What we all really come to Cusco for... Machu Picchu.

Like much of this trip has and will continue to consist of, Monday morning involved a pre-anybody's desired waking time, but as always, for a very good reason. A 7:30 am train was calling our names to take us to Aguas Calientes, the small, touristically consumed hence miserable city at the base of the mountain upon which Machu Picchu sits. The ride was decently enjoyable, taking us through little valleys and below mountains of the Andes for about three hours. PeruRail staff?? Incredibly helpful and entertaining. Having booked our train tickets at separate times, Sara and Rachel ended up with an earlier return than I, so we went a little earlier to investigate changing tickets. Turns out that their tickets were not only in need of a time change but a date change as well, them being booked for July 1 rather than June 1. Although this could have been disatrous in other places, one particular PeruRail employee named Jorge took our plight as his personal mission for the morning. After being escorted around the train station and into three seats next to each (which we clearly did not have), he and two other employees pleasantly stuck on us like glue, chatting us up, practicing their English now and then and even making sure that we were all together on the way back. We even got a free coffee or two out of what at first seemed to be a big mess. Ah, the glory of being three young girls in Latin America.

Traveling aside, I'll cut to the chase. Once in Aguas Calientes, we got our bus tickets, grabbed some food (including a Peruvian variety of Lays potato chips: Andina), and made our way up the mountiain. After a winding half an hour ride, we avoided the solicitations for tour guides and booked our way to the gate entrance. We made our way through an old path, went through a little passage way, came through an opening and then all at once it was there: Machu Picchu in all of its ridiculous, undescribable glory. Because I can't possibly do it justice, I won't go into much detail. It's an ancient Incan city that is on top of a mountain surrounded by breathtaking views of the Andes... Google Image and Flickr this place to get more of a taste, but nothing but being up top that mountain looking down on the place will be able to portray its crazy beauty and mad architectural skills. Whether we were wandering through the ruins of ancient buildings and plazas or sitting at the edge of a cliff staring into the fog capped Andes, it was always almost too much to take in. Amazing.

As a leaving note, seeing Machu Picchu makes me realize how many other incredible places are out there for me to see in Peru, that only visiting a couple of cities and sites just doesn't cut it. Trains through the tops of the Andes, Lake Titicaca, the Peruvian Amazon, the Nazca Lines, beatiful cities like Arequipa... a week and a half and two stops in Peru absolutely did not cut it. I'll need to come back, my calendar, budget, and walking shoes better prepared.