Another Bucket List Accomplished - Machu Picchu, Peru

I have looked at pictures of Machu Picchu for years and thought how strange to build a city in the top of a mountain, how strange to invest all that time and energy to stack stones and then just leave, how beautiful the view, and on and on.  It's been one of the bucket list items for a long time and finally this November we were able to walk the ruins, see Cusco and other Inca sites and enjoy the beauty of Peru.

Curt and Melanee traveled with us to Peru.  It was fun having our kids along and taking in the splendor of these ancient sites.  We flew from Salt Lake to LA to Lima, Peru and on to Cusco - a long arduous journey, but well worth it.  In the Lima Airport, we met John and Carol Padilla who are serving an LDS mission in Peru.  They flew in from Trujillo to gather all the medicines, clothes and other supplies we took for them.  They couldn't get away to go to Cusco, so it was just a short visit for us.

In Cusco, we met our tour guide and had a private van and tour of all the sites each day.  The first night in Cusco we enjoyed a Peruvian dinner and show which featured dances, singing, and lots of costumed characters doing various things.

The next day we traveled the hillside and near valleys and mountains of Cusco to numerous Inca ruins.  Along the journey through the Sacred Valley (Cusco is supposed to be the center of the Sacred Valley) the Incas built a city or stopping village every 18-20 miles and all of them are in the mountains.  Cusco is about 13,000 feet above sea level and sometimes we had to stop to breathe.

Llama and apalca everywhere

The next day it was the Sacred City of Ollantaytambo.  Actually, this area is larger than Machu Picchu and this is the city where you catch the train to travel to Aguas Caliente.  We had a beautiful hotel and a wonderful look at the mountains of this rain forest area.

Thursday, Thanksgiving in Utah, we took the 25 minute bus ride to Machu Picchu and spend the entire day walking the ruins of this pristine Inca city.  When we arrived at about 7 a.m., the clouds were surrounding the various mountains and shadowing the city.  As we walked and looked, it was like magic and they disappeared and there in full view was this fantastic city.  The day was perfect (except for the little bugs that bit our legs and left red welts - oh well, the things we must endure) and we walked every part of the ruin.  Curt, Melanee and Theron hiked the original Inca Trail to the Sun Gate; I went part way.  Curt and Theron hiked the Inca Bridge trail.

Machu Picchu early in the morning with Huayna Picchu in background

The next day, Curt and Melanee left early in the morning to hike Huayna Picchu which is the large mountain overlooking the city of Machu Picchu.  They only let so many hikers up a day and you have to have a special ticket which we obtained before leaving Utah.  It was cloudy and misty that day so the view was not as good as it could have been, but what an experience.

Inca Trail to Sun Temple

Trail to the Inca Bridge

We left that afternoon to travel back to Cusco and arrived in Cusco late in the evening.  The next day was Saturday and we rested, went to see a couple of Inca Museums and rested.  We left Sunday to fly to Lima where we met a friend of John and Carol's who took us on a tour of Lima.  We had a long, long layover to catch our plane back to the states.  This is a city of 10 million people and lots of traffic and no freeway system.  It is a very beautiful city and we enjoyed our time seeing the sites and walking some of the streets.

Lima, Peru

Another memory we will always cherish.