5:30AM – Once again, we had to wake up early. After breakfast, we took a two minute walk to the train station.
8:00AM – We boarded the Vistadome train, and we were on our way to Aguas Calientes. After an hour and a half on the train, and then a thirty minute bus ride, we were finally at the entrance to the famous Machu Picchu. We then checked into the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge, right outside of the entrance to Machu Picchu, dropped off our luggage, and met up with Hector, our tour guide.
10:30AM – Hector took us on a 2 1/2 hour tour through Machu Picchu, but you really need two days to see the entire place. At this time of day, it was already beginning to get crowded, and we had to wait our turn at the primary photo spots. Hector took us to see the most notable sites such as the Rock Quarry, Temple of the Sun, Royal Tomb, Temple of the Three Windows, Sacred Plaza, Temple of the Condor, and the Principal Temple. Oh yeah, if you ever visit Machu Picchu, don’t forget your bug repellent. There are a lot of mosquitoes!
1:00PM – We had a buffet lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge’s Tinkuy Restaurant. Alice and I tried another Peruvian dish, ceviche, which is raw fish marinated in lime and chile. I liked it a lot. Also, Live local music was being played while we ate.
3:00PM – Alice and I re-entered Machu Picchu and revisited most of the spots that Hector showed us. We also trekked on up to the Caretaker’s Hut. Since most of the tourists had already left at this time, we were able to move about freely around the ancient site. We stayed until closing (5:30PM) where they literally kicked us out and escorted us off the premises.
7:00PM – We had dinner at the Sanctuary Lodge’s Bar Tampu Restaurant. Both dinner and lunch was included with our stay, but it was a little weird to see the pricing on the menu even though we didn’t have to pay for it. I had alpaca, but it wasn’t as good as the one Alice had the other day. Alice had the grilled trout. Then we both split dessert, four scoops of ice cream.
holy moly, you’re staying at the sanctuary lodge? was it worth the price?
It’s a very nice place. Alice and I liked it very much. Yeah, it’s quite expensive, but look at what you get. Meals are included. Besides that, you get to maximize your stay at Machu Picchuu. Not only could we stay at MP longer by staying until closing and entering when it opens, but these are also the times when there are the fewest amount of tourists. Also, it doesn’t seem quite as expensive if you look at the total package cost instead of the cost of one night’s stay.