Today Cammie and I made it to Machu Picchu- the ultimate travelers destination in Peru. We only had one small fiasco on the way up; when we arrived at the bus station we found out that our travel agency had not actually gotten us entrance tickets into Machu Picchu, despite it being on our receipt (thank goodnesss). Our guide said she did not have the money to cover the tickets and that the only solution was for us to buy the tickets and try to get reimbursed, then she got on the bus up to M.P. Luckily there was another guide who took care of us (talking on two cell phones most of the time).

Machu Picchu is all it is made out to be. Despite the expense (about US$120) to visit, I was glad we went. It is a difficult place to get to, we had to take a train to Auguas Calientes where we stayed last night and then a bus at 6 AM up to M.P. We took a 2 hour guided tour in Spanish and learned about how everything was used for religious ceremonies (right, dad?). We then climbed up WaynePicchu, the mountain in the background of the typical M.P. photo. I took a side trip down another trial and immediately was alone, all the tourists tend to stay on the beaten track. The top of Waynepicchu was drastic: these mountains are unforgiving and steeper than anything I have seen in the states.

After a snack of crackers and peanut butter and climbing back down we wandered into some lesser visited parts of the ruins (kind of sketchy because the cliffs were right there with us) and lay on a rock looking out on M.P. and simply enjoying being there and just being without chasing around to the famous temples.

Now we are back in Cusco and have tickets for an overnight bus to Ica tomorrow!