Seven of Coca

I arrived in Aguas Calientes today hoping I would be able to visit Machu Picchu, but the tickets I wanted were already gone. The woman helping me told me I could get one for tomorrow, so that's what I did.

Strangely, I wasn't as disappointed as I thought I would be. I'm here. The mountains aren't going anywhere. I have waited years to see this place, and one more day didn't seem like very much. So I spent the afternoon wandering through town, ate an absurdly good meal, and went to bed knowing that when I woke up, it would finally be time.

This morning, someone mentioned that today marks the spring equinox here in the Southern Hemisphere. I hadn't even realized it. Of all the days I could have walked into Machu Picchu, somehow the day I had been made to wait for was the turning of a season.

I loved knowing that as I walked through the ruins. Yesterday, I thought I had simply arrived a day too late. Today it felt like I had arrived exactly when I was supposed to.