I woke up today very excited; this was why I came on this trip. Today, I would be going to the place my dad always wanted to go but couldn't because of his health. It was the day I would visit Machu Picchu.
After an early morning call, around 5:30 am, I showered and went down for breakfast. After a buffet breakfast and the usual Coca tea, I was ready to join the rest of my travelling companions on our three-part trip to Machu Picchu. We boarded the coach outside the hotel at around 6:15 am and set off through Cuzco. We were on the first part of the journey to the Inca city that was rediscovered by the outside world again in 1911 by Hiram Bingham.
After a two-hour coach trip, we arrived at the train station near Ollantaytambo, where we were to catch a train to continue our journey. To go to Machu Picchu, you have to book in advance, and we quickly entered the station after showing our tickets and copies of our passports. Each person had an allocated seat and a time to catch the train. The train we were on was the first one of the day, and the platform was jam-packed with porters bringing provisions for the train and parcels to be taken to Machu Picchu. We boarded the train and were shown to our seats by the hostess for our carriage. We sat four at a table, two by two, on either side of the aisle, and it surprised me how much room we all had and how clean and well-organised it all was. The hostess reminded me of the hostess you expect to get on any airline flight you will take: smartly dressed, very helpful and always smiling. We soon set off through the mountains as the railroad followed a winding river, crossing and re-crossing the Inca trail; many people trek to Machu Picchu.
The train journey took another two hours, and our hostess served us snacks and drinks. The landscape we travelled through was beautiful, and the river roaring alongside us was full of white water crashing over rocks scattered throughout it. I wondered if they do white water trips through the valley, and if they do, how many people are injured trying it out? We arrived at the Machu Picchu station and then were separated into two smaller coaches to climb the last section of the mountains to Machu Picchu.
From there, people were setting out for a walk up to the city of Inca, which we could still not see. The coach climbed up a winding road clinging to the mountain's edge, barely wide enough for a coach in places. Those of us next to a window were given great views of the drops down the mountain and the climb up it. We could see steps built up the hill directly to the summit. These steps were for the visitors who decided to walk to Machu Picchu to allow them a more direct route than our winding route. I would be amazed if anyone takes these steps rather than the winding road. The steps were so steep I got worn out looking up at them. I imagine a mountain goat would have difficulty using them, and the only walkers we saw were all using the road the coaches travelled. I don't know how long it would take anyone to walk this last stretch, but it took another half hour in the coach, and I can't see anyone walking it in less than 2 hours.
When we arrived at Machu Picchu, we split into groups for a guided tour around this fantastic place. Words do not exist to describe how I felt when I got there and started to look around the place my dad had always wanted to visit but never could. I was getting a lump in my throat just remembering it and writing down these notes, but the words I would use to describe my feelings are awe, amazement, gratitude, love, peacefulness and sheer glee at making an effort to see something so wondrous.
Our guided tour lasted around two hours, and how I managed to walk around and up and down so many steps at about 9,500 feet amazed me. We saw the king's complex of rooms, more steep steps, many springs and fountains, steps, an unfinished temple, storerooms and some more steps. Our guide had said that she would miss the last climb to the sundial as it was steep, and some of the group may not be able to do this last climb. Taking my walking stick in hand, I asked which way to go to get to the top; others echoed my desire to finish the climb, and she changed her mind and took us the rest of the way up. We arrived at the sundial, and I found myself thinking of my dad and wishing he was here with me; I knew he would have been looking down on me with pride and looking through my eyes at everything I could see. This was the section you see in all of the travel photos and must be the most photographed place in Peru. It truly is incredible, and if it's not on your bucket list, it should be.
After finishing the walking part of our tour, we had a buffet meal in the large restaurant built under a large hotel there. I don't think the Incas would be too impressed by adding a hotel, restaurant and tourist shop here, but I was glad for a sit-down and a rest. The food on the buffet was of a very high standard, and there was lots of it. Some people complained that it was a bit cramped and the service wasn't that great. I agree it wasn't a hugely expansive building, but the service and food were excellent; get a grip, people. You are at Machu Picchu; what happened to the sense of awe you felt a few hours ago when you got here? As a place to visit, it will also be a place I never forget.
After eating, we rejoined the small coach to return to the train station. We caught the train for another two-hour trip back to our coach. The view on the way back was not as good as on the way up because the sun dropped behind the mountains, and it soon got dark. At the train station, we met our coach for another two-hour trip back to our hotel in Cuzco.