Chapter 25 23 Can the ruins of Machu Picchu surpass the temple of Tikal?

My primary destination in South America is the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, known as the "City of the Sky".Because the Temple of Tikal, the Mayan ruins in Central America, was deeply moved, I am even more looking forward to Machu Picchu. "There must be a touch beyond Tikal waiting for me!" Just because I often see it on TV, I have unfounded imaginations.General roads do not lead to Machu Picchu, only by train from Cusco.I left my bicycle at the hotel and temporarily embarked on a railway journey.After a long day of train ride, I arrived at the station in front of Machu Picchu - Aguas Calientes.There are hot springs in this valley town, and I arranged the tour of the ruins for tomorrow morning and found a cheap hotel near the station.

After eating, I went to the public bath.It’s really touching at first glance. It’s exactly the same as the hot spring scenery in Japan. The bathing place is at the end of the mountain road, with a small stream flowing beside it, and you can hear the sound of gurgling water; the street lights dimly illuminate the dim mountain road, and white steam floats out everywhere .I didn't expect it to be so surreal to be able to taste such Japanese scenery near the Inca ruins. The hot spring is also great, a large open-air bath.There is no light pollution in the night sky at an altitude of 3,000 meters, and the stars are twinkling a bit noisy. I looked up at the stars, stretched my limbs, soaked in the hot spring leisurely, and thought of the Machu Picchu ruins so close, ah, it was surreal!

The next day, I was left with an unexpected impression in astonishment. The Machu Picchu I was thinking about was much smaller than I imagined. The photos and videos are so scary, it makes people think that the image on the screen is the whole world.I expected Machu Picchu to occupy the entire field of vision, looming menacingly before my eyes.Unexpectedly, it actually looks like a small speck in the vast mountain scenery. If I had never seen a photo or video of Machu Picchu and came here without any preconceptions, I would be shocked by its strange shape, right?However, I couldn't help but compare the ruins in front of me with the images in my memory, and I only felt that they were "exactly the same", "but smaller than what I saw on TV".

Although, what has not been seen with our own eyes is always an unknown territory, but the impact of TV images still reduces our emotions more or less.The deluge of information makes the world smaller and undermines our enjoyment of wonder.It takes a lot of effort to keep the pure and innocent touch.It is also for this reason that I try not to look at the photos in travel books and trek to the destination by bicycle.In any case, the shock brought by the Temple of Tikal was still too strong... After that, Brother Seiji and I broke up in Cusco, and we met again in Buno, 500 kilometers to the south, after a few days; Three hundred kilometers to the south, La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, meets again.There is only one road in this part of the world, and of course we will keep meeting each other, and as long as we meet again, there will be a lot of noise and carnival.

Brother Seiji and I spent two weeks in La Paz, listening to the live performance of South American folk music "folklore", fishing piranhas in the Amazon River, having a lot of fun, and enjoying the fun of South America.It took another day to ride from La Paz, and I didn't leave until the next day. Afterwards, the routes of the two of us are completely different, so there is probably no chance to meet again, right?But I gradually worship Seiji-san as my own elder brother.Holding his hand, I naturally hope to meet him unexpectedly somewhere again.Unknowingly, the whole