21 Feb 2012

And finally, what we came all this way to see, Machu Picchu!

…I promise it’s there somewhere, behind all that fog… though the fog did make for some fun shots:

As the morning crept on, the sun started to burn off the fog and the ruins began to emerge:

Three minutes later (per my camera’s timestamp), you could almost see the whole complex:

I didn’t have a wide enough lens to capture the whole grounds:

Proof I’m here and still alive:

Intihuatana off in the distance:

(we’ll be making our way across the ruins toward this area)

A couple windows:

Sun Temple:

Main Temple:

The ground has shifted and sunk in the right corner, but the precision of the stone work is still quite impressive:

Blue skies peeking through the fog:

Nature’s lawnmowers out and about:

Sundial at Intihuatana:

Stairs to nowhere…

View from the Central Plaza looking up:

Blue skies!!!

Entrance to the Royal Tomb:

Little lizard friend!

A few of us trekked out on the Inca Trail, toward the Sun Gate, though I definitely didn’t make it quite that far. Still found some great views of the ruins!

The winding road we drove up on:

Aguas Calientes peeking around the bend:

And one final parting shot of the ruins that are Machu Picchu:

Then, it was time to make our way back home:

All in all, not the trip I expected. Yes, got to see and experience Machu Picchu, but there was so much more to see and do that I missed out on.

I guess I’ll just have to come back!