O hi, Asia!

Fog
The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
                 –Carl Sandburg

I got up at 5:40am so I could check out Machu Picchu right when it opens at 6am.

Myth: Staying at the Sanctuary Lodge allows for early-morning access to Machu Picchu, as buses don’t start running until later on.

Reality: This may have been true 6 or 7 years ago. But nowadays, buses arrive from Aguas Calientes starting at 5:45am (meaning they left A.C. at 5:15am.)

Karin & Ernie I counted about 100 people in line just before 6am. Most had taken the bus, but I recognized a couple,  Karin and Ernie, from the Sanctuary Lodge restaurant from the night before and hung out with them. She’s originally from Belgium but now lives in the DC area where she runs a pet care company. He still works at the job where they met several years ago.

Foggy Memory As soon as they got inside, most people headed up toward the Sun Gate – about an hour hike – or to one of the better-known vantage points. We stayed low and watched the fog roll all over and around Wayna Picchu and neighboring mountains. With the cool, wet air and ethereal surroundings Machu Picchu felt like a different place from the day before. We had about 15 minutes of this action before the fog took over altogether.

Early morning fog at Machu Picchu.

This was our 20-minute window before the fog took over.

Andes mountaintops surrounded by early fog.

Foggy Machu Picchu at 6:15am.

Early morning sun peeking through heavy fog at Machu Picchu.

Just before fog blanketed the entire scene.

Can’t see? Eat! The fog soon made it useless to be out there, so we went back to Sanctuary Lodge for breakfast. (Breakfast buffet pic here.) This was likely when I was most glad I’d stayed at Sanctuary Lodge. (Although, possibly not $860-worth of glad…) If I’d stayed in Aguas Calientes, I imagine I would have packed food in my backpack and kept hiking all morning. (But at 6:30am until when, all day?) It was nice to break for breakfast with these two, so close to the MP entrance.

When fog takes over, stop for breakfast!