Machupicchu

It took us 7 days, countless hours on buses and one 3:30am wakeup call, but we finally made the trek to Machupicchu! Wow, what a view.

Machupiccu, often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", is a pre-Columbian 15th-century Inca site located about 50 miles northwest of Cusco, Peru. Most archaeologists believe that the city was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti. (I'm getting all of this off of Wikipedia right now.)

We really hadn't done our research. I'd had the vague notion that you could just show up in Cusco and easily make your way to the ruins. But we soon learned that to beat the crowds, you wake up before the sun, and take a taxi to a train to a bus- or, if you're us and stubborn, you get off the train and proceed to climb for an hour and a half. (The Inca Trail is closed in the month of February for maintenance, but you can still climb some ancient Inca steps.)

 

The view from the top is indescribable, so I won't try. I think these will say it better anyway. 

Pretty incredible. Other highlights from the trip include: me, running away from the alpacas because they looked at me and Zac, learning what marriage is all about...