Day 17: Machu Picchu
Hello from Ollataytambo!
Today was an eventful day filled with wonder (the seventh, to be precise!). After our best sleep in weeks and a relaxing hotel breakfast, we were off to a tour of Machu Picchu. We took a bus up through steep switchbacks until we finally glimpsed the majesty of the mountain city nestled on the summit. Our tour guide, a fast-talking character named Ulysses, had us in awe and doubling over in laughter as we navigated through ancient streets and temples.
Ulysses told us several fun facts about the city; for instance, Incas likely didn't build the foundations of the city, they simply inhabited an abandoned settlement and built on top of it. We also learned why the city had been left untouched for centuries: Spanish colonizers denounced traveling to the mountains in order to strengthen a reliance on one 'true' deity; they saw no use in seeking a god other than that of Catholicism.
Our tour ended with a small water blessing from the gods as we descended from Old Mountain. Lunch consisted of Peruvian comfort food with views of a rushing river. Our bellies full, we waddled to the train station. Promptly, we found ourselves upgraded to the first-class cabin and were forced to gorge ourselves further. Our hands were tied!
After the train windows served a two hour feast for our eyes, we were sated at last. Having arrived back in Ollataytambo, the final leg of our journey here in Peru, we settled in a quiet hostel. We hit a local restaurant for a dinner of burgers and chicken sandwiches, and we went out for a DIY ice cream social afterward.
The main tourist-y event of this trip did not disappoint, and we hope our pictures communicate to you the beauty of this historic monument.
¡Hasta pronto!
Jonah y Matt
