Patience Pays

Jesse Katayama is from Osaka, Japan. At 26, he set a goal of going to Machu Picchu, the 15th-Century Incan settlement in Peru.

Jesse is a savvy traveler. He made his plans and booked his reservations and tickets.

Good plans, bad luck. He arrived in Aguas Calientes, Peru, on March 14 of this year.  That was when Peru shut down due to COVID-19.

Stranded in his room, Jesse, with the versatility and flexibility that a lot of young people have, made his way by teaching boxing to local kids, enjoying yoga classes, and studying for his exams awaiting him back home.

There were still things to do in Peru. Katayama took in sights like the Putucusi Mountain and the Calientes Waterfalls.  

But every morning, he went out for a run and he could see Machu Picchu looming in the distance. He told CNN, “I thought I would never make it to Machu Picchu as I was expecting it [wouldn’t] open within this year.”

But here's a case of patience paying off. Sure, he had to hang around for seven months, but eventually the Peruvian government allowed Jesse to have the Machu Picchu experience! And he had it all to himself, just about.

Alejandro Neyra, Peru's minister of culture, said it was decided that Jesse should get to see what he came to see, and so, his patience was rewarded. 

“He had come to Peru with the dream of being able to enter [the park],” Neyra said, as quoted by the Times. “The Japanese citizen has entered together with our head of the park so that he can do this before returning to his country.”

Of course, Katayama shared his happiness with the world in Instagram, posed with a park representative.

“After the lockdown, the first man to visit Machu Picchu is meeeeeee,” was his caption.

Machu Picchu, way up high at 8,000 feet in the Andes Mountains, above the Urubamba River valley, normally draws as many as 2,240 visitors per day, all drawn to see the 15th-Century terraces, temples and fountains there.

“I thought I [would] never make it [to Machu Picchu] but everyone asked the government and the town and they [gave] me super special permission,” Katayama added on Instagram post.

Super special! Even better than double secret!

He added, “Peruvians are soooo kind. Thank you soooo much!”