Machu Picchu, Peru

Before I left for Peru I spent hours surfing the internet looking for helpful tips and hints for getting into and around Machu Picchu, and what the entire process to get there entailed. To my shock, there was not much information on how to get to this archaeological site, nor is there very many places for advice on how to buy tickets to for entry into the site. As I searched the web I only became more frustrated, because it seemed the only way you could visit the site was through one of the many tour groups that go there on a daily basis. Not wanting to go in with a tourist group and spend the whole day following at someone else's pace, I refused to buy any group tickets which were outrageously expensive and did not offer what I was looking for. Trust me, you can find plenty of places that will take care of the hassle of buying the tickets if you don't want to spend ours trying to buy them yourself. There is only one website to buy tickets into Machu Picchu if you are not with a group. It's run by the goverment of Peru and the site is horribly outdated and has plenty of bugs. Although I tried for an entire week, logging on everyday to buy our tickets into Machu Picchu, the site would either crash or say that my form of payment wasn't going through even when I had 5000 credit limit on the card I was using. I was so frustrated after the sixth day of trying that I didn't just want to scream, I screamed. I stomped my feet in frustration. Getting into Machu Piccu seemed hopeless and out of reach. This was after I'd already purchased our flights to Peru. I finally found a website http://www.machupicchuterra.com/ I did not buy a package deal that they advertise, instead I simply asked them to buy me the two tickets I needed to get into the site. I gave them all the information they asked for (passport numbers, credit card numbers, names, dob, etc) an vuala, the next day I had my tickets. I paid about ten more dollars US for them to purchase the tickets for me, but let me tell you after the headache it was trying to purchase the tickets myself, the twenty dollars I paid to save myself the hassle was well worth it. I got to print out the tickets the next day and I felt confident that we could get in after that point. The whole process was smooth. The tickets worked and we got into Machu Picchu just fine. I trust this site and would recommend it to anyone wanting to get into the Machu Picchu and explore on their own.
     Later on our trip, I had actually found one person who had purchased the tickets through the government site. She said it was a hassle, but in the end she finally got it to work. If you feel like taking this route when buying your tickets, all the best to you.
     The next painful step to getting into Machu Picchu is purchasing your train tickets to get to Aguas Calieintes "The City Of Hot Water" which sits at the base of the mountain to Machu Picchu. What I had not read on any blog or travel site in regards to getting to Machu Picchu is the many steps it takes to get to Aguas Calientes. You can't simply take a plain to the city. The first step is you have to take a plane to Cusco and from Cusco you must take a bus to a little enchanting town about an hour and a half drive outside of Cusco called Ollantaytambo. I only learned this before we left, because we had run into a couple people through a mutual friend who had just visited Peru. If they had not told me about the bus you needed to take to get into Ollantaytambo, I would not have known that I needed to take a bus ride there, nor that I needed to book a hostel in this city. In my opinion, Ollantaytambo is the most spectacular city we visited on our trip to Peru, and I booked here the least amount of days because I did not know how breathtaking it would be. I would recommend at least three if not four days in this city, for there is so many sites to see. They have many ruins you can visit in this town, and it takes times to see everything. Once in Ollantaytambo the train then leaves from its station and finally transports you into the city of Aguas Calientes.
      As you can find online if you look, there are only two train stations that transport passengers from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. Although they have two separate names Inca Rail,which is what we took, and Peru Rail, which is a lot more expensive, they are owned and operated by the same company. Think of the rail stations as Passenger and Coach on a plane. If you prefer to ride in style and have a lunch given to you, Peru Rail is the better option. It's more fancy and a bit more costly, but the trains are nicer and they leave more often. Inca rail is like their coach train. I found no problems with the trains. They all looked brand new. They served us coffee and muffins on our train ride, and the views from the train were beautiful. If you are looking for a more expensive route, this may be the option for you. Keep in mind that the train tickets sell out most days, and you must book the train several months in advance if you are to have hope of getting into Machu Picchu.
      The trains drop you off in the city of Aguas Calientes. After you are at the base of the mountain below Machu Picchu, you must then purchase another bus ticket to transfer you up to the top of the mountain where the site is located. If you are fit and are able, to hike the trail up the mountain is free. It incorporates steps, trail, and road. The trail looked very muddy, and is said to take at least an hour to hike. Keep in mind that you will be doing a lot of strenuous hiking when you get to the site as it is, and you may want to save your energy for when you actually get there. The bus ride to get up the mountain is only six dollars a person US. Is it really worth saving that much money? We were completely exhausted after spending only six hours in the site. We couldn't have imagined hiking up the trail or hiking back down.  Also, please keep in mind all these steps from the bus, to the train, to the second bus we did over several days. I would not recommend doing all these steps and going to see the site all in one day. People do it, but you won't appreciate Machu Picchu as much if you are exhausted.
      I wanted a unique experience for my boyfriend and myself. I didn't realize until later that having a one on one experience with one of the most visited wonders in the world was not going to happen. The site is visited almost everyday by it's 2500 allotted visitors. That sounds like a small amount of people, but when every person is there at the exact same time, it's overwhelming and the huge monument feels like a claustrophobia's nightmare. The amount of people at the site the day we were there was astounding, and the amount of selfie sticks made me sick to my stomach. This amazing wonder felt like a fetish. Machu Picchu turned the people around it into a spectacle themselves. They were so caught up taking pictures of the site, that not one person I saw stopped in awe of it.
      I loved Machu Picchu don't get me wrong, but if you visit I would recommend that you appreciate it for what it is, and not what amazing or awesome picture you would get out of it.


     If you have any questions about planning your own trip, I'd love to answer your questions.


Thanks

S

Nazareth and Sea of Galilee

Nazareth, Sea of Galilee

     My boyfriend and I visited Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee on a tour. Both of these locations are north of Tel Aviv about an hour and a half drive out of the city. There are some extraordinary things to see here. Just to name a few; The Church of the Annunciation, The Church of Multiplication, and The Church of Saint Joseph, and so much more. The first church listed, is the site where Catholics believe that the Virgin Mary became incarnate of the holy spirit. This church has some of the most beautiful stained glass windows I've ever seen. Our tour guide told us the building stands 33 meters tall, one meter for every year Jesus was said to have lived. The second church I have listed is said to have been the place where Jesus multiplied two fish and five loaves of bread to feed the masses. The final church I've listed is where it is said that Joseph and Mary lived with Jesus during his childhood years. It is said they do not know if this was the exact house that Jesus' family lived in during his childhood, but it certainly was the same neighborhood they believed him to be living in growing up in Nazareth. Underneath The Church Of Saint Joseph is an actual house that is said to be from the time of Jesus. They have since built a church on top of this site and over the annunciation site to preserve the ruins. All of these locations are special if you believe and I would recommend going on a tour.
     The Sea of Galilee is actually a lake. It's known today by the name Lake Tiberius or the Lake of Gennesaret. The lake is next to the city of Tiberius and also the port of Magdala where it is said that Saint Mary Magdalene came from. The bible also states that this is the place where Jesus walked on water. Everything next to the Sea of Galilee is green and lush. I don't know about you, but when I see bible stories acted out in movies or on T.V. I always pictured these places sort of deserty and dry. But during springtime when we visited, the entire place smelled of freshness and the trees were fertile. It was nothing like the movies portrayed it to be. In the summer, our guide said that temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius or higher with up to 80 percent humidity.  If you're looking to go, springtime or fall are the best options, as it is cooler and there are less travelers at these times of the year. I just remember being in awe at every place we visited that day.  Here we were, yet again, going to sites I'd only read about in the bible. It's so nice now to go back to church in my own town of Littleton or open my bible and be able to remember exactly what these places look like in real life. You can envision the stories with their actual backdrop. I have a whole new perspective when reading the bible now, and that experience is so priceless when it comes to faith. If you are a believer, make a special trip to Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee if you are planning to visit Israel. I promise, these places will not disappoint. 


Thanks

S

Here's a picture of the Sea Of Galilee