Friday, Jan 24---Machu Picchu

We were getting up early anyway but when fireworks started going off at 3:30 am that was a bit much. Some local celebration. Ye Ha. Early excursion to see Ollantaytambo Fortress. Excellent example of Inca architecture and construction talent. Lots of climbing. Then headed of to Machu Picchu by bus, train and bus again. The ride on the Hiram Bingham train was fun. Nice lunch. After the train arrives we board buses to take us to the summit. There was a landslide just two weeks before so about a third of the way up we have to get out, climb some very temporary stairs to the next level and then bus the rest of the way. Once at the top, you go through the entrance and within one undred feet you see the amazing sight you see in all the pics of MP. The city is layer out in front of you. To the left are the terraced growing areas. Straight ahead is the main part of the city and the cone shaped mountain. We traversed up and down getting an understanding of the purpose of the different buildings, how they were constructed and their use. Some are temples, others are houses.there is an ingenious water system that flows today.this was a very sacred place but also one of the cities on the Inca road to the Amazon. We are blessed with perfect weather. The vistas are breath taking. You can understand why the Inca chose this spot. It is a remarkable confluence of nature and man at his best.
 We retrace our route to get back to Cusco. We had dinner on the train and singing and dancing in the bar car. In bed by midnight. Getting up at 5:45.