This morning three of us left the hotel at 8:00 with Freddy to go back up to Machupicchu. The other five left at 7:00 with another guide because their hike would take longer. I had already done the Sungate hike in 2008, and I wanted to see more of the ruins. The third option had cliffs, so I easily passed up that opportunity. Paul, Susan, Freddy, and I boarded the bus to ride the winding road up to the ruins.
Freddy knows so much about the Incas and the ruins that he is like a walking encyclopedia on the subject. He guided us through another part of the ruins that we hadn’t covered yesterday. I had brought Cha-Cha-Cha along because she wanted to be photographed there. Freddy became her official photographer.
There are some workers on ladders taking off certain species of lichen off the walls. It is a slow process because they are using wooden picks and toothbrushes to do the job. They are only earning $7 a day!
We were lucky that it was sunny and the temperature was very pleasant both days. The other group finished their hike at the same time as we did. They had more steps to walk down, though, so we took the bus down to town before they did. We met at the restaurant and had a wonderful lunch which was more like a dinner. I had soup, grilled chicken, potatoes, vegetables, and fruit.
We then walked to the train station and boarded the train. I enjoyed the 1 1/2 hour ride back. Our bus driver was waiting for us. We stopped along the way for a restroom break at a small building were the ladies were selling sweaters and hats in front. I found a beautiful alpaca sweater for $20! It isn’t as good quality as the handmade one I got near Cusco, but I liked the red color and the designs on it….and the price was right 🙂
There was a beautiful huge full moon at sunset that the bus driver stopped so we could get pictures. When we got back to the hotel, we all had dinner next door to the hotel where Paul and I had eaten two nights before. I tried some typical Peruvian food: Pisco sours, peppers filled with chopped vegetables then deep fried, alpaca steaks, potatoes, mixed vegetables, and ice cream. I could only eat half of my dinner because I ate so much food today!
. Cha-Cha-Cha is excited to at last see Machupicchu!
. Taking lichens off the walls
. Gorgeous full moon at sunset