and there it was: The Lost City, found. The energy of the place was amazing, especially at 6:30 in the morning. My eyes were searching, scanning, hungrily trying to take in everything around me, but it was impossible, overwhelming. Instead I tried to simultaneously focus on our knowledgeable guide and the awe-inspiring sights as we walked through them.

One of my favorite shots, "con llama "

After our two hour tour of the ruins, we had some time to explore some more and then relax before our scheduled time to hike up Waynupicchu Mountain. We found a sort of secluded spot climbing over some rocks to get a nice view of the ancient city around us. This was a great time to soak up the energy and magic of the place and try to take it all in.

Just after 10:00am we walked over to an unexpected queue which we had to wait in for 20-30 minutes before we were allowed to hike up Waynapicchu with the other 198 people who purchased a ticket for that time. It was a relatively difficult hike, but not as intense as our hike up Putucusi the day before. The biggest difficulty was the many other people around, especially at the top. To get to the very top for the best views and to be among the Inca terraces located on this mountain, it was necessary to climb up (and then back down) very narrow stairs (which you can see on the left hand side of the photo below).

Looking down from the top, see the narrow stairs on the left

View of Machu Picchu from the top of Waynapicchu 

After our hike up and back down Waynapicchu we took more time to explore the beautiful ancient city and soak up its energy. Here are a few more of my favorite pics!

Us in front of the classic Machu Picchu photo spot

It was an incredible day - magical, mystical and gorgeous. (And yes, exhausting - we took the bus back down the mountain!)

Check out our Shutterfly page for more pics (we are adding them slowly each day)!

Part 1: Our Journey to Machu Picchu: Biking, Trekking, Climbing

We set out on a four day, three night “Inka Jungle Trek” on Wednesday morning. We knew we would be biking, trekking and (most importantly!) visiting Machu Picchu, but no amount of research, dreaming or anticipating could prepare us for the experiences ahead of us!

Day 1

After an included breakfast and a couple hours riding through the mountains by van it was time to gear up for the mountain biking portion of our adventure! 55 kilometers (three to four hours) of biking from high up in the Andes mountains down into a sleepy mountain “town” (if you can call it that) for a traditional homemade lunch. From there we continued by van to the town of Santa Theresa where we rested for the night after a relaxing soak in the relaxing natural hot springs.

All geared up for biking through the mountains!

A stop along our gorgeous biking route

Day 2

The next day’s agenda was over six hours of trekking and we woke up to pouring rain. The rain delayed our departure for an hour or two, but we had an agenda to keep, so once it let up enough we were off! We hiked through the jungle, along a winding mountain road, through some more paths along the raging Urubamba river, and then following a path along the railroad tracks. After about four hours we stopped for lunch, when it stopped raining. We continued two more hours until we reached Aguas Calientes – getting a small glimpse of the splendor and magic of Machu Piccchu that awaited us in the days ahead through a few ancient terraces that were visible along the trek.

Our sexy ponchos to protect our bags from the rain
(they clearly didn't do much for our heads!)

Hiking over the railroad tracks

Happy because we dried out after lunch!

Aguas Calientes, an adorable town situated on either side of 
the powerful Urubamba River, connected by several bridges

Day 3

On our third day, Drew and I hiked up Putucusi Mountain on our own. Our guides from the previous day had told us about it and we were intrigued. It was a free climb and supposedly provided an incredible and unique view of Machu Picchu, which we were getting anxious to see! It is not a very well-known climb, but is becoming more popular as a way for people on a budget to glimpse The Lost City without paying the steep costs of entering Machu Picchu. (Sidenote: the hike was incredible and view pretty awesome, but it does NOT substitute for actually being in Machu Picchu and experiencing it face to face.) The best part of the hike was the ladders, the view, and the fact that we only passed three other people the entire time, on our hike down.

One of the several ladders we climbed along the way

View from the top (Machu Picchu behind us)

Drew gazing out at the incredible Andes

A much-needed jumping photo
(Machu Picchu is just across the mountain just to my right)

A better sneak peak of Machu Picchu

Next Post: Part 2: Setting Foot in The Lost City, Machu Picchu Revealed

The Plan - Jobs, House, Trip

I mentioned last time that I was waiting to hear what was going to happen with my job when the hubby and I leave for our Round the World Adventure.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Last week Friday I got my answer.

While I am out, they are going to hire a new employee to take my place.  This person will be hired as a temporary employee with the possibility of full-time hire.  Basically, if the newly hired person turns out to be more amazing than me or is set in their role by the time I return, I will have to find a new job.  However, there is the possibility that I will be able to return to my job, depending on the outcome.

The hubby and I have been analyzing a lot of things, reviewing our options, our budget, and different scenarios.

This is where we stand today:

• We will be gone for approximately four months
• Upside:  This allows us enough wiggle room in our budget to keep our house without renting it out, preventing the headache and work of packing up all of our stuff, finding a renter, and paying all the fees of property management. If we can find someone we know who needs a place to stay for a few months, we would happily rent it out to them, but we don't want to have to worry about moving all of our stuff out.
• This also, in theory, might increase the chance of me returning to my job.  The less time the new person has to get comfortable and get into the job, the better the chance that my employers will welcome me back.
• Downside:  This will cause us to have to eliminate some of our destinations in order to get the free-flowing aspect out of our trip.  Which leads me to the next point.
• We are going to focus our attention on some key destinations in South America, and spend the majority of our time exploring Southern and Eastern Europe.
• A key component of this trip is that we have the ability to "not plan" every day, every destination or every experience.  We want to experience more of our world organically, allowing our whims and interactions with other people to guide us along our journey.  By reducing our footprint a bit, we help to ensure that this will be possible.
• The first month or so, in South America, will be a little more planned down to the date and location, simply because of what we want to see and the amount of time we want to see it in.  But once we arrive in (tentatively) Italy, things can start to flow naturally.
• We will leave in February.
• Due to some constraints of our destinations in South America, specifically Machu Picchu, we have pushed back our departure date by a couple weeks.  We really want to hike the Inca trail, but January is, on average, a very rainy month and not the most pleasant time to do it.  The trail is closed in February, but reopens in March.  If we start elsewhere in South America and make our way to that area in the beginning of March, we are *hoping* it will work out that we can hike the trail (weather dependent).  Plus, it's not high season, so we have a much better chance of getting into a hike with the "play it by ear" attitude that we are adopting if the weather isn't cooperating.  (We will still visit Machu Picchu either way, but if it's gross weather we would just take the train...the easy way).

So, that's where things stand now.  It's exciting because we are starting to finalize some  plans and make real decisions.  I am currently working with airtreks.com to figure out our flights, and we hope to book at least our flight out soon!  THEN it will be officially official! ;-)