I think one of the reasons it took me so long to edit and post these images (taken last November, eek!) was that I didn't feel like these were that special per se, even though the experience was once in a lifetime. I mean that you can find hundreds or thousands of stunning images of Machu Picchu from countless travel editorials (for example,
these from Cereal Magazine), and I felt these were lacking a sort of Alice factor. Not to mention, they don't quite capture the feeling of really being there. Nonetheless, I felt it was an experience worth sharing.
One thing I didn't expect was just how many people were exploring the grounds all at once. It was practically as crowded as Disney World. Since I haven't seen the inside of a gym since 2009, even just going around the grounds was a bit challenging for me. When Jose (our wonderful travel companion from LAN Airlines) and I tried to "hike" to the Sun Gate, it was a total fail. We made it to the halfway point, stopped in defeat to catch our breaths, and said forget about it. I think that if I didn't have my heavy-ass Canon and 24-70mm around my neck and a frighteningly limited supply of water, I could have possibly made it. From what I remember, there was no way to get water once you were inside the grounds, and to use the bathroom, you had to exit (which was down some pretty grueling stairs) and come back (up those damn stairs again). Can you tell I'm terrible at this outdoorsy travel stuff? Hell, I had to buy sneakers just for this trip!
Part of me definitely regrets not making it up to the Sun Gate. We were also traveling with Pavia Rosati from
Fathom, and she was able to get up there (probably in the amount of time that it took us to make the halfway point). One of the special things about the Sun Gate is that it's the first real spot where hikers doing the full Inca trail (which takes four days) can spot the ruins. I can only imagine what that must feel like after the long hike. I think Pavia also went on the Inca Bridge – apparently it's a dangerous enough attraction that you need to sign in and out (I guess so they know you made it out alive??).
Some day it would be great to get back there (I can only hope I'm in better shape then) and do all the hikes, especially the one up
Wayna Picchu!