Machu Picchu is in the middle of nowhere. You think the fact that it is often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas" would of been the first clue to me that this was not gonna be a little jaunt in the park. This historic and hidden ruin is amazing just based on location alone. It is hidden among the mystifying Andes in a subtropical rainforest. Just being there is mind blowing, then walking around the ruins and imagining that this was an Incan City, is something that sends shivers down your spine. Pictures fail to capture the essence of Machu Picchu, in pictures it looks like puny piles of stone. It's magic cannot really be explained it has to be felt. The ruins are surrounded by fog and jungle and mountains, and the weather is constantly shifting between 10 different climates. It is as if Machu Picchu is the only place in the world that exists, when you are there nothing else matters, you become completely absorbed. Being there surrounded by only mountains and greenery you feel the power of the Inca civilization. Seeing these ruins you realize the importance of Machu Picchu and this Inca world that existed before the Spanish arrived. You also find yourself feeling immensely priviledged to be there and grateful that the Spanish never found this city or else it would be a Cathedral instead of this beautiful archeological haven. When traveling I always seem to take deep pleasure in hearing the parts of history where the Colonial powers were out smarted and kept from finding things as great as Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is gravely important to the people of Peru because it symbolizes their power and will keep the Indigenous history alive for generations to come. Machu Picchu it is a great source of pride and it is a place that despite all the tourism still has mysticism and power.
So being a Gringa like myself I found out the hard way that getting to Machu Picchu is no joke. And I found that the more expensive the trek the harder it is. We paid $155 American dollars for a 3 day two night "trek" which included a day of biking, some busing and some trekking. The real trek the "Inka Trail" is 5 days 4 nights of all trekking and this is the real deal you can trek just like a real Inca for about $400 American. The tour agencies in Peru are absolutely genius because really you are paying them to walk your lazy gringo butt to Machu Picchu and feel like a real Inca. But you are not a real Inca my friend and the real Incas wore sandal, not hiking boots and did not use 200 dollar walking sticks. So the Inca trail cool as it may be, does not make you an honorary Inca but a sucker. A fit sucker but in my opinion still a sucker.
So I did the sissy budget trek which still had me exhausted, and huffing and puffing. We started with a 5 hour bike ride down the treacherous mountains passes of the Andes. We started at the top of some ridges where a glacier was visible higher up in the mountains and then ended in the sub-tropical jungle regions. I rode like a granny down the mountain passes holding the hand brakes so tight I bruised my hands. Every one finished an hour before I got down and poor Rooz had to listen to me cursing and praying to God at every steep turn. I would not have been quite so chicken if our tour guide had not told us how every years tourists die on this road, bike riding. He smugly told us how one tourist was riding too fast and "accidentally slid under the wheels of a semi-truck and smashed her brain under the tire." So I tightened my helmet and put on the brakes for 5 hours. After the hours of praying to any God that would listen, and bitching to myself, we got in a car and drove with two old ladies, some mangoes and one really stinky dude riding in the back for 2 hours.
The next day we rode in a bus for 2 hours and then walked for about 5 hours walking along the railroad tracks to Aguas Calientes the tourist town of Machu Picchu. Our "guide" who spoke zero English was at the back of the line slowly trekking along.
The next day at 330 am we got up and headed to Machu Picchu for the real trekking. At Machu Picchu you can take a 14 dollar bus or climb stone steps for an hour at 4 in the morning. I am proud to say that I did not wuss out but I climbed those torturous steps because I am a cheap ass. But nothing felt better than getting up those horrid steps at 5 am and being the 28th person in line at Machu Picchu.
So I am a sissy, I have no qualms about admitting it. But I saw Machu Picchu and climbed the Huayna Picchu Mountain and took in the most amazing views of the "Lost City" and then I walked down the 13 sets of stairs like a champ. My name is Michael O'Hara, I am a big sissy, but I am a big sissy who has been to Machu Picchu.
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