Machu Picchu (July 26, 2010)

Machu Picchu is breathtaking (i.e. you take a lot of breaths to get there)

            Apparently everyone in our hotel decided to shower at around 6:00 a.m. today, because there was no hot water.  Nada, and the water was muy frio.  I am more than a bit stubborn, so I subjected myself to that “polar bear” moment..  That was not fun.  I think all the late nights, early rising, and running ourselves ragged is starting to catch up with us.  We are so, so tired.  I had been doing great up until this morning.  I had a terrible night’s sleep, waking up every 30 minutes or so.  It was a nightmare.  I had some reoccurring dream that I cannot now recall, but it had me tossing and turning, and I think I was even having trouble breathing.  I had no appetite this morning and finally got some use out of the expensive prescription pills we purchased (so I guess that is a definite plus).  We met our tour guide in the hotel lobby at 6:45 a.m. and were taken to a spot to just wait some more. 

View from our bus ride to catch the train the Machu Picchu

The train that took us to Machu Picchu, about a 90 minute ride

The train runs along the river that weaves through the valley

The scenery along the way is beautiful

            Our bus driver was late, after running some people to the airport (which was not part of the plan), making us late for our train to Machu Picchu.  That was a bit of a hassle, but part of the whole experience.  We were fine.  The drive from Cuzco to Machu Picchu is long - about 90 minutes.  The scenery is beautiful.  The train ride on Peru Rail is about another two hours.  Yes, we did make a train, just not OUR train.  So, we got to Machu Picchu about 30 minutes later than planned, but it was fine.  Once we exited the train, it was just more steep hiking while oxygen deprived.  (How did the Incas do it?  They must have been in great shape.) 

You just cannot take a bad picture while here

David and Maralea enjoying the Incan view

Maralea and me relaxing in the former residence of an Incan home

There are amazing walkways throughout the area of Machu Picchu

            I had some chills and was not feeling much like hiking, but we did it.  Machu Picchu is quite the place.  We have now toured the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.  A current theme presented by our tour guides is that the Incas were great architects, very advanced, but we do not know much about them because all their records were destroyed by the conquering Spaniards.  So, it appears that there is a lot of guess work surrounding the Inca culture, such as its origin, for example, language origin, etc.  The Inca trail totals about 50,000 km, veering off into many directions through South America.  They built incredible structures, but their civilization was all but destroyed by enemies in search of gold.  I did not ask our tour guides whether they are familiar with the Book of Mormonl although I thought of it several times.  Certainly, it provides answers to some of the questions posed by the tour guides.  Interestingly, it was the purpose of the Lamanites to destroy the entire civilization of the Nephites in the Americas in about 400 AD.  The keepers of the sacred record, Mormon (who abridge the records passed down for generations) and Moroni (Mormon’s son who was the last Nephite custodian of the sacred records and buried them in a hillside under a stone to protect them from being found and destroyed by the Lamanites) were diligent in preserving them.  Moroni writes that he remained in hiding after his people were destroyed, providing additional scriptures and revelations for our benefit, securing the safety of the sacred records, that we may know of their history.  It is also interesting that we have an example in the Book of Mormon of what happens when a people lose their sacred records: they lose their way, their culture, their language, etc.  (The Mulekites, who came to this part of the world in about 600 B.C., were discovered around the time of King Benjamin, who had them taught in all the ways of the Nephites based on all the history and revelations of the prophets.)  I just find it all interesting, as the Lamanites had no sacred records to speak of when they destroyed the Nephites.  As a result, they lost their way, keeping some things via traditions handed down, but without the word of God that gives truth, light and knowledge.  So, I have a new appreciation for the keeping of and preserving sacred records.  We do that in our own family, through writing in journals, maintaining a family history, that our children (and their posterity) may know to whom they may look for their salvation, even Jesus Christ.

Note the absence of any guardrails or handrails . . . .  ugh

We were just so tired by this time - here getting a much needed breather

            We met some wonderful people while in Cuzco, including a mother and son from Iowa, a graduate student from the University of Kansas, and a couple from Montreal, Canada, to identify just a few.  In each case, we have been giving the opportunity to talk about David’s mission and the LDS Church’s missionary program.  That has been a lot of fun.  I have been wearing my BYU hat all week, daring anyone to saying something about me being from the state of Utah.  As we were approaching the train to Machu Picchu this morning, a guy said something to me about long lines in Utah.  We were in a bit of distress at the moment, so I just smiled and we kept follow the guide who made us miss our train but, to his credit, got us on the next one.  We met a family from Salt Lake City who attended church with us in Cuzco on Sunday.  The father recognized me (and my hat) and commented about seeing us in church on Sunday.  Since I was wearing my BYU hat, I had BYU on the brain and responded: “Oh yes, I recall seeing you there in Cosmo as well.”  He gave me a funny look, and then corrected me: “Cuzco.”  Right.  (Cosmo is the name of the BYU Cougar mascot.  I seriously could not remember Cuzco because the only word that would come into my mind was Cosmo.)  We bought a few things at the local markets.  The crowning jewel was a Nativity set for Maralea at Machu Picchu, something she had wanted above anything else.  She is pretty good at haggling, working down the price pretty effectively because, as she explained: “I’m always willing to walk away.”  We got a lot of pictures at Machu Picchu, despite the fact that we are all literally running on empty.  We just have not had a single day in which we can just rest.  It has been nuts.  We are trying to fit so much into this trip!  Oh well, we may never get to Peru again, so Viva El Peru!  The traveling in buses, vans, trains, and planes have given us a lot of time to just visit, and that has been great.

Does looking at this picture ever get old?  It's just awesome!

            We arrived back at our hotel at about 10:30 p.m., and had to get all packed for our final destination in the morning: two days in the Amazon jungle at Puerto Maldonado.  I sure hope I feel better in the morning.  But, as far as sleep goes, we did not get to bed until after 1:00 a.m., once we got all the packing and other things done, preparing for our 8:00 a.m. departure from the hotel and Cuzco.  We are absolutely worn out.  Maralea was dreading a couple days in the jungle.  She has not felt well for the past two days.  She gave a deep sigh as she was packing bags late and said (in a weak moment): “I am so over Peru.”  We actually love Peru, loved every moment we were able to spend with David in his mission.  That was the highlight, for sure.  When we did this five years ago with Brad, going to his the Philippines Angeles City Mission area, we did not do any sight seeing.  The entire trip was dedicated to touring Brad’s mission.  We had talked about sight seeing, but decided we would rather maximize our time in his mission and get to the Manilla Temple.  It is difficult to come to Peru and not see some of the major sites, like Machu Picchu.  We have just tried to do so much that we are dog tired, ready to go home.  I have not had a good night’s sleep while in Cuzco.  I am sure the high altitude played a role in that as I exhibited some of the symptoms related to altitude sickness.  But, whatever.  We came, we saw, we took pictures, we conquered it all.  We do not have a history of adventurism, so Maralea and I find ourselves a tad out of our element with the late nights, poor sleep, early rising to get to the next activity.  I was impressed with the number of tourists here from Europe, a large number of whom appear to be hiking the Inca Trail.  We are not THAT adventurous.

End of the trail . . . time to get back on the train and head back to Cuzco