Feeling like a Cow

Left Cusco early this morning on a bus to Ollanytambo and then a 2 hour train ride to Aguas Callientes, a town nestled in the deep valley below Machu Picchu, enclosed by towering walls of stone and cloud forest. There is a train that runs from Cusco to Aguas Callientes but it was booked months in advanced. I had read that approximately 1,500 to 2,000 tourists visit Machu Picchu daily, so I was a bit hesitant to come here but it is the best-known and allegedly the most spectacular archaeological site on the continent. Definitley happy with the decision to avoid hiking the Inca Trail which faces significant environmental threats due to the vast numbers of tourists using the trail. UNESCO warned that the site could not support more than 200 to 500 visitors per day without sustaining damage.

I took Edwin's recommendation and had him book the Machu Picchu tour for me, but I felt somewhat like a cow today, being herded from one place to the next during the tour. Definitely not use to the organizied tours, a bit of culture shock after living with weavers up in the Andes and only speaking Spanish.