After an arduous 12 km trek, 700 meters up (but we walked úp´more than 700 meters as there were many, many steps up and down..) we finally passed though the ´Sun Gate´(the Inca trail entrance) to capture our first (well deserved) glimpse of Machu Picchu... the most well preserved Inca city of of south America. It sounds corny but it really was a magical experience - the afternoon sun was streaming through the clouds casting it´s rays onto the ancient sight (the sun gate is some distance away looking down on MP).
The Incas (well only the king was Inca) were amazing considering that they were only around for a century. They were fierce warriors who (similar to the romans) conquered much land in their effort to dominate. Their engineering abilities were incredible which has ensured the longevity of their buildings even in a earthquake zone. unfortunately many of the buildings were destroyed by the Spanish from 1532... enough of the history lesson..
the vista train ride back to Cuzco was quite bizarre to say the least. the carriage hosts and cleaner participated in a fashion parade of the latest designs in alpaca wear. this was all to the tunes of Áre you going to San Francisco, Money for Nothing, Careless Whispers and James Blunts.. You´re Beautiful!!! believe it or not, people bought the clothing from around usd250..
We will bore you all with our photos when we get home (or as soon as we are able to upload photos to this site) ... Be afraid, be very afraid... we are already planning a slide night!!
