July 22nd - Day 5 of the Trek

This morning we met for breakfast at 5:30 so we could get in line for the bus up the mountain to Machu Picchu. The line is long but the buses are numerous and run non-stop. There are ~4,000 visitors every day. For that reason Machu Picchu was my least favorite part of our trip. It was amazing to see and incredible to think about how it all came about, but the number of people was overwhelming. The pictures below are all from our morning touring the "no longer lost" city.

These basins, with about an inch of water, were used as mirrors to view the stars at night.

The llamas help keep the grass mowed

After Machu Picchu we head back to Aguas Calientes to spend the afternoon waiting for the train back to Cusco. 

There are markets selling Peruvian goods everywhere

We hit them all so I could ensure Kim didn't have any Soles left to exchange for dollars

We arrive in Cusco at 9:00 p.m. after a 4 hour train ride and prepare for our long journey home tomorrow. We have a 2 hour flight from Cusco to Lima, an 8 hour layover in the Lima airport, an overnight flight from Lima to Miami, then on to Dallas, Lubbock, & finally Denver City.

It was an amazing trip (one of the most physically challenging) that we've undertaken and according to my pedometer, about 62 1/2 miles.

I am reminded of the passage we recently studied from Romans:  "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." Romans 1:19-20 How anyone could experience the majesty of His creation and still deny His existence is unfathomable.