I Made It To Machu Picchu!

It was everything I hope it could be, and more. Seeing the real thing, wow, Machu Picchu, it's sublime. You'll know what I mean when you see it :)

This is our first view of Machu Picchu from Inti Punku or Sun Gate for tourists that opted to hiked Inca Trail to get there.

This is me fighting the tears lol jk.

That's the llama and ongoing maintenance construction that will greet you on the way to the ruins. Caution: heavy foot traffic. Pakadaming tao even if it was just 8 in the morning!

And here's my holy grail in its glorious, unedited beauty.

I didn't cry. It's impossible to cry when you're surrounded by a bunch of tourists pressuring you to be over with your photo ops/personal moments/whatnots asap so they can have theirs too. They're vicious like that. I did, however, had this loony smile plastered all over my face the whole time. It was so surreal, I really have no words.

Mac&Cheese in Machu Picchu!

I'm still writing down everything, trying to relive what happened so it's gonna take me quite a while to put it out here aside, of course, from being a painfully slow writer.

I don't want to say it was the greatest day of my life - although it's super close enough - since I do believe that there will be more days like this. I will strive to create more days like this. It was, however, the greatest and happiest 2 months of my life I'm not sure how can I ever top it.

I did it, WE did it!

There are days I'd still want to pinch myself. Looking at photos I couldn't believe we were really there. Sometimes I want to high five myself for a job well done because believe me it really wasn't easy. I'm not rich, I don't have a fat bank account not even parents nor relatives to support me financially.

Does that make me a stuck up jerk? I hope not. All I did was hold on to my dream and persevere. It might sound a cliché but it's true: dreams do come true if you work hard enough for it. No matter how long it takes you to dream it, believe that you can. Sooner or later it will.

The Inspiration of My (Grand) Machu Picchu Dream

I was going through my old Machu Picchu related posts for blog migration purposes when it reminded me how and when the dream started. 

This Hallmark presentation was the culprit. Oh Max, how I've missed you. If only I could find a DVD copy.

A Peruvian Dream

When I was about 14, I saw this movie – Max is Missing – in our local cable channel, about a boy who was on a vacation along with his family in Peru. He got separated to them, got chased by robbers who were after a priceless mask that was given to him by a dying man. What a great adventure for a 12-year-old kid (assuming that every kid with the same adventure will also live), right?

After watching that movie, I was so inspired to have my own adventure in Peru, particularly in Machu Picchu, traverse the great Incan trail and watch the sun rise from the top of the ruins.

Keep in mind that I don’t know much about Peru back then. I came in a province wherein internet – if it does exist during those time – is unheard of. All I know is that Peru is a country far, far away from where I live therefore it is impossible for me to run around, get lost, let alone sit and cry on top of a pyramid ruins just like what Max did, because 1) I am not rich and 2) I don’t have any idea how to. My young mind still has that pretty limited world and imagination.

12 years after, here I am obsessing once again for that Peruvian adventure. I have to admit thought that Machu Picchu is second only on my top-two list of greatest ambitions/dreams/adventures in life. Egypt came first and I blame my Discovkids watching days for it. For dreaming BIG. The drive for that Peruvian adventure was just too strong lately.

So there. I’m spending my work-free hours at the office researching everything about a (hopefully and God-willing) future backpacking trip in South America. I started with the basics. Filipinos do not need visas to get to Peru (as well as Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Suriname). Yay!

The next was to pick a flight that will send me directly to Peru with a connecting flight in a country that will not require me to show nor possess a visa. I’ve read some options and still looking for viable (read: hassle-free in transit experience and not too expensive) flights preferably those that would need less connecting flights. I even wish that when I finally get to go on this trip, there’s already a direct flight from Manila to Lima. Ha!

Logistics, logistics, logistics. I won’t delve into that right now because everything’s still a big “if”. But surely, in order for me to push through with this dream trip, I would have to have an immense bank savings account first.

Which brings me to the post right after this.