Cusco Macchu Picchu

Cusco is a tourist mecca for all those seeking access to Machu Picchu. I find it overwhelming that within 2 blocks you can encounter up to 15 store fronts offering treks to the jungle, rafting trips, mountain biking and something involving small reptiles resembling crocodiles (caymans most likely). 5 minutes after being let out of the taxi we met our first person offering all sorts of services. At that moment, not having any clue about a hostal, having a son about to pass out from a combination of altitude and having thrown up in the airport in Ecuador at 6:00am and a daughter recovering from the same the night before, wegladly accepted his guidance. It was only several hours later after he was still hanging around the hostal that I realized he was waiting for a tip. Dumb gringa! And while I was grateful that he directed us, I soon was wary of the cheap trips he was offering us as being those that are so discounted it means you are sacrificing your experience, but they are not telling you about that!
After the gut wrenching experience of committing to spending hundreds of dollars, we decided to go to Macchu Picchu on our own. In the end, we found a couple of cheaper hostals than I expected so the whole journey was not as painful as it could have been. We stopped over in the small town of Ollantaytambo (one of the hardest names in Spanish for me personally to prounounce). There is a small site of ruins there and while interesting, I now realize that once you have Macchu Picchu’d you can never go back. While I maintain I am NOT like other tourists, we swarmed with the masses over the wonderous site of these amazing ruins. Trying to transport yourself back to that time…..when community was key, organic farming was the norm and people who were lazy got beheaded. Ahhhhh….my kinda livin’!! Cinnamon