Day Two: Machu Picchu

The day started with catching the bus, which was much different from yesterday The line to board the buses was several blocks long, but luckily, it moved quickly. When we arrived at the entrance, once again the lines were long, but that was mostly for the other two circuits, and Circuit Three, the lower one, had fewer people in line, so we were able to get through more quickly. During this part of the tour, we walked on the terraces and then up to the housing area. At one point we had to climb 64 rocky stairs, and to my delight, I was able to do so without stopping. I am improving, no doubt! Cesar took us to the housing areas where four central housing areas were surrounded by sleeping rooms, storage rooms, and other areas. He showed us the very developed water drainage and filtration systems, he explained the difference in construction of the temples versus the regular rooms, he showed us the granite lentils and door-locking systems, and described some of the places where it has not been possible to determine why certain stairwells or roooms were constructed. One very beautiful area was the cave under one of the temples that had very smooth walls, and the area with the drawing of the condor. The head is very easy to distinguish, and some say that other rocks form the condor's wings. Who knows? One our way out we were able to greet the local llamas, and then we were back on the bus and going home.