Machu Picchu

This morning we arrived in Santa Maria at three after a seven hour bus ride. From there we took to convis to a hydroelectric plant where we started our walk to Machu Picchu on the railroad tracks. One of the convi rides was on a dirt road on the edge of a thousand foot cliff. i met some nice Germans, Brasilians, and Argentinians. There were many backpackers who took the same route.

After a three hour walk we took another hour and a half walk hauling our junk to Machu Picchu. There were people from all over the world. It was very expensive to get in. The views and architecture were amazing. It is not that big so we saw the whole thing in littler time. we were able to see the mortarless masonry and a footpath carved into the middle of a sheer two thousand foot cliff. We were tired and chilled there most of the day. Right before we left we saw condors which a guide next to us said are so rare he has only seen them once.

We then took a short fourteen dollar bus ride. I wanted to ride the train making it so we missed our window of opportunity to get back by bus. We went to the train station. It was horrible .It costs three bucks for Peruvians to go by train while it costs us thirty to one hundred and forty dollars. You can only get out of here by walking and train. Since there is only one train company they aren´t helpful, rude, slow, and don´t care about their customers. It costs over a hundred dollars to get out by train which is about a thirty minute ride.

Dad is upset because I bought a fancy alpaca meat dinner and a Andean music cd. We have never spent so much mony in so little time. We our in a terribly expensive tourist trap. we probably are going to walk out during the night or tomorrow, wasting a whole day, and making it so we can´t go to church. Machu Picchu is nice, but everything that goes with it is terrible.
Shawn