Conquering Wayan Picchu!

I came back to Peru and I conquered the mountain. When I was at Machu Picchu the last time I was unable to climb WayanPicchu and knew one day I would be back to climb it, this was my number one goal for this trip. If you're familiar with pictures of Machu Picchu... WayanPicchu is the tall mountain that stands behind the ruins.   We were up at 445am and we were at the main entrance to the ruins at 6am... Started climbing at 7am!!! We actually did a shorter hike first to Huayan Picchu which for me was tons of fun!!! Narrow Incan stairs with a sheer drop on one side and hugging the mountain on the other. SO FUN!!  Getting up to WayanPicchu was tons of fun too... A lot more of the same narrow stone stairs with ropes to help you up. Some stairs were really short with barely enough room for your foot and others came up to my knees.  The steepness and stairs reminded me a bit of the Grouse Grind but the rewards of the views were priceless! It was so amazing to see Machu Picchu from an unobstructed  birds eye view and amazing views of the Andean mountains that surround Machu Picchu.  When we reached the top (in just under an hour and a half) Katie stayed to rest in a more "secure" spot as I went to explore the ruins that are at the top. This involved stairs that were even more narrow and steep. I got some amazing pictures. We had met a few girls from Argentina on the way up and they were happy to be my photographers at the top.  The way down was also fun... It had rained quite hard the night before so the steps were damp and covered in wet leaves so you had to step very carefully. But again for me it was tons of fun.  Once we got down we found a guide for a tour of Machu Picchu... It was great to get some insight into what we were looking at and the culture of this ancient civilization, but we were both quite tired and by the end of the hour long tour we were pretty much done. We spent a total of about 7 hours up in the ruins.  An absolutely amazing day!!!  The train/ bus ride back felt long and we didn't get to our hotel until 1030pm.... Boy did we sleep good!  Today will be a pretty calm day of exploring more of Cusco and checking out some more markets. I don't think our bodies will allow us to do much more than that.  And and the quote of the day yesterday.... While siting at lunch after 7 hours of hiking in the beautiful sun and feeling quite sweaty and gross.... I said to Katie "why do I smell so good?" .... I had just used some of my Satsuma hand sanitizer... I'm sure it was just that, there was no way I was smelling good then! 

Front row seats!

We arrived in Aguas Calientes in style today!  We took our bus to Ollantaytambo (I can actually pronounce that now!) and were waiting for our train.... To our WONDERFUL surprise we had seats on the very front of the train with a great big window in the front and a big dome window on the side!!! It was amazing! We were two very gitty girls. The scenery was absolutely amazing! And we passed by KM 84 where 7 years ago I started the 4 day Inka Trail. It was so neat to see the bridge we crossed at the very beginning of our trek.  Looking at the mountains from the train I can hardly believe that I hiked through those.  I got some amazing scenery pictures!   Aguas Calientes (at the foot of Machu Picchu) is very much just a tourist town, and is under some major renovations in the streets.... You have to watch where you walk or youll fall in a hole. Looks like theyre working on drainage.  Lots of restaurants and souvenir shopping though.  It's an early night for us tonight, the alarm is set for 445 am and we are catching the 530am bus up to Machu Picchu!!!  I feel so incredibly blessed to see these ruins for a second time... While most only dream of seeing them. And at 7 am we will be starting our trek up Wayan Picchu for a birds eye view if the ruins.  We are going to be sore and tired for our train ride back to Cusco tomorrow!!!

Celebrating a King

We woke up this morning in one of my most favorite cities, Cuzco. This city is full of old buildings, cobble stone streets and is the historical centre of  Peru.  Around each corner is something new and exciting. And today did not disappoint!  Today is Palm Sunday, a day of celebrating the day that Jesus arrived in Jerusalem and the people laid palm leaves to honor Him as King.  We are in a Catholic country and they know how to celebrate their religion. As we walked into the Plaza de Armas it was beginning to fill with people, all carrying their palms.  We quickly found our spot on the steps of the cathedral and waited... Then waited some more as the plaza filled. Then the ceremonies started... There were bands and a ceremonial raising of the flags of Peru and Cuzco... And both the Peruvian and Cusqueno anthems were sung.  And there was even a five gun salute! Which thankfully wasn't as loud a we thought it would be. The parade proceeded... This was about 2+ hours of bands, civil servants, churches, army... All to celebrate the arrival of Jesus. It was quite the experience to be squished among the local people an participate in their celebrations.  That was all before 11am!!! We had lunch and then headed out to explore and find some craft markets!  I love looking around craft markets when I travel... I never tire of looking at the same stuff over and over.  On our way back to the hotel we passed a building and I heard some very familiar music... I looked at Katie and said "it's a Christian church!" and she said "wanna go?" I was so excited!!  Walking in and hearing familiar choruses I felt like I was home, it's amazing how God has put such a passion in my heart for the Spanish language and culture. And we got to experience Latin hospitality from our Peruvian brothers and sisters as we were greeted with hugs and kisses.  I was excited for Katie to experience something that has been such a huge part of my life and to also experience how the Latin people worship! They are so full of emotion and love for our God, its incredible. A very real emotional aspect that you dont see in our services at home.  I got really excited when they started to sing "Eres todo Podoroso" (you are all powerful) a song that took me back to my time in Ecuador. I was surprised at how many of the choruses i remembered the words to. The sermon was great... The pastor preached with gusto like only a Latino pastor can. LOVE IT!!! Katie said her favorite part was seeing my perma-grin as I was clearly in my element. For me it was over too quick, for Katie not understanding a 2+ hour service I'm sure it was over just in time. She did really enjoy it. We had dinner on a balcony over looking the Plaza and watching a lightening storm.  We have had all elements if weather... Super hot and sunny, cloudy and super cold, rain, hard rain, SNOW, and now a lightening storm.... I wonder if we'll get some hail? And now I'm typing this post from Starbucks which is about 10 steps from our hotel. Tomorrow we head out on a train to get ready to hike through Machu Picchu on tuesday. So the next post most likely won't be until Tuesday night... And I'm determined that my second trip to Machu Picchu will not include a sprained ankle! Hope everyone at home is doing well, we will see you in just a few days now!