I CHOOSE YOU MACHU PICCHU

Here's the whole story of our experience at Machu Picchu: enjoy!

We stayed for two nights in Ollantaytambo and it was my favorite place so far. It's small, cute and has running water all throughout the cobblestone streets. And to make it even better, there was a Cultural Celebration going on in the main square--FOR TWO WHOLE DAYS we heard music, saw traditional dancing and even got woken up by fireworks in the middle of the night. It was crazy. It seemed like the entire town participated in the show because they had SO many people march through the square, each in different clothes and costumes. I personally loved the young kids dancing, there's just something about children honoring the traditions of their culture that is so sweet!

our view from our hostel. WOW was all I could think as I brushed my teeth every night

After Ollantaytambo we stayed in Aguas Calientes for a night, just to be the first ones up the mountain in Machu Picchu on Friday morning. (bad decision in rainy season I'll tell you right now) So we woke up at 4:25 AM and then hiked our way up to the entrance gate.

--Ok, so this hike was actually really cool. So there are buses that take people up to the entrance of Machu Picchu but there is also a free walk (hike straight uphill) to the entrance too! Mike and I love saving money and also our friends told us it made the experience of getting up to the ancient city more personal because you feel like you earned it after that hike up. So that's why we hiked up. Anyway back to our experience!

We got up to the gate entrance and were beginning to get cold (our sweat was drying and making us shiver). This was bad because it was raining and very cold because of the mist. But we didn't care that we were cold--we were in Machu Picchu!! WHOO HOO!!---that attitude lasted about 30 minutes haha.








For the first hour we walked around the ruins and listened in on some tour guides. The mist was so thick noone could see more than 10 feet any direction so this made seeing the ruin difficult. It began pouring when we got close to the Sacred Rock site so we huddled under some huts and waited out the rain. We were SO cold at this point-like freezing. Mike's jacked was soaked through making him shiver, plus he had shorts on. And my poncho kept me warm over my jacked but my leggings were just not thick enough to keep the cold out. We were miserable and so sad. We couldn't see any ruins, or the majestic mountains. The negativity and sadness settled in and I think I cried a little bit. We wished we were still in our warm beds and that we had not come so dang early in the morning. The sun wasn't even up yet so the mist wasn't going anywhere.

--This is where we want to say DON'T GO SO EARLY DURING RAINY SEASON! Seriously the better plan would have been to stay all morning in Aguas Calientes and relax, THEN go to Machu Picchu at like 12PM to have a sunny, clear day without the rain or cold. But the bugs did come out around 2PM when we were leaving so that's something to look out for.


We sat in the hut for an hour watching the downpour. Then we decided we had to move in order to get warm again. We hiked up to the Sun Gate and walked along the path to see the Inca Bridge-a secret bridge on the other side of the mountain where the Inca army could enter and leave-so cool! We warmed up and felt a little better.





Then--out of nowhere-the sun came out and shined down on us. The mists parted and Machu Picchu opened up before us. It was clear, beautiful and just gorgeous! The mists still swam around the mountains but it made for the most amazing photos! It felt as though we were in a floating city way up in the sky. Mike and I went through the entire city again just to see it all in it's glory. We hung out with llamas, ate lunch on a garden terrace and got some great video shots. We were smiling and laughing and dancing around the city. It was so much fun and so beautiful.

is this not the most incredible shot?? Mike was so brave.

There was such a Spirit to be felt there at Machu Picchu. It is mind blowing to me that we are allowed to run around and touch these ancient ruin(for a price but it's so worth it) I just can't believe that I got to stand in the same place where an Inca priest or king made a speech to his people. I got to touch the same stone sundial that astronomers used to plot the time. I got to look through the same window and see the same mountains that kids, mothers and families saw.

It just overwhelms me that people from all over the world are allowed to visit this ancient archaeological site! I feel so lucky and blessed to have been able to visit this sacred site twice in my lifetime. I'm so happy that Mike got to experience the awe of Machu Picchu. It was an unforgettable experience and I'm so glad we did it!