Machu Picchu

So the say we went to Machu Picchu began suuupppeeeerrr early and with an oddly terrible stomach ache. We ate breakfast, got all of our things together, and headed down the road to catch a bus up the mountain to the ruins.

The bus ride was about a half an hour zig zagging up the side of this mountain at scarily high speeds, and as we got higher and higher, I could feel the magic of Machu Picchu!! As we got higher we became enveloped in clouds, turning our view of the valley into a blank white slate. I noticed that the trees began to change too, from normal tree-y trees into twisty exotic plants that looked like they had come out straight from Incan times.  (not great pictures)

They made me get excited for the ruins that we were about to see even if my stomach was fighting every step I took. We all began to walk through the ticket booth and up the path, following this brick wall until we got to an opening and we saw the real life wonder of the world, Machu Picchu!!!

 first photo!

It was so crazy to think that I was finally seeing this thing that I had seen so many pictures of and imagined how it would be. It was totally different than I expected. First off this may sound a little odd but it seemed so much smaller than i imagined! But the feeling of it was so much more powerful than i expected. It was really crazy to think ancient people lived here and built this, that this was their world up here in the mountains and the clouds. So our climb started at mid level of the ruins so we began to climb up some stairs, and i puked, and then went to a natural platform to take pictures, and i puked, and then began touring the edges of the ruins until we stopped to see some  rocks, and i puked.

 me dying 20 seconds pre and post puking

  The tour ended after 3 hours and then we were free to explore Machu Picchu on our own. We were allowed to leave at any point and just take the bus back down and although the president of rotary told me to go down there was no way i was leaving, who knows when ill get to come back!!! So after walking a bit with an awesome Danish girl named Sascha we met up with some other students and they decided to do one of the 3 hour walks around the whole thing. I obviously couldn't do it so i decided to hang out in the shade where i could at least look at and take some pictures of the beautiful view and the ruins. After a little nap on Machu Picchu and my bug spray leaking all over my leg i decided to catch a bus back down the mountain to the hotel. On the way out though I met up with 3 other girls from rotary and we all took the bus down together. The rest of the afternoon consisted of soup, pills, and naps in the hotel lobby with everyone watching me. Oh and i can't forget planet of the apes on tv! Hahaha so even though it wasn't exactly as planned, I still had an amazing time  and got the pictures that i promised hahaha.