EcuadorSabbatical

The excitement had been mounting for days, and Machu Picchu was to be the climax of our visit, although what we have seen thus far has been impressive and stunning. The train tracks to the ruins were washed out in January when torrential rains led to floods and mud slides. 4000 tourists were evacuated and Machu Picchu was closed for several months, opening finally in early April. Instead of taking the train from Cusco, we were driven to Kilometre 81 in Pisacucho, where we embarked on the hour and a half Vistatrain ride to Aguas Calientes. The route follows the Urubamba River, and Inca terraces and ruins dot both side of the narrow valley. The vegetation changed as we descended into the cloud forest, getting thicker and greener and darker. We saw glimpses of the Inca trail during the early part of the ride. Near Pisacucho, we saw the tents and the hikers and sherpas getting ready for the four day hike to the citadel. We were comfortable in our assigned seats (except that a particularly...

I fell asleep with magnificent images of carved rocks and massive fortresses, in awe of what I had seen our first day in Cusco. I am not sure what I had expected, but I knew that what we did see was incredible, and that there is much more in store for today and tomorrow. There was a large fountain just outside the window of our hotel, which moved tons of water constantly during the night, and functioned as a lullaby. We were all so exhausted after 3 AM wake up calls these last two days, so sleeping in until 7:30 was a treat. We met Edison, our guide for the day, Milagros, our host for the four day tour, and Cesar, our driver for the day. The sun was shining intensely and I tried to figure out if I felt the 11,000 feet altitude, but in truth, it felt no different than Quito at 93000 feet. Sherry had ordered a tank of oxygen, thinking she may need it to adjust to the thin air, but decided it was not necessary. We left Cusco by driving up the side of the valley in the direction of Sacsay...