Getting up at 4 a.m. to stand in line with hundreds of other Machu Picchu wanderlust-ers, for a 5:30 a.m. bus, to be first through the gates at 6 a.m. was surprisingly nerve wrecking. There are so many quirks and do’s and don’t’s when visiting the epic Peruvian wonder, I worried that I would somehow mess it up.
But after running through the gates of Machu Picchu as soon as it opened and jetting up the ancient, uneven, stone Inca steps — we had arrived! We had arrived to an ominous fog-filled, thick as bricks, white as snow, could not see a thing, sky.
Machu Picchu was down there right?! The anticipation of waiting for the fog to lift (Will the fog lift? Please let the fog lift!) was worrisome. What if you’ve come all this way, and this real life whiteboard is all you get to see?
The thick Machu Picchu fog.; Courtesy of Courtney Elko
The Slow Reveal
But then you see tiny patches of blue sky and those white fluffy clouds begin to float aside to reveal the epic scene that lies beneath….it’s magical.
Machu Picchu; Courtesy of Courtney Elko
The Magic
Magical is really the only way to describe Machu Picchu.
It has this feeling about it, that’s hard to describe (because it’s magic, duh). You have traveled so far and then wait so long for the fog to lift, so when it does you just want to hurry up and take all the pictures in case that’s all the time you have. In case the fog returns (which is likely). But several times I would catch myself not being in the moment and I would stop and look down at this epic scene and just say wow, this place is truly magnificent.
Machu Picchu Magic; Courtesy of Courtney Elko
Journey to Machu Picchu
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