Travel Log, Saturday, June 12, Machu Pichu Ruins

Up early one more time to try to catch the morning light at Machu Pichu. Although super-excited about this part of the trip, Nikki is not a willing early riser. Nonetheless, we got on the bus at 6:00 and got in before the crowds, and early enough for Mia and I to climb Huayna Pichu, the steep pinnacle one sees behind the ruins in the classic photo of Machu Pichu. (They only allow 200 up, starting at 7:00 and another 200 at 11:00.) The trail is steep, but almost completely on stone steps, and provides great views of the valley and surrounding peaks. Debby and Nikki explored the ruins (Nikki maxed out on climbing at Pisac) until we reunited around 10:00. We chilled a bit, then explored more of the ruins. Even with the non-stop buses bringing tour groups in, the site is so big that it is fairly easy to get (relatively) away from the crush. Around 2:00 we headed down, opting to walk instead of paying another $21.00 (US) fo the 30 minute ride back to town. We did a lot of walking, but everyone had a great day. The ruins are truely magnificent, and a marvel of order and design from a culture that used mostly stone and wood tools to create them.