Somehow, I convinced the rest of the Beckham troop to climb a daunting steep vertical precipice known as Huayna Picchu, which in Quechua means "old mountain." I have hiked many a mountain (see my Pucon entry in December, for example), but I might have to say that this hike was the toughest I have ever done. It was straight up a giant rock on slick rudimentary stairs built by archeologists. Huayna Picchu was a place reserved for only priests and nobility in Inca times. From the top we were able to see a birds-eye view of Machu Picchu (when the cloud cover wasn't blocking it) that was breathtaking.
After hiking back down very, very slowly, we clambered up to the Watchman's House where another phenomenal view of Machu Picchu can be seen. We dined on box lunches with the help of some llamas who were oddly very interested in our apples before another short hike to the Inca Bridge. Alas, the time had come to return to the bus to make our way back to the train station for our trip back to Cusco.
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