Breakfast at hotel, then guided excursion around the town of Aguas Calientes Visited the local market. Some participants got up before daybreak to revisit Machu Picchu and try to catch sunrise from the “sun gate.” This is the location where many of the Machu Picchu site overview photos are taken. Unfortunately, our visitors were challenged with low cloud cover that made photos they expected, impossible )-:
We met with the MP early morning visit group around noon in the city plaza. Had lunch at hotel we were originally planned to stay in. The substituted location was more than enough compensation for the delay in leaving Lima. Went to Aguas Calientes train station with trip ending at Ollantaytambo station. Normally we would have went to next station, but both road and rail still under repair from heavy flooding of Urubamba river last year. From the Ollantaytambo station took bus to Cusco. Web links here:
Hotel Inkaterra
http://www.inkaterra.com/en/machu-picchu
Photo 1. Hotel Inkaterra grounds were tropical and lush. Just after this photo, turned to watch a flock of maybe 6 green parrots disappear in the tree cover.
Photo 2. Carol, and my “new” old friend, Martin. As I age, so do my friends, some of which are/were 20+years my senior. The oldest, Bruce, died at age 97 a few years back. I keep trying to add the dimension that Bruce suggested decades back – always add “new” friends, from both ends of the age spectrum. As you age- this gets increasingly more difficult.
Photo 3. Here’s Carol trying to add some new friends who are on the younger end. Will they remember us? Probably not, they never “knew” us. We though, seem to be able to carry the images in our mind for decades (-:
Click here for today's online photo album.
https://picasaweb.google.com/magwheel44/2012GIMPDay14Of17
