Machu Picchu

When I was a little girl, my mom read me a book called The Secret of the Andes. It was about a young Incan boy who lived in the Andes in Peru and he gave insight into the life of the Incan culture, the mountains, the Sacred Valley and the city of Cuzco. I remember loving the story of Cusi and ever since I was 9 years old, I wanted to go on the adventures he had as my mom read to me. It was one of my dreams to see the Incan city of Cuzco and to venture up the mountains through the Sacred Valley to the tops of the mountains to see the Sacred Incan city of Machu Picchu. During that time of my life, I loved reading about Indian culture and knowing more about the Incans.

13 years later, I was standing on the mountain top of the Andes in Peru overlooking the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. Machu Picchu in reality. It took my breath away. It wasn’t just a place to go sight seeing. There is something about the city that impacted me emotionally, physically and spiritually. I am a mountain girl at heart; I had a deep appreciation for the incredible beauty of the Andes. They were majestic and I felt so small standing among them. I woke up at 4:00am with my friends to hike the mountain to Machu Picchu to see the sunrise. It was a tough hike. It was a really steep staircase going straight up the side of the mountain through a jungle. It was beautiful. Although, very humid. I’ve never seen mountains so green.

We reached the Sun Gate temple just as the sun rose over the tall mountains. From where we sat we were above Machu Picchu and we watched the sun illuminate the ancient city below. It was the best sunrise I’ve ever experienced. I sat in awe of the beauty that surrounded me.

I spent the rest of my day walking through the city. It was incredible. We were able to explore every inch of it, and I took full advantage of that. I was climbing in, out and over everything. I layed in the grass near the llamas grazing, and just absorbed it like a sponge. We spent a total of 12 hours there, but I could’ve stayed much longer.

There is so little known about the Incans. They didn’t have a written language or any way to keep records. Its speculated they did that on purpose because they held life so sacred, they didn’t want to share it with anyone besides their own people. So we sat in awe looking over the city and wondering how they accomplished building it so perfectly. I have deep respect for the Inca.

As we began our trek back down the mountain path, I looked back at the sight and knew I would remember that day forever.

Cuzco was also an incredible part of the adventure. The historic part of the city is so beautiful. I loved exploring the streets, plazas and shops. It was so fun bargaining with all the women for small little treasures I’ll be taking home. The feeling of the city, the architecture, the cobble stone streets, Spanish cathedrals and statues of the Inca it was all magical. I fell in love with Cuzco.

And yes, the hills sing and there was definitely a waterslide. I know you all were asking the question.

I think my favorite part of Cuzco was stumbling upon the Cocoa Bean museum/Chocolate Factory. Good chocolate is really really hard to find in Peru, so this was literally the best discovery ever! I was able to sample everything, grind my own cocoa beans from the pod, and watch them make the chocolate from the beans right in front of me! They package it up right there and sell it in a little store. Needless to say I spend WAY too much money on chocolate. Surprised?

I also spent my Independence Day in Cuzco. It was 39 degrees that night. So it was a very unique experience to be cuddled up in my Alpaca sweater and two blankets drinking hot chocolate while every one back home was probably dying of heat, eating watermelon and popsicles while watching fireworks. Haha  

We spent a total of 5 days on vacation. Tuesday we flew to Cuzco, Wednesday we took a bus through the Sacred Valley and train to Aguas Calientes where we stayed one night, Thursday we hiked up to Machu Picchu for the entire day and stayed another night in Aguas Calientes, then we took the train back to Cuzco.  Saturday we flew back to Piura to continue our service projects for another two weeks. My trip is now halfway over.

It was a wonderful vacation though, I was able to accomplish a few dreams. I’ve got the travel bug now! I’m determined to see a lot more of the world. It’s like a big huge play ground I want to explore.