Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu was spectacular. We took the bus down to Cusco and then to a town called Ollantaytambo. It was a very busy little town, and I can't believe our bus fit through those tiny streets. It was so narrow that the people walking on the street had to practically press themselves against the walls of the buildings to avoid getting hit by the bus. Once there, we took a train to Machu Picchu. The ride was a lot of fun; it was neat to watch the landscape change. We passed one mountain that had a beautiful glacier on it. Our elevation was dropping and the land was getting greener as we got closer to Machu Picchu. I didn't realize that there is an actual town called Machu Picchu, its not just the ruins. Silly me. Anyway, once we got there, we found our hotel, which was through a labrynth of a market, and had a little time to freshen up before going out to lunch. We were going to separate, but decided instead to all eat at the same place. It was a lot of fun, and there was a live band performing Peruvian music. If it hadn't been Sunday, I would have bought a cd from them. Also, I'd already spent most of my money on the ladies' market in Salkantay. The food was alright, better than some, but it wasn't exactly filling. I did try it, though. This village was beautiful. It is at the base of several sheer, steep, jagged mountains that are covered in foilage. I have never seen mountains like that before. They were incredible. There is a river that flows right through the middle of town (and consequently gets piped directly into most of the homes and businesses). After lunch, we went back to the hotel for a bit before heading out to go to church. It was just down the way a bit from where we were staying, so we walked, like we did when we went almost everywhere. This little church building was the most humble meeting house I have ever seen. When I say humble, I mean VERY humble. The floors, walls, and ceiling were plain, white-washed cement, there were bugs and cobwebs in the wooden windowsills, and the rooms were seperated by wood walls so thin even I could punch a hole through them. It didn't seem to matter, though. I enjoyed church there even more than I enjoy it at home. The spirit in that hodunk little building was just as strong or stronger than any new, clean, air conditioned chapel in Kaysville. We sang all the hymns in Spanish, and ended up having about five hours of church instead of three. We did priesthood and relief society, had the sacrement, sunday school and all that, but we just didn't really feel like leaving. Also, the missionaries had stopped by and said they'd be having a few members and investigators coming by for their sacrement meeting, so we hung around for a bit to meet them, but they ended up being very late, and I was feeling pretty darn sick and very tired, so I went back to the hotel and went to bed before they got there. The next day was incredible. We took the bus up to the ruins, and I am lucky to be alive. Remember how I talked about the sheer mountains? Steeper than any mountains I've ever seen? Well, we took a bus up the side of one of those mountains. The road was narrow, and if you were going uphill, the only thing between you and the plummet to the bottom of the valley was a few blades of grass and a bush or two. That is, when there was another bus coming downhill. Otherwise, they stayed right in the middle of the road. I mentioned to Amberly, who I was sitting by, that if we rolled, we wouldn't stop til the very bottom, which by now was hard to see in the dim morning light. She didn't appreciate that comment very much. When we finally got to the top and the danger of falling to our deaths was behind us (for now), we walked straight to the trailhead for the hike up Wayna Picchu, a mountain that looks over the entire site. It wasn't a really big mountain, so distance wise, it was a short hike. However, it was ridiculously steep and was almost entirely stairs, most of which were up to my knees. Asthma combined with elevation combined with still being pretty sick made it pretty hard to breathe. It was worth every second, though. The view was spectacular. It looked out over all of Machu Picchu and the surrounding landscape. We could see several waterfalls from up there, and got to explore some ruins that had been built around the same time as Machu Picchu. The history behind that place, at least what I learned of it while I was there, was fascinating. I'd slaughter it if I tried to retell it, so I recommend looking it up. We spent some time up on top, took some pictures, rested, took more pictures, then started the journey down, which was just as difficult as the way up. They only let four hundred people on the trail a day, if I remember right, so by the time we were down, they had already started turning people away, telling them they already reached their limit. Once down, we spent a while exploring the ruins. That place is absolutely remarkable! Its an entire city, plopped on the top of one of these ridiculously steep mountains. They say that if the groomers quit the upkeep on the place, it would be reclaimed by the jungle within the year. It was entirely covered by the forest when it was discovered. It's discovery is a really interesting story also. Again, look it up, I'd ruin it if I tried telling it. Anyway, I loved walking around there, despite the steps. It was beautiful and provoked my imagination like nothing else. I wanted to know what life was like up there, how they lived and socialized and worked. Even the people we were working with in the village live very primitive lives and their buildings, hundreds and hundreds of years later, weren't as intricate and sturdy as these ancient ruins. The week we were there, it had been named on of the wonders of the world. It was a title well earned.