Dy 9: Machu Picchu

Today Juan Carlos met me at the hotel and we drove to the train station in Ollantaytambo.  We took Peru Rail up to Aquas Calientes.

The cars were really nice with a domed roof so you could see up as well as out.  This is Juan Carlos, guide extraordinaire.

We have seen Veronica every day since the sacred valley.  She has a massive glacier on her.

The train ride followed the Urubamba  River most of the way.  It was so beautiful

We arrived in Aquas Calientes and the took a bus up to Machu Picchu.

Here is the magnificent Machu Picchu.  I took tons of photos and none of them do it justice.  What a magical place.

We decided to wait until tomorrow to go down to the site.  Instead we hiked (up hill) to the Inca Bridge.  It's a mile and half and was quite a work out for me.  I had to stop pretty often on the way up to catch my breath, but it was worth it.

Here is a not very good photo of the bridge. The steps are on the right side of the photos.  They are super narrow and traverse the entire cliff.

The cliff twas so beautiful--all kinds of minerals in these rocks.  This group of bromeliads were growing on the cliff.

We also found  wild orchids.

Hasta mañana!