It's so weird seeing pics like this. I was born in Peru in the 80s and was fortunate enough to get to visit Machu Picchu several times growing up. I was a young kid but I still remember in the 90s before it became a huge tourist destination you could show up and just walk around yourself or you'd find local tour guides, but it wasn't a protected monument the way it has been for the past couple of decades.

Quick question, when you take the bus back down, are there kids who still run down the trails and wave at you as cruise down the switchbacks?