Hola! Machu Picchu

I took the trip of Machu Picchu & The Galapagos offered by OAT with Tom and Janice from April 17-May 2.  Regardless of how many pictures one may have seen, or how many stories one might have heard before, being there in person at Machu Picchu, to see and feel the mountains, the ruins, the terraces, the river and the gorge, and the Inca trails was utterly a grand experience.

We boarded the train at Ollantaytambo, and rode along the Urubamba River for about 2 hours to arrive at the bottom of Machu Picchu.  The view along the gorge of Rio Urubamaba was simply spectacular!

A public bus zig zag upwardly brought us high to Machu Picchu in 40 minutes:

Then the grandness of ancient Machu Picchu revealed itself , which was a place burned by the Incas and never found by the Spanish  Conquistadors.

Surrounding the ruin, one can see mountains and the rio Urubamba below:

A stretch of Inca trail could be seen along one cliff, which we later followed its path to the Sun Gate. Just imagine those Inca slaves moved the rocks, built the temples and terraces, and established the irrigation and anti erosion systems; but all without any written language.

It was a blessing that I was able to share good times with Tom and Janice.

 Tom and I, along with other group members hiked 5 miles to the Sun Gate and the Inca Bridge.