Urubamba, Peru

The day did not get off to a great start. After organizing all of the required documents last night to make sure that we were waiting and ready to go for our 05:30 pickup, I found that my passport was missing when I did the final check at 05:28. After ripping the hotel room and the luggage apart, I found it slipped away safe and sound underneath the divider of my camera case 10 minutes later. An inauspicious start to what turned out to be one of the most spectacular days of my life (so far).

We caught the train to Macchu Picchu allowing us to cross off one of our biggest bucket list items. Just to add the cherry on top, the Incan gods smiled down on us and provided a cloudless sunny day.

We met up with a group of very fun Brits, Australians and our American companion from last week’s conference. Our guide lead us around and revealed the history of this breathtaking site.

Perched atop a mountainside but nestled amongst them, the location and layout of this city is truly magical. The complexity of the stone structures, architecture, city planning, agricultural terraces, temples and public squares is absolutely mind blowing. Hard to believe all the work that went into creating the town for only 1000 people. It is thought that the site was abandoned when the inhabitants fled into the forest after the Spanish conquered Cusco. The reason that it is intact (and not the site of yet another Catholic church) is that the Spanish never found it.

I always worry that inappropriate expectations (from years of hearing how amazing a place is) will lead to dissapointment. That is definitely not the case here. Macchu Picchu truly feels magical and definitely deserves bucket list status.