Word of the Day: gringovered: Credits to my friend Saumya on this one- When white people "find" things such as the Americas and become famous despite the fact that there are already people living there who know about the place.
Machu Pichu was gringovered in 1911 by explorer Hiram Bingham and an 8 year old, who received pretty much no credit.
paja-straw- as in straw roofs
We left from the hostel around 4 (!) to begin the hike up to Machu Pichu. We wanted to be able to climb Waynupichu, a mountain inside the sight, but to do so, you have to be among the first 400 people to the site. Plus, we wanted to see the sun rise and early morning. We could have left later and taken the bus, but that seemed way less epic. Especially since we had originally considered doing the Inca trail before we realized we couldn't get any spots.
Anyway, the hike was fairly demanding physically, pretty much an hour and a half stairmaster work out. It was really cool once the light started to come out as everything was misty and cloud shrouded.
We got to the site around 6 and there was already a big line, although I was number 44. The ruins immediately amazed me. They seemed so much bigger and beautiful than pictures I had seen: it's really hard to do the place justice. Plus, the sun was just starting to hit the rocks and there were still clouds covering the mountains across the way. Exquisite.
We climbed Waynu Pichu around 7, which was another hour of scary vertical climbing, on all fours occasionally. Totally worth several near panic attacks though-it was an unbelievable view plus the ruins were visible from below in their shape of a condor.
We had a really interesting tour around 11. I could write about this place all day and I have plenty of other experiences to share, so I'll have to settle for showing the pictures to some of you all at some point. Two quick things I learned: The site was built around 1500 (much more recently than I thought) and was never discovered by the Spanish(although I guess I should have known that)
The number of tourists throughout the day was quite a sight, although I'd sort of expected it. It was great in the early morning and around noon, once it got hot, it emptied out really quickly. Even though it was crowded though, there were plenty of places were it was easy to sit alone, out of sight and just appreciate the intimacy and beauty of the place.
As I did in San Pedro, I started thinking about the effects of my visit on the place itself. Even worse than the desert, the sheer numbers of tourists visiting Macchu Pichu are essentially destroying the site, according to UNESCO, as over 1000 people visit daily from June to September, placing a heavy weight on the mountain side. Similarly, Waynupichu has been estimated to only be able to sustainably allow 100 people a day, yet 400 are able to climb. With tourism forming such a great part of the Peruvian economy, there isn't the incentive to restrict access further.
I also thought a lot about access more generally: there were so relatively few Peruvians who were at the site, and yet here I was, relatively ignorant about Peruvian and Incan culture and because I have a US passport and american money I am able to move relatively freely around the world, savings permiting of course. The exhorbitant prices of the site are no doubt something close to what many Peruvians living in the nearby highlands earn in months. It was certainly something to think about, how lucky and incredibly priviledged am I to be having such experiences, especially at my young age.
All in all, an absolutely unforgettable day. I would write more, but words/pictures really fail to render it well.
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