Thankfully it was dark on the ride up the mountain. I felt the switchbacks as we traveled up. We later saw them from above and it looked like a snake (yes, I was sick as we came down the mountain). We got in line to get inside, realized it was our last opportunity to use the bathroom and paid 1 sol each & headed on in.
Every bit as breath taking as I had hoped. My first instinct was that it looked everything like it did in pictures (which saddened me as I generally try NOT to see photos ahead of time). But then I looked around & saw the mountains. AND I WAS AMAZED. I realized I was here. Chris and I were together seeing MP with our own eyes. Something that I had longer talked about & dreamed of was before my eyes. I was actually here, seeing a wonder of the world. Our purpose in traveling to South America was before my eyes. And for as much as I had seen photos, nothing compares to taking in the vastness with your own eyes.
To think of the hands that built the structures. The knowledge that allowed for rock to be placed on top of rock. To see that MP is in the side of a mountain-yet in a valley. And then the sun rose. And we walked around and from each corner I saw MP different from before. I was in awe at every moment.
We met a nice 1st grade teacher who took some awesome pics for us & taught us about the "beauty shot" which works!! (Think taking a shot from a higher angle.) These photos are on the camera, hence no beauty shots to upload on the blog. But here are the rays from the incredible sunrise.
And then we proceeded to take a hike out to the Sungate. Guide book said 45 minutes & since we thought we were 1/2 way there, we decided to go for it. (Had I known where we were going, I would not have gone.) the Sungate is the classic view of MP. It is how Hiram Bingham "rediscovered" MP in 1911. As we trekked, off came the layers and we invented new ways if attaching our clothing to our bags. Regardless of the 63 degrees, in the sun, hiking uphill & doing stairs-we were hot. We stopped many times to catch our breath & rest our legs. We thought we'd arrived as we came to a pile of ruins-we were only half way. Towards the end of the hike, glorious cool breezes came off the mountains. And the Sungate was cool due to these breezes. And from afar, we could see MP in all her glory, just as she was introduced to the Western world. We could see the river, the mountains, the lower terraces and snow-capped mountains.
We had a couple take our picture who told us the key to a good marriage was communication. We met a girl from our same city in Texas. We saw hikers coming off the Inca trail (and you could tell who they were in MP the rest of the morning). We saw a guy hike all the way to the Sungate in flip flops & another guy run the entire way. Both impressive feats. We met some Argentines who thought "second place was respectable in World Cup." Good perspective.
As we headed back to MP and encouraged those along the way that they were almost there & the sight was worth the trek (and the breeze). By the time we came down off the trail it was 11:00 and the tourist groups had arrived. It was incredible busy. But we were determined.
We headed to through the main gate (which we did not realize was such until the next day) & into the agriculture section. I overheard a guide talk about the trade that would have occurred in MP & that animals were possibly housed in the "stalls." (The places with windows upper left in the photo below.)
We continued on, dodging tour groups, getting stuck behind them & trying to snap photos. We made it through the temple zone-which resembled all the other temples we'd seen. The interesting fact is the visually different quality in stone, fit of the rocks, & lack of motar used in temples.
And over to Intihuatana (hitching post of the sun). This hitching post is the sole survivor from the Spanish who destroyed them elsewhere, knowing their religious significance. There is a guard who stands by this giant rock making sure no one touched it & obtains the sacred energy contained in it. We did not try to touch it. I was trying to pass the tour group who all held their hands out over it & took pictures (giving their guide a heart attack as he repeated not up touch it).
And then we'd had enough. People everywhere. We'd heard Mondays are busy days & with the day before being World Cup finals-(Brazilians we knew who were backpacking planned nothing for Sunday in hopes of watching their team in the final) the place was packed. So much so that we decided to take a break. We needed to refill on water & our legs were letting us know just how out of shape we were.
On the way out we met some llamas. Most tourists chased the llamas for photos. We were really on a mission to exit. But did stop to take photos & then to use the MP stamp for our passports (I had pages added & now have 48 extra pages & a job without travel. I got space.)
And then we paid $12 for much needed 4 bottles of water. (And had our first kerffufle of travel.) Chris discovered we could pay 5 soles and check our coats. Score! We entered MP lighter.
We entered through the lower terraces & explored the storage huts. We opted for the less stair option at this point. And as we entered & saw MP again-we both stopped, amazed. As though we were looking at her for the first time. We were looking up the terraces. The terraces are my favorite because of the contrast between the grey rocks & the green grass growing on top.
We decided to head to the "other side" of MP & explore the "upper urban" area. There is a beautiful green expanse on the middle of MP known as the Main Plaza. We explored the lower section in the afternoon. Based on the size of rock & construction, this was where common folk lived (also called the industrial district). It was not until our 2nd day that guards enforced directional rules. This afternoon of exploring was counter directional. The industrial area
Since a picture is worth 1000 words (and I had two pisco sours after the 10 hours hiking), I'll leave you with this.
Oh. And I got scared by a llama. (Chris wanted you to know. )
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