Machu Picchu

It was already 12:45 am, and I’m still awake. I’m coughing, sneezing, and breathing heavier than anyone with altitude sickness. This wasn’t good and definitely wasn’t a great way to start the next morning. I’m supposed be up in about 4 hours to catch a bus to see one of the world’s most marvelous wonders this world had to offer. I tried to take the cold medicine and anti-inflammatory pills I had purchased the other day in order to prepare for the long day ahead. The next morning was going to be a long day.

If it wasn’t for John, I don’t think I would have made it out the door on my own. I was completely unconscious, and was prepared to miss the day entirely. I just didn’t have it in me physically and mentally to end my sleep short and start my day at 5 am. But I had to do it. We’re going to Machu Picchu for god’s sake. It was a big part of the reason why I was even on this trip, and so to miss this opportunity because I “wanted to sleep in” seemed uncharacteristic of me. It’s 4:55 am, 5 minutes before we’re supposed to board. Get up Ralzaly.

I willed myself out of bed - fought the congestion, the cold, the sneezing, and the nausea because I knew that if I didn’t, I would regret this for the rest of my life. I put on my shorts and hoodie, and rush myself out the door to make the bus in time. Worrying about getting others sick, I took it upon myself to take a seat alone on the bus where I was also able to begin my recuperation by sleeping the entire ride there.

Hours have passed, and the bus is just arriving at the train station. My nap was insufficient and left me dazed and mentally impaired. We get off the bus, and I immediately trek towards the platforms to board the train. Here we go.

The train arrives. As I climb into the cabin of the train, I immediately feel an unfamiliar presence of richness. The floors were sprawled from one end to the other covered with its braided rugged features. Tables were covered in satin table cloths, finely set with well-orientated handkerchiefs and posh silverware. The space inside the cabin was vast with the crisp air of the morning day. I sit down in the comfort of a smooth mahogany leather seat and I close my eyes and breathe in the open air. I felt rejuvenated, reenergized, reinvigorated with new health to expend throughout the day. I was ready.

The train finally arrives in the small tourist town of Agua Caliente, located at the base of Machu Picchu. We switch from the train to a bus that would then take us to the top of the mountain at where we would then sit at the front gate of Machu Picchu. We had made it.

Words could not describe the immense awe that had encapsulated the stiffness of my face or the frail hairs that stood up on the skin of my arms. I had goosebumps. I took in the moment and visually captured what could be my last time up here in these mountains. Machu Picchu was beautiful. Here are pictures I took for you to experience the amazing wonder that I had just saw.

We make our way back through the same series of transportation, where I would crawl into bed with a painful migraine. I fell asleep in hopes to shake it off.