Dream come true

It´s kinda cheesy, I´ll admit, but I lived a dream today. For 20 plus years I have wanted to be at Machu Picchu. We all say we have a ¨dream job¨or a ¨dream date¨ and I too sometimes have those thoughts. But honestly today was a dream come true. I´m not sure that I have ever realized a dream. If I thought long and hard maybe I could come up with something. Although Thailand was a place I wanted to visit for many years, Machu Picchu was a place that I could visualize in my head. It lived up to every expectation and then some. I may have even shed a tear or two in realization that I was actually standing before MP and said, ¨Wow... Wow, I´m here.¨

I got up at 4 this morning after restless sleep. I think I was too excited, plus the beds I have been sleeping in for 10 to 30 dollars a night aren´t the best. I headed to the bus station where I met some guys from Toranto and NY. We were both kinda mystified that it wasn´t more crowed. I was the first in line, not intentionally. We chatted a bit, got on the bus, and made the 20 ride to the top. Imagine a kid almost wetting his pants with excitement and you have me. We got there and much like I was told, it was covered with clouds. Within 10 minutes dawn was upon us and the clouds began to break. It was a good hour before sunrise and I got some great photos. I met more Americans, the same guys and then this girl Erin from Connecticut. She was super nice and had a great camera so we did some fun poses. If she sends them to me, it will be my Christmas card. However, this is what I saw when I first arrived.

The amazing part is to think what it took to create such a magnificent place. I´ve been to the ¨Disney¨castle outside of Munich which was majestic, but Machu Picchu takes the cake on majesty 10 times over. The way it is settled between these huge mountains and cliffs is something you will never be able to understand until you come here yourself. Then you get into the creation of the place, BY HAND! It´s simply incredible. Words cannot express MP, only experiencing it can.



I toured around for 6 plus hours. I was supposed to have the great guide my friends Kari and AJ had last year, but he had to cancel. I didn´t set anything else up, rather, I bought a self-guided tour book and read almost every word on the 90 page tour, hense 6 hours. Along the way I was people I had met along my journey in addition to some girls from Chicago. We chatted for a bit and then it was time for me to leave. One thing I found funny was the description of rules for MP. On the sign it said something that would NOT fly in the US, ¨No food, No littering, Walking sticks can only be used by old people.¨ I laughed out loud! On the train back to Ollyantatambo I sat with 3 high school students. There are a ton of HS groups here. These kids were from Princeton, NJ. Only I would stay with them on an hour and a half train ride rather than finding a seat elsewhere.


One of the joys of solo travel-self-portraits!












I made it back to KB hotel and crashed. I could have slept all night, but I made myself get up and I´m glad I did. There was a festival in town today, which I missed. But, they are still in the streets now celebrating much like we do in Chicago. There is street food and beer. I walked around this little square, for a good hour. I saw kids playing with tops and yo-yos, ¨car race¨with empty plastic soda bottles and tag...isn´t it funny that when your friend pushes you down and you get hurt, the best cure for the tears is to hit your friend and ¨hurt¨them too? I saw people standing around talking and drinking beer from the beer tent. Yes, there is a beer tent, but they sell 40s and give you a plastic cup. It´s great to see the old generation of women on their milk crates drinking 40s in their traditional clothing. Then there is the newer generation wearing clothes like you and I would wear. Spiderman even shows up to festivals in Peru.


This little girl came up to me, ¨Hola¨. I so wish I knew Spanish better. I said, ¨Como esta?¨ She answered with ¨Bien.¨ Then I watched the kids play for longer. Finally, about 4 came over and sat next to me. We sorta had a converstion, as best we could. We definitely got each other´s names, where I was from, where I was staying, how old I am, what time I am going to bed tonight, where I am going tomorrow, how long i´m in Peru, and why I came to Peru. I thought that was pretty cool. Gisella, Julissa, Ronald, and oh what was the little ones name....Jacqueline, that´s it. I´m just one of the lucky ones who takes the opportunity to experience different people of this world. We may not know each other´s language well, but we make do, and we enjoy each other. They also enjoyed my camera!

Gisella sorta cut my head off. It´s as if Aunt Karen was taking the photo. Shout out AK!












So all in all, I would say this is one of the top days of my life. That is a bold statement, but I stand by it. Who could ask for more than to realize a dream and to experience the kids of a culture unknown to me, at certain depth, all in one day? I´m the lucky one!