Machu Picchu

So finally, on the last day of my trip, I visited the reason everyone else goes to Peru: Machu Picchu. We arrived at about 6:45 am, along with many other groups who had stayed in town the night before and wanted to see it early, but with nothing like the crowds there were later (or in the summer, so I've heard). Our guide gave us an excellent tour of the site--more than 3 hours including time for lots of pictures, with lots of detailed information.

Here's a classic shot of the main part of the city:

Here's a view of the Sun Temple, with the mountain and the river behind:

The place is huge, and after the tour I debated going down because I was already hungry, but I'm glad I didn't. Instead I wandered around above the main site, including hiking halfway up the path that we were supposed to come down in the morning, until the point at which it was closed. The view was great, and it quelched any remaining sadness I had about not being able to hike through the Sun Gate. Here's me on that path overlooking Machu Picchu:

After walking down a few more paths and taking more classic shots:

I just hung out for a while and soaked it all in. It was a perfect ending to the trip and to the week, to be wandering around and enjoying Machu Picchu alone. But then it started raining so I decided to leave rather than get soaked myself. Down in Aguas Calientes for the rest of the afternoon, the best part was reading the community bulletin board for local news.

After the train ride back a hot shower, the 5 of us met for one last dinner in Cusco. The place was an American-style cafe that didn't even bother to put the menu in Spanish--normally a place I would avoid. But, with 2 months left to go on this South American adventure, the cream cheese, avocado, and smoked trout sandwich plus a chocolate milkshake really hit the spot. And of course, it was great to split a bottle of wine with my hiking buddies.