Machu Picchu, ‘The Lost City of the Incas’, Peru

This was taken on our honeymoon.

Retiring to an idyllic beach resort for sunning, swimming, & other things that might be considered the norm for honeymooners? Not us. Nah, instead we decided to do what each of us would regard as a trip of a lifetime. A cruise around the Galapagos Islands: her choice. A river cruise & stay in the Amazon Rainforest: a joint choice. A cruise then overnight stay with a local family in Lake Titicaca:  not our choice, just part of the package. Climbing the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu: my choice.

While there I spent the coldest & one of the worst nights of my life on the homestay. I got altitude sickness, had to be given oxygen & almost pulled out of the Inca Trail trek.  I was later mugged & had my wallet & passport stolen. My digital camera broke. In the Amazon I was nearly eaten alive by the local horseflies, hungry for my sweet blood. Finally I nearly missed my flight home trying to get a temporary passport from the unfuriatingly frustrating Peruvian bureaucracy.

But would I still go if I knew what was ahead? In a heartbeat! It was wonderful.

Machu Picchu was as magical & magnificent as I had expected. In the time of the Incas it was only accessible by long, narrow & often treacherous mountain paths reaching altitudes of up to 4300M (nearly 3 miles) above sea level, of which the Inca Trail is one.  It appears to have been a special city, used for ceremonial / royal / religious purposes. To this day no-one is really sure, & this aura of mystery still surrounds this wonderful place. Whatever its purpose it is & always will be special, one of the great locations of the world. I feel very privileged to have had the chance to go there.

This was written for Tara Cain’s wonderful Gallery at her ‘Sticky Fingers’ blog. To have a look at the other posts there just click the pic:

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• Fly out of Lima – Machu Picchu, Peru (travelpod.com)
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• Machu Picchu – World Heritage Site (shamanism.wordpress.com)
• The Step-by-Step Guide to Visiting Machu Picchu (bootsnall.com)