Machu Picchu here we come

Yesterday was our first major destination on the trip, Machu Picchu.  Before boarding the Hiram Bingham train (Indiana Jones was based on Bingham, a Yale prof with a wealthy wife that he really didn't mind being away from for very long expeditions to Peru), we stopped at a native village to tour the town and get a feel for how the people in the country live.  It's a very agrarian culture with corn and potatoes being two of their major crops.  They still farm on a very small scale basis since the sloping (think of a tall slide at a water park and you have the general slope of the land) isn't very conducive to farming with machinery.  This is the beginning of their growing season so everything was very green and lush.

The village itself was very small and obviously used to some tourist visits as they had the standard mother and daughter that would pose in their native garb for a few cents (or sols) and the children hawking jewelry and woven goods as we stepped off the bus.  We got a glimpse into a standard one room home home complete with chickens, ducks, dogs and cuy (see previous post for a full explanation of cuy.

Continuing on we took the afore mentioned Hiram Bingham train to Macchu Picchu.  More food, more drink.  At our destination we all boarded buses for the twisty ride up the mountain.  The views were spectacular.  At the top we were divided into small groups to take the tour.  And what a tour it was.

Machu Picchu was an Incan village of massive proportions.  I had read books and looked at pictures but it really didn't prepare me for the real thing.  First, let me say, the weather was perfect for our visit - no rain and clouds mixed with blue sky.  The site is filled with stairs, stairs and more stairs.  The Incans were small people with short legs which meant each stair had to be a big challenge.  If you're interested in learning more about it, I'm certain Wikipedia has a great article. 

We did the whole climb, which was a little challenging but nothing we couldn't handle.  We took the postcard/Christmas card photo at the top then started back down for, you guessed it, more food before boarding the bus back down the mountain.  We were on the same train back to Cusco, but this time the bar car hosted a band and dancing and some impromptu singing by fellow passengers.  Liquor flowed freely which made walking in the narrow gauge rail cars quite a challenge.  More food, more drink, then back to one more bus and our hotel.  A fantastic day that did not disappoint.