The early morning objective for everyone, it seemed, was to climb as quickly as possible to the top to get the best view of the sunrise. Everyone seemed to be doing that. Rob and I, however, made a small detour and enjoyed a little solitude at the lower level for a few minutes before we began our ascent up the steps. At the top, it was rather crowded, and the sun stayed hidden behind the clouds for the most part, but everyone seemed in high spirits nonetheless.
We also enjoyed the views, took many photos, and then headed back to the hotel to meet the other members of our group who were to walk to the so called Sun Gate (this is a name given to this spot by twentieth century explorers; it is unknown what the Inca's might have called this spot). It is also referred to as Inti Punku (Inti is the name of the Sun God).
Our group had two hiking choices for this morning: (1) a challenging hike up to the top of Huayna Picchu or (2) the hike to Inti Punku. Only a few brave souls chose to go to Huayna Picchu; the rest of us chose Inti Punku. Interestingly, both hikes climb roughly the same elevation (1,500 feet), but the difficult hike is steep, while the hike to Inti Punku is much more of a gradual ascent. The Sun Gate was the main entrance to Machu Picchu in Inca times, and it is also the end of what is called the Inca Trail (four day hike to Machu Picchu from down below).
The walk to the Sun Gate / Inti Punku has some steps to climb, especially at the beginning, but we experienced mostly a steady hike uphill and a rocky "paved" surface. Apparently, the stones in the path date back to Inca times (although I'm sure that there has been some repair work done). Rob and I set off on a good pace and left the rest of the group behind. There were two notable sights on the trail (other than the eye-popping views of Machu Picchu every step of the way): a way station and a large rock that we later learned was used as a burial site. The trail was not too crowded, and there were a fair number of people at the end, where the gate is located. Many photographs were taken.
The view at the end is impressive, but actually not as good as that about one third up the trail, in my opinion.
After the remainder of our group arrived, Rob and I began our descent back to the Machu Picchu site. At the end of the walk, entering the site, there were a few llamas one could look at!
When we arrived back at the site, we walked a little way in for our final time here at Machu Picchu -- of course, we were reluctant to leave! Visiting this place has been a great experience, especially thanks to extensive knowledge of our guide Wilbur.
Back at the hotel, we had a "second breakfast" of eggs and other hot food, then headed to the room to clean up. We rode the bus back to Machu Picchu town / pueblo, then we strolled through the town (all tourist oriented shops) to the restaurant called Inka Terra, which sits between the incoming and outgoing railroad tracks. Lunch was excellent, although we weren't very hungry. We each had a starter of mixed vegetables, including fava beans, in a vinaigrette -- delicious! For our main, we each had grilled chicken breast in a not very tasty sauce (avoided) with quinoa risotto (did not eat).
At this point, it was time to begin our return journey to Cusco, beginning with a train ride back to Ollantaytambo. The train ride was interupted by a staff member dressed up as ... something! Rob first noticed that something was "up" when he couldn't get into the bathroom -- someone was inside changing into this costume.
This performance was loud and long, but then was followed up by an even longer fashion show, where the crew members modeled knitwear from the store, Sol. At Ollantaytambo, we were transferred onto two smaller buses that would take us to Cusco. We took a direct highway, not the way we came through the town of Urubamba. Finally, as it was beginning to get dark, we made it to our hotel in the town center, the Belmond Monasterio. This hotel is over the top and surrounds two old cloisters from an actual monastery. We checked into the hotel in an actual church with a gold altar -- oh my! Our room was very luxurious, but not overly large; we did have a small balcony that didn't really have much of a view, though.
Everyone was on their own tonight for dinner, so we went to the restaurant that our guide Victor had recommended called Incanto. Along the way there (even with a map) we made a wrong turn and got a little lost. Incanto features Italian food and is very sophisticated -- could be in any major city. We ordered a malbec from one of our favorite Argentinian wineries called Navarro Correas, but unfortunately it was out of stock. Our waiter recommended another malbec from Argentina, so we ordered that. It was from the Salta region and the Hess family, a Swiss family who also owns a winery in Napa. It was good, but not outstanding. Dinner was delicious. We shared a green salad, then I had fettuccine with tomato sauce and meatballs, while Rob had parpardelle with a beef sauce -- simple dishes yet so good!
After dinner, we walked the few steps from the restaurant to the main square, which was very lively. What was most impressive was the sight of all of the lights in the hillsides surrounding the town center -- like stars in the sky, magical! Unfortunately, this sight did not photograph well. We returned to the hotel with no wrong turns and turned in. We both remarked how Cusco has charms similar to an older European city with its narrow cobbled streets. We stopped in the hotel bar for a nightcap with a very nice bartender/wine steward.
No comments:
Post a Comment