trekking machupicchu

laurel says:

part of this trip is about pushing yourself to try things you normally would not at home.  this was exemplified to perfection by our trek to machu picchu.  in the usa, emil could not promise me enough lv handbags to go on a multiday hike that involved camping.  in the andes, i was the first to sign up.  trekking at 14,000 feet above sea level is no easy feat.  especially in tennis shoes.  our trek took us over 3 mountain passes.  the elevation was so intense that our guide carried oxygen for us, though we never used it.  on our first day, we left shortly after sunrise at 7am and did not arrive at our camp site until nearly sundown at 6pm.  we thought we were heroes just for making it, but the real champions were our porters who made the trek faster then us while carrying huge 50-pound bags filled with all our belongings, camping supplies and food...and had time to set up our tents and whip up a 3 course meal by the time we arrived.  very impressive.

camping in an ancient inca site in the middle of the andes is an enchanting experience and a fitting way to get to machu picchu given that inca messengers used to travel these vary trails to relay information between machu picchu and the capital of the inca empire, cuzco in the 1400's. 

on day 3, we arrived to magical machu picchu.  i don’t think either of us was prepared for the sheer magnitude and jaw dropping beauty of the lost city of the incas.  we were blessed with a sunny day during the normally wet rainy season.  we arrived at sunrise, before the hordes of tourist busses take over, and spent the next 6 hours exploring the ancient inca ruins and hiking the infamous inca trail.  it was an almost out of body experience to see such an incredibly beautiful and sophisticated structure, in nearly perfect condition 700 years after its construction.  one cannot help but wonder why -and how- the incas built such a place.  since the incas did not keep written records and the culture was completely destroyed by spanish conquistadors, unfortunately there are more questions than there are answers.  perhaps that is part of the allure of machu picchu, that its very existence is a mystery that even the marvels of modern science cannot unlock. 

the trek begins

smiling at mile 1

tempted to ride the llama

please??

dark & stormy

14,107 feet above sea level

at last

postcard?

the lost city of the incas

the incas mastered the art of terrace farming

a tree grows in machu picchu

our ride home, thankfully

emil says:

recently added to the list of ‘wonders of the world’, and for good reason, machu picchu is a tremendous sight to see.  the astounding craftsmanship, enormous scale, and remote mountain location (went "undiscovered" till 1911) make this inca ruin truly breathtaking.  it takes some grit getting here and despite the fact that trains and buses are available for portions, or the entire trip, the location itself makes for some serious lung smacking pain in order to take in all of machu picchu. for this reason it was impressive to see the 80+ year olds hiking and fighting their way all over machu picchu.  also laurel absolutely crushed this hike. impressive. for what its worth i think the 4 day inca trail hike would make for a sensational group birthday party or some sort of reunion...a great workout coupled with a real sense of accomplishment when reaching this fabulous final destination.  one cannot say enough about the sense of awe one has upon arriving at machu picchu. the amount of effort and the amount of time put in to building something of this scale is beyond my comprehension.  on the flip side:  this inca empire was essentially eradicated by a few guys on horseback and some gunpowder. yes, you guys made some amazing stone structures and you had some tremendous early understanding of the cosmos/astronomy. but it wasn’t enough to hold off the conquistadors. maybe we cannot replicate the inca’s stone craftsmanship but we can make a carbon footprint free skyscraper with flexible solar panels for windows.  all i am saying, since i don’t want to sound ignorant, is that i want to celebrate how far we have come as a civilization as well as celebrating ancient ones.  that said machu picchu is a must visit.