Machu Picchu

The pictures don´t lie, Machu Picchu was spectacular. The dark green, jungle-covered mountains surronding the sites were magnificent in their own right. The site was not discovered until 1911 when Hiram Bingham, an American anthropologist, met the one indigenous family who lived on the mountaintop. The family still used the Incan terraces to farm, and the family´s son, Pablito, provided Bingham with the very first tour of Machu Picchu, as our tourguide, Jaime, proudly informed us.

We decided not trek the Inca trail, figuring that Machu Picchu was the true attraction and there were plenty of other places to hike at a much lower cost. Between the cab, train, and bus that we had to take at tourist prices, it was still plenty expensive. But can one really go to Peru without seeing Machu Picchu? I think not.

A group of four of us went: Josh and three Germans (Olaf, Peter, and myself), who we had met at Loki Hostel. Josh and I have been thrilled by the diversity of characters that we have come across in our travels. Many have more adventure in their pinkie then I will have in my entire life, and I would consider myself to be moderately adventurous amongst the crowd that I associate with in the US. Josh and I would do very well playing ¨Never have I ever¨ in the Loki Hostels, but staying there for too long would certainly make us go down quicker in the States. In the picture, the four of us ¨gather energy¨ from the astrological device the Incas fashioned to divine signals from the heavens.