As a married couple, we get the opportunity to take a weekend off from ministry every couple months and have a little married getaway (not part of our fundraising budget). Machu Picchu provided the perfect opportunity to take a couple days off. We left Uyuni and hopped on a plane to Cusco. Much of our flight was spent looking out the window, in awe of God’s creation below us. The Andes Mountains. Wow.
We spent the night in Cusco and explored the area. Cusco is a beautiful city, rich in culture. We loved exploring the markets and were even fortunate enough to catch a parade. Peru’s Independence Day happened to fall while we were there.
The next morning, we caught a train to Aguas Calientes, the small tourist town built solely for traffic to Machu Picchu. Again, the train ride was spent with our eyes glued to the windows. The Andes Mountains surrounded us on all sides and we gasped at the contrast of the blue sky against each peak.
Aguas Calientes is a small town, the only motorized transportation is for taking tourists to Machu Picchu and the trains going to and from Cusco. Another married couple from our squad joined us for a couple nights. We enjoyed catching up with them and debriefing about our first month on the field as married couples. God truly creates us to live in community!
We had to buy tickets to get into Machu Picchu and were planning to hike to the top of Huayna Picchu, a small peak overlooking the ancient city as well. However, when we arrived to the ticket counter we found the tickets to Huayna Picchu had been sold out for two months. We opted instead for tickets to Machu Picchu Mountain, which we knew nothing about.
Instead of taking the bus up to Machu Picchu City, we decided to hike. It was about 90 minutes to the top. Once we arrived, Chris and I made our way over to the entrance to Machu Picchu Mountain. What we didn’t know was that it would be an additional 90 minute to the top of this mountain….we’d only brought 1 liter of water each for the day. Fortunately, the elevation was slightly lower than in Bolivia. We huffed and puffed our way up the mountain, but were not disappointed with the view provided at the top. I love experiencing God’s majesty in the beauty of His creation!
We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Machu Picchu City and were exhausted by the end of the day. The placement of Machu Picchu amidst the Andes Mountains is breathtaking!
It was such a gift to have some time to ourselves and enjoy each other’s company. We love living life with our teammates, but it was also nice to have some time away to remember what “normal” married life is like!
