Machu Picchu... is like Disney World

Way out of focus. Way early.

After arriving in Aguas Calientes and getting to the hotel we didn't waste much time before having a little supper and then going to bed. The next morning was super early. The alarm went off at 3:55 and was snoozed, then was again snoozed at 4:00 but at 4:05 am we got up to eat breakfast of yogurt, bread, granola, and granola bars. It was early, but the food was pretty filling. Plus you can't be that lethargic when you're about to see Machu Picchu.

By about 4:40 we met with Dom and Lauren in the lobby (pictured above) and from there we walked towards the foot of the mountain. After walking over a train track then a bridge things started to get Disney World-y.

Off to my left was a running river just below a mountain. Everything smelled and looked and sounded (in the dim light of 5:00 am) like Disney World. Animal Kingdom maybe. I then realized that the difference between Disney and where I was was that there the sounds and sights were real. Really real. For a second I thought about how great Disney is to have made places that seem so authentic, then I got back to reality where I was enjoying the base of Machu Picchu in real life. If Disney World is magical, well so was walking to the bottom gates of Machu Picchu.