Cusco & Machu Picchu, Peru -- April 2015 -- Days 25, 26 & 27

Day 25, April 27, 2015 … We’re up early this morning; and because of the altitude causing fatigue, we question ourselves … “We’re doing this … why?  Isn’t it time to go home???”  But no … we’re here specifically to see Machu Picchu … so here we go! At 6 a.m. Henry picked us up for a hour-and-a-half drive through the gorgeous mountain side country, along the narrow road of hairpin turns

through quaint little towns and through the lush agricultural region of the high Andes with its patchwork-quilt fields of potatoes, maize, quinoa and other fruits and vegetables, all surrounded by the high, jagged snow-covered peaks of the Andes Mountains.  We drove through a portion of the Sacred Valley along the Urubamba River, which contains many Incan ruins.  It is called the Sacred Valley because it contains some of the best land in the valley and it is theorized it was the property of the Incan Emperor himself.

Bob & Marcie on
the train

After arriving in Ollantaytambo, we boarded a train with sky view windows to enjoy the two-hour ride through the very narrow scenic canyon with very steep mountain sides. In Aguas Calientes, a small town at the base of Machu Picchu, we boarded a bus which whisked us up the side of the mountain for 2,000 feet along the bumpy, dirt, one-lane switchback road; and in about 20 minutes we could see it … Machu Picchu!!

The Incas had no written language, so there is no record as to why they built on this site or how they used it. Several theories have been proposed as to why this massive 80,000-acre complex was built; however, it is now believed Machu Picchu was constructed by the Incas around 1400 AD as a royal estate for the Incan ruler Pachacuti. It was never finished and was abandoned during the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in 1532. There is an agricultural and an urban area to the complex; the urban area was divided between the upper part with its temples and royalty living quarters and the lower part for workers’ quarters and warehouses.

About 700+ terraced fields on the edge of the site were once used for growing crops, and water was provided by springs from the taller mountains which was channeled down the site. There is no evidence of any military presence on site or of battles taking place there. What amazed me once again was their civil engineering and astrological knowledge. The Temple of the Sun, the windows in The Temple of the Three Windows and The Temple of the Condor were all constructed so they could observe the sun and know the exact day of the equinoxes plus determine the precise times for different religious celebrations and festivals.

This site was not discovered by
Westerners until 1911; and when American Historian Hiram Bingham first saw it, it was totally covered in a tangled web of dense jungle vegetation. While the site is about 8,000 feet above sea level, the tropical rainforest atmosphere and vegetation is a bit surprising.  Henry guided us all around the site … up many steps, down many steps, up, down, up, down  …all day long explaining the various parts of the complex as well as the history of his own Incan ancestors.  It was incredible. It was unbelievable. It was unfathomable. We are so, so glad we made the effort to see this amazing place.

Machu Picchu

After taking the bus back down the mountain and quickly strolling through the many craft shops (neither Bob nor Henry were as interested as I!), we sat down for a drink while waiting for our train.  We had a delightful and insightful conversation with our guide, Henry Melgarejo Quispe Ynga, a descendant of Incan royalty, who is obviously very proud of his heritage and of his country.  If you’re ever coming to Cuzco and need a persona guide, do contact Henry (I’d be happy to provide contact info … just e-mail me).

The return back to Cuzco was long, but uneventful; and it was almost 10 o’clock by time we opened our hotel room door and plopped down on the bed!!!  We are giddy from our day’s adventure but totally exhausted as well.

Days 26 and 27, April 28 and 29 … This morning is departure day. We packed up the suitcases, had breakfast in the hotel, checked out of the hotel but left our luggage in storage until the afternoon, then walked around the streets in Cuzco … sitting in the park observing those passing by, browsing

The town square of Cusco

through the shops admiring all the crafts and alpaca-made clothing, lunch at a local restaurant where I ate quinoa-coated alpaca and potatoes, more sitting in the park dickering with street vendors and a few beggars or just “fighting them off”!  It is a bit cool; the people are very social; the City is old-style European but extremely clean. A slow, enjoyable day … though we were looking forward to getting off the mountain and back to “normal” air!

Traditional Inca dress
Entrepreneurship ---  take my
picture for $$

The faces of Cusco

Our flights from Cuzco to Lima, then Lima to Atlanta where we went through customs, then Atlanta to home with all the wait times in between took about 24 hours.  It has been a fabulous adventure meandering through the South Pacific and Peru … but we are very glad to be home, greeted by the budding leaves on the trees, the flowering cherry trees and elderberry bushes and many of my perennials already 6-9 inches high!  But best of all, greeted by our beautiful family. God continues to Bless us abundantly!

Cusco, Peru -- April 2015 -- Day 24

Day 24 April 26, 2015 … Breakfast was on the 10^th floor of the beautiful Belmond Miraflores Park Hotel outside of Lima overlooking the park below, the ocean and beaches, as well as the high rises. We hopped a flight to Cusco, a city of about 500,000 people at about 11,000 feet, high in the Andes Mountains. There is so much history here relating to the native Incas who were conquered by the Spanish. We checked into the Aranwa, a lovely old Spanish hacienda that has been converted into a modern hotel with oxygen forced into the room via computer in case of issues with the altitude!  

The Cathedral in
Cusco, Peru

After settling in and a light lunch, our guide Henry and driver Pablo took us on a tour of the city. We started with the Cathedral.  Peru is 80 percent Catholic, and religion is the most important aspect in the lives of the Indians.  The enculturation of the Incan religious beliefs into the Church is very interesting. Walking into the side church of the Cathedral was an overwhelming jaw-dropping phenomenon.  I trembled in awe at the side altars on the right and on the left, plus the main altar in front covering the entire wall, looking at them all encased in gold leaf … it was so stunningly beautiful, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! We spent about an hour going through the Cathedral with Henry explaining how the Incas incorporated some of their beliefs into the paintings they did for the church. Unfortunately pictures are not allowed inside the church, so it all remains a memory … and you’ll have to come to Cusco to see it for yourself!  I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Our next stop was Qorikancha, the first Dominican convent which was built over the Inca Sun

Henry & Bob in front of the
trapezoid-shaped stone blocks
constructed by the Incas

Temple.  As a result of the devastating earthquake here in the 1950s, many parts of the Inca Sun Temple were exposed. After extensive research and digging out to expose the temple walls, they discovered how the Incan ingenuity of constructing trapezoid-shaped stone blocks withstood all earthquakes. Without iron tools or even the wheel, these stones were precisely cut to fit together tightly without mortar. The tectonic plates in this area are shifting every day so earthquakes are common. And now places like Japan, California, and other earthquake prone areas are using that same Incan civil engineering know-how to construct buildings to withstand the quakes.  Unbelievable.

Marcie & Bob
in front of one of
the largest stones
moved to
Saksaywaman

Next, Saksaywaman, an area with two large hills facing each other on which the Incas brought huge boulders from five miles away (no wheels, horses, etc., to move them … only pebbles and possibly tree trunks) to shave and fit together. As in the Sun Temple, the boulders are sanded into trapezoid shapes, all fitting together perfectly. They theorize the intent was to build a very large religious celebration area. It was never finished. It was quite a site. Close by were limestone rock formations that they carved into altars used for religious sacrifices and where people were mummified, part of the process of returning that person to the earth. Tambomachay is another series of trapezoid boulders where the Incas channeled water from a river though a series of aqueducts, canals and waterfalls through these stones creating one fountain on one level

The Incan fountans at
Tambomachay

and two fountains on  the bottom level symbolizing the coming together of man and woman. They worshiped water as a sign of life. Interesting that nothing has been done to maintain this system in 500 years, yet the flow and volume of water in the falls remains exactly the same every day, year after year.

The Incas believe Cusco was the center of the universe (Cusco was distorted to Cuzco by the Spanish. The original pronunciation was officially restored about 40 years ago) and had built an extensive empire around it. The Spanish developed it as a typical European city with red tiled roofs and very narrow streets … that, with the advent of vehicles, is proving to be quite a challenge to drive. It is situated in a high valley; and as it grows, more people are building up the sides of the treeless mountains. It’s really quite pretty. Because of the altitude, they are limited in what they can grow themselves, but potatoes, lima beans, quinoa and some wheat are common. The people are generally vegetarian because there are few meat animals around, though they love to feast on guinea pig on special occasions! Of course tourism is big now, bringing more affluence to the community; and even I broke down and purchased an alpaca throw from one of the vendors, but we declined to try the guinea pig!!

Views of Cusco

  I think we’re having some issues with altitude, especially in the little walking we did today through the ruins.  We asked for additional oxygen in our room … and it’s very early to bed, as tomorrow is going to be a very long day!  Another extremely interesting, fascinating and educational day!