After a couple days of John being under the weather, we finally made it up to Machu Picchu. The setting of this amazing place is what really turns a good archeological site into an astounding one. Located up on a ridge 1500 feet above the River Urubamba and surrounded by towering mountains, you really couldn´t get a more grand setting. We spent the day seeking out the quiet corners of the ruins, where we could escape the crowds and enjoy the views. It was an easy, slow-paced, wonderful way experience Machu Picchu. Not to mention awesome weather.
Though John was out of the count the last couple of days, I´ve used that time to my advantage and gotten to do some great birding and hiking around the Machu Picchu area. Yesterday I went up Montaña Putukusi, a peak across the river from Machu Picchu. It was a seriously vertical hike, and included a long section of ladders attached to the cliffs. The views were great. The birding the last few days has probably added up to over 100 species -- lots of tanagers, hummingbirds, and other good stuff. Even a few new ones!
We´re heading back to Cuzco tomorrow (finally). We´re going to try different routes, since John´s stomach still isn´t quite up to the more arduous route we were both interested in. While he heads back by train to Ollantaytambo, then by bus to Cuzco, I´ll walk downriver along the train tracks to the hydroelectric plant a couple hours down stream, then use various collectivo taxis and buses to get around the Machu Picchu area. The route goes over Abra de Malaga pass (4800m), which should gives some stunning views of subglacial habitat and polylepis forest. Luckily, I think we will end up going over a few more passes like this later in the the trip, so John will get to experience it, as well. For John, going over a high, extremely curvy road doesn´t sound too good.....
Once again, I´ll add captions to these photos when we get to a place that doesn´t have weird computers. =)
-Matt!
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