Machu Picchu: My 2018 Dream Destination

When I planned my trip around the world in 2018, I chose destinations where my friends lived. There were two exceptions: Peru and Thailand. Why Peru? Well, because, for some reason, during several months, I had been dreaming of going to Machu Picchu. And I’m all for realizing dreams!

Tip To Write “Machu Picchu”

Where do I put the two “C”s? Well, I have my own trick, and I’m nearly not ashamed to tell it here. I think of Pikachu. Two syllables after the “Pi”. So I put two “C”s after the “Pi”, not the “Ma”. I know that it’s a pretty useless info, but it helped me feel smart when writing the name with no mistake. 😎

Practical Info To Go To Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is easy to reach from Aguas Calientes, a small city not too far from Cusco. However, keep in mind that the site attracts a lot of tourists. That means that, again, it is recommended to book early not only your entrance ticket, but also your train ticket (if you go by train). I booked mine very early and got the best seats in the PeruRail train, right in front of the front window. It’s not cheap, but it’s still OK. There are other options to arrive in Aguas Calientes, like hiking. That looked great, but I didn’t have the time, and I was afraid that I would be too tired to enjoy Machu Picchu.

The Story Of My Trip From Cusco To Machu Picchu

For most of my trip to Peru, I stayed in Cusco. On September 30th, I left my luggage safe in the hostel, and I travelled from Cusco to Urubamba and then Ollantaytambo by buses with my backpack. They put it on the roof of the small bus, without fixing it, and I was stressed for the whole trip. The road was very bumpy, and I kept looking behind to check if my bag hadn’t fallen on the ground.

My backpack and I arrived safely in Ollantaytambo, I bought a sandwich in a really nice shop before walking to the train station. Two dogs accompanied me there. They were very friendly, but kept looking at my sandwich. In the end, I left them a piece of it, because they really were the cutest.

At the train station, I met two Dutch women and we chatted a little. On the train, I was sitting next to a Brazilian woman and funnily enough, she told me that she had studied in Poitiers (my hometown) and she was speaking French. The whole train trip was magical. Being at the front, I could see the road stretching before me. At some point, two beautiful blue birds flew away and I had the impression to be in a dream or to be some kind of Indiana Jones. I still have intense memories of these hours.

Once in Aguas Calientes, I struggled a little bit to find my way to the hostel but, after asking a few people, I managed to check in. I was sharing a 4 beds room with a German guy named Lars. He was pretty cool and since, of course, he too was going to Machu Picchu on the next day, we decided to go there and queue together. He was quite handsome and maybe something would have happened if an Israeli didn’t arrive in the room that evening.

Waking Up At Dawn To Queue

I woke up at 3.30 am, but I was awake at 1 am. Small night, but big motivation. We queued to get on the bus to Machu Picchu. We were among the first, but there were so many people. Fortunately, there were also many buses. No wonder they ask you to buy a ticket, it must be incredibly hard to organize all this!

I sat next to a Texan mother travelling with her grown up sons. She was funny and sweet. She was a bit cliché too, she kept saying stuff like “Be careful“, “Thank God” and “God Bless You“.

Visiting Machu Picchu In The Morning

Machu Picchu was beautiful in the fog of the morning. I started hiking with Lars, but we parted ways when he took a drone out of his bag. This is forbidden and for good reasons, this is a protected area. I didn’t want to get in trouble and be excluded from the site because of him. Also, he kept wanting to take pictures in dangerous places, like at the edge of a cliff, behind the protective barriers. Now that he was acting stupid, he seemed much less handsome. Also, he acted jealous because I had a ticket to hike to the top of Huayna Picchu and he had the Machu Picchu Mountain (pretty good too apparently). I hadn’t come here for drama, so I left him with his drone.

A bit further, I met the two Dutch women from the train station, and after that, our paths crossed several times. It was funny. I walked around the whole site, and everything was incredible. The fog in the morning and the lack of people made it look fantastic. We had the impression to be in the middle of the sky.

And then, when the fog lifted, we discovered the mountains around, and we could see numerous swallows flying around. Once I finished visiting the main site, I sat to wait for my turn to hike to the top of Huayna Picchu. You see, you can only enter at a certain time, depending on your ticket and only if you booked it in advance. I chatted a bit with a woman waiting for her husband who went to the toilets. They were going to Huayna Picchu too.

Hiking To The Top Of Huayna Picchu

After a cold morning, the sun had risen and it was now very hot. I had a small backpack to put my extra clothes in. A few minutes after I began climbing the mountain, it started raining. I was holding firmly the rope that served as a ramp, and I saw some people slip. A guide nearly fell and only managed to stay on the path because of the rope. A bit of a scary moment. I was by myself, but it was not my first hike, and I was going pretty slow. I was in no hurry and I preferred to take my time, take pictures and drink water often. Now that it had rained, I was sticky with sweat.

I crossed paths several times with a guide and his group. He became very protective over me and managed to piss me off. In his opinion, I was crazy to be on my own and I should be more cautious. I know I look younger than my age and that my face gets really red when I make an effort. However, I’m no beginner at travelling and hiking, and I had food and three bottles of water.

I made it to the top, sat for a moment to drink and eat before going back down. From there, I could see a tiny Machu Picchu, and I was both impressed and proud to see how far I had gone. It was nice to share this experience with the strangers at the top. Everybody was happy and we took pictures for each other.

To see more photos of Peru, you can visit the gallery Peru.