The earliest Machu Picchu tickets we could get after the long line-waiting were Noon, so we had a pretty leisurely morning. We walked over to the bus stop area just before 11 and were faced with yet more lines to get on.

I assumed the worst (PTSD from overnight line) but it moved somewhat quickly and we got on the bus. It drove us about 20 minutes straight up a windy dirt road. The whole time I wondered how people found this area, and how they got to the top of the Andes and decided “yes, this is where we will build”. It all seemed impossible.

When we arrived, things felt less busy. We got in and then were free to roam, as long as we stayed on the pre-defined “circuit” that we bought our ticket for.

As soon as we saw the city, the difficulty of getting here and getting the tickets was worth it. For whatever reason, I have always wanted to come here. It was the same thing with the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids, they are so iconic that I wanted to see them in person. And, like with those, I got choked up when I finally saw Machu Picchu. Partly because of the scale and history, but also with gratitude and amazement that I have a life that has enabled me to see these things.

The forecast called for clouds and rain, which we had made peace with. So when it was clear and sunny, we felt even luckier.

Our route took us along the top of the terraces, and then down into the ruins. We watched the documentary yesterday on a whim, but it made the experience so much richer for us, especially Millie. I’m kicking myself for not finding similar content for her earlier this year when we were seeing “boring ruins” almost every other day. She kept asking great questions about what we had learned and what we were seeing.

I couldn’t help but compare everything to what we had seen earlier this year. I like to imagine societies coexisting without any contact between them. I am fascinated by how similar their developments are. Today we kept talking about how the stone work and structures felt like the castles we visited in England.

I loved looking at the detail in the stonework. It was so perfect and yet so… imperfect. I love how the shapes are carved together like puzzle pieces.

We also loved following the drainage and clever irrigation built throughout the entire city.

The best thing of all though was the natural beauty. The views of the mountains around us were breathtaking. We agreed we should come back in ~5 years and do the full 4-day hike along the Inca trail to here, and all the more strenuous circuits.

We explored for about 2.5 hours and then took the bus back down, hungry and ready for lunch. We found a place and ordered and then had a repeat of last night’s dinner where Millie didn’t want to eat anything. We never force her to eat but did remind her that there wouldn’t be any snacks or food until dinner. This set her off and she had some not-great behavior that led us to leave the restaurant early. On top of it, Nick and I have slightly opposing styles of what to do in these situations so we had a full family argument. We came back to the hotel and talked it through as a family. A blessing (maybe?) and a curse of this togetherness is being forced to talk through things as a group.

It was not a fun afternoon, especially after such a special morning. We all agreed that we should try to turn the day back around and Nick and I each came up with an idea for what we could do.

My idea was to give Millie a small budget ($10) to take to the market and choose some souvenirs for her friends. She packed the cash in her purse and walked through, deciding what to get people and then asking how much everything was. It was adorable and she had so much fun, it turned everything around again.

Nick’s idea was to find a nice cafe with outdoor seating and to play games. We played Crazy 8s, a dogman themed card game that Millie loves and we hate, Spot-it, and Set. We spent 2 hours playing and had a great time. Our table overlooked the insane ticket line. We got there at 4:30PM and the line was already as long as it had been when I arrived at 3:30AM. Over 600 people were prepared to spend the night there.

So overall, a real sandwich of a day. High highs this morning, a tough afternoon, and then a relaxing and pleasant evening. That’s life right? Can’t have the highs without the lows.