In my third year of vet school, I went to a seminar during lunch. There was free food, and if you know any student, especially a vet student, then you know free food cannot be passed up. Anyway, it was a group of students giving a PowerPoint presentation on their volunteer experiences with World Vets. I was immediately intrigued. Hot off my veterinary trip to South Africa, I was just itching to travel somewhere new on my next semester break. Insert World Vets. What could be better than gaining surgical experience in an exotic location while helping local animals? I thought, “Sign me up!”
I woke at 3am and staggered, dreary eyed, down to the bus stop. It was a cold morning but I had my newly purchased alpaca sweater to keep me warm. I was first in a line that grew to over a hundred people, all clamoring to make it up the mountain before sunrise. At 5am, I took my seat in the first row and sat back as the bus made its way along the dirt road, wondering with each switchback if the large bus could make the turn, surprised every time when it did. The gray light of morning had begun to show as I made my way through the gates and bee-lined up the stairs to the lookout. I took a seat on the ledge and watched the sunlight break over the mountain and shine down onto the mountaintop Incan city of Machu Picchu!
This article is part of my “New 7 Wonders of the World” series. The New 7 Wonders were voted upon worldwide in 2007, and include The Great Wall of China, the Colosseum, Petra, the Christ Redeemer, Machu Picchu, and Chichen Itza. While it’s certainly not a complete list of places I want to visit, it is my goal to travel to each location.