Waiting for the Sun

In general, Macchu Picchu postcard shots get done to death, so rather than post the general scenic shot, I thought I´d post a few shots of the circumstances leading up to capturing it (which, admittedly, is of the most breathtaking vista combining natural beauty and human heritage that I have seen). Firstly, the the walk up to Macchu Picchu from the town of Agua Calientes, about an hour and a half straight down from the Inca site. I don´t have anything to post there as we did that in the dark in order to arrive at the gates for opening at 6:00.

And arrive we did, sweating profusely, to be greeted not only by the tour buses depositing their first loads, but also by the curious fact that you have to buy the pass into the site at the bottom of the mountain, which, owing to the fact that we had arrived at 10:00 the night previous, we had failed to do. Once it became apparent that there was a small, sweat-drenched mob forming who shared our situation, we brought our combined pressure to bear to convince the guards to let us in if we left money for a ticket and our passports.

Which leads me to the above photo. The ridge above Macchu Picchu, where the Inca trail nominally terminates, is the best platform for taking the aforementioned shot. I say nominally, as there has recently been a landslide on the ridge leading to the site, which has forced all trailers to head down to Agua Calientes, stay the night, and catch a bus up with everyone else - a small, somewhat selfish balm on the wound of missing out on the trail ourselves. At any rate, these shadowy figures are a few of several hundred eager photographers lining the ridge and terraces of Macchu Picchu and waiting for the mist to rise.

In the meantime, my brother and I kept ourselves occupied, also patiently waiting for the fog to clear and the light to hit just so...