...indeed it was Alpaca cheese

6.18.2008

Wednesday

Machu Picchu. The day is finally here. We got up at 4:30 and we are to breakfast by 4:55am. For breakfast we had typical Peruvian bread; a thin, round loaf, slightly sweet. We also had marmalade and some cut up pineapple and papaya. I realize on this particular morning I don’t much care for Papaya. The initial taste is good, but it is immediately followed by an intense bitter taste. We also tried a pepino, which is not actually a cucumber as the Spanish translation might lead you to believe. It’s actually a type of melon, but very bland in taste. We grabbed our avocado and cheese sandwich lunches and hurried to the busses that make the trek to Machu Picchu. There were a surprising amount of people in line at 5:30am, but with the 20 busses go up, everyone who wanted to go up then, could.

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The bus ride was mostly in the dark, with light breaking atop the mountains. My anticipation rose the higher we got. Ok, we were (or at least I was) distracted by the Australian surfers in front of us. We arrived at Machu Picchu at 5.45 but the park didn’t open until 6am. It began to get lighter and lighter, and we began to worry we would miss sunrise. As the gates opened, we all rushed to the left (as recommended in the book) and up, up, up. I thought I might die climbing climbing! We reached the top and there it was. A mystical city of ruins. Rows and rows of platforms, houses, stone walls and, of course, Machu Picchu itself. We climbed to the top of the hillside opposite the city and found a pack of llamas with babies too! Presumably they’re they to keep up the lush green grass –they all had tags in their ears. About 7:30 the sun broke over the mountains and stuck the top of Machu Picchu. It was an indescribably sight and am quite certain that no photo could capture the serenity and pure awesomeness. Since we got up to Machu Picchu so early we had about three hours of near-alone time. It was quiet and grand and a feeling of being on the edge of the world.

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We began our decent to explore the ruins. We began to explore aisle by aisle the walls, statues, houses, and courtyards. Since we had decided not to get a tour, we snuck into other tours every so often to help us in our interpretations of what we were looking at. After exploring for about six hours, and after we were utterly exhausted, we headed back down to Aguas Calientes. (Short story about M.P. I know, but the photos can show you a bit more…)

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After returning , we decided to stop for a cheese empanada before heading up to the terminals banos – bath terminals. They are supposed to be the very reason for the name of the town Aguas Calientes, the hot springs. The guidebook had described them as mucky, unhygienic, and to some downright disgusting. BUT, we decided to try it out anyway. For the experience. The emapnadas had the same salty, rich, heavy cheese we had had several times before. I finally asked the friendly girl (who had a pet parrot who kept chewing at my backpack) what animal the cheese comes from. Earlier I had bet Jill the cheese came from Alpaca, since it seemed everything else here came from Alpaca. I WAS RIGHT! Yes, indeed it was Alpaca cheese.

Then up to the baths in our swimsuits and flip flops. We rented a towel for s/2 on our way up. As we were about to buy our tickets for s/10, two English girls came down the trail with horrified looks on their faces. They said the baths were “dirty and gross”. We bought the tickets anyway. Perhaps it was because we knew what to expect, but we got right in, despite the green colored water. The bottom was pure sand! Of course the water wouldn’t be clear with a sandy bottom! We stayed in the warm water for about an hour before rinsing. Just for kicks I ran through the icy cold river water before running to the hot water to rinse off.

We walked back down the hill to take showers and go to dinner. For dinner, we ate at a restaurant right on the plaza. Jill had a vegetable soup and I had a margarita pizza, since pizza is so popular in Aguas. I also tried a Pisco Sour. The first I have ever had, but a traditional drink in this region. It was indeed sour and foamy, with cinnamon on top.

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In all, a very good day. After all, we saw a wonder of the world. We climbed the stairs to our room in Gringo Bills to fall into a deep sleep, once again preparing for a 4:30am wake up.