Hop on the Train to Machu Picchu
2012-06-29
Hop on Inca Rail down the Urubamba River valley, passing many apus on the way, and arrive at Agua Caliente, the little town at the foot of Machu Picchu. Then take the bus up the hairpin turns, to the entrance where you pay and get your ticket. The energy is immense. If you're lucky the clouds and mist make it atmospheric. That llama says "take my picture please".
It truly is a city cradled by sacred mountains, and until you are there no photo or documentary can do it justice. There are orchids and a single example of a sacred coca shrub in the garden.
Inti Watana, the Hitching Post of the Sun, is a pillar and altar of quartz. You can feel the energy in certain places, prickling in the palm of your hand, but don't touch the sacred altar itself. On the solstices and equinoxes the sun comes up over the mountains and illuminates the Hitching Post.
Then there is the Pachamama Stone, and the sheer size of it makes you wonder how many people it took to line this up perfectly so that the outline of the stone towering above your head matches up exactly with the outline of the mountain behind it.
