A strike happened again!  Yes, for real.  Fortunately, the strike only affected the taxis.  So, I had to be picked up by the travel agency 40 minutes earlier as the agent didn’t know how long she could catch a cab as there were many fewer cabs.  The travel agent took me to the tour group in the city center.  From there, they took us to the train station.   Once we got to the train station, we were on our own until we met a tour guide at the train station at Machu Picchu.

Now here’s one of the highlights of this event!  The train ride was three hours LONG, and it was the SLOWEST train I have ever taken!  It was literally going at the speed of a turtle walking! Talk about lack of technology to allow trains to go as fast as a speeding bullet like the trains in Europe!  So, I just plugged my iPod headphones into my ears and tuned myself to music and looked out the window to see the landscape and the rural life of the Peruvians.

Once I arrived, I found the tour guide who was holding a yellow flag, a sign that I was supposed to be on the look out.  Once the tour guide checked off everyone on the list, we headed to the bus to head to our destination.

About ten minutes into the guided tour at Machu Picchu, I decided to walk away from the tour group and tour on my own.  The tour guide was just holding a flag and blabbering about things that I already knew by researching Machu Picchu prior to visiting.  There was no need for me to hear the same information, and plus, the group was moving too quickly for a photographer to take photographs!  I also wanted to take the time to admire the architecture and sit on the giant steps by the hills to marvel at the stunning view of the Incas’ incredible work of art.  Plus, I had the train ticket to return to Cusco and so, I already knew what time to be at the train station.  So, I had nothing to lose by leaving the tour group.  Traveling with tour groups is absolutely not my favorite way to travel.  I just happened to have a tour guide as it came with the package that I paid for the trip to Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu is one of the most incredible wonders of the world.  I personally think it’s more astonishing than the Sydney Opera House, Eiffel Tower, Colosseum, Great Ocean Road, and Canadian Rockies.  I seriously wonder how the Incas were able to carry stones up the mountains, create walls, stairs, roofs, and design the incredible architecture.  They probably did have more patience than the architects and construction workers today as today’s designs are based on a lack of patience and limited time.  The Incas also chose one of the most beautiful places they could have as the empire was situated on top of a mountain surrounded by pure green mountains.

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