Machu Picchu!

On the morning of our visit to Machu Picchu, we arose at 4:30 a.m., got dressed, had a little breakfast (I don't even remember what we had) and headed to catch the bus to Machu Picchu. We initially had planned to hike in from Aguas Calientes to capture some of the sense of hiking the Inca Trail, but after hiking Putukusi the day before, we decided that we didn't need that experience. We would have had to leave at 3:30 a.m. to arrive at opening, 7:00, and felt that it may have been a little much.
There were what seemed to be hundreds of people in line for the buses and I thought, "Oh, great, we will have to deal with crowds all day long....", but amazingly, once we arrived, everyone seemed to disperse and crowds were not an issue. The bus ride was a twisty, turny ride on hairpin curves on a dirt road. I am amazed at the skill of the bus drivers. Everyone seemed full of anticipation and I know that although I tried to relax, I was not wanting to miss anything. I plan to post many pictures of Machu Picchu, since it was the most important part of my trip, so I hope not to bore you.

Well---here we are...Machu Picchu!!! ---the climax of the trip! It was everything I had imagined, and more! It was beautiful, mystical, other-worldly... amazing! I think we were very lucky to have gone during the off season, when it wasn't overrun by tourists.

This picture shows Machu Picchu at around 7:30 a.m. when we first arrived. You can see in the middle a room that is being renovated, the Temple of the Sun. I did some photoshopping on this picture in another view and erased the tarps, etc., but, in this picture you see it exactly as we saw it. The wispy clouds hanging over the Andes mountains added to the ethereal quality of the site. What amazed me most was how quiet everyone was. It was as though everyone could feel the spirituality.

Here's a picture of Grant and me with Machu Picchu in the background.

This is the sacred Inca mountain, Putukusi, which Grant and I hiked yesterday. The part we hiked was on the back side, away from what you can see here, but if you look at the very top, that's where we ended up and got the cloud shrouded view of Machu Picchu.

The llamas are the only official residents of Machu Picchu. They seem very happy in their home and not at all intimidated by the visitors.

In this picture you can see the part of Machu Picchu called the Industrial Sector with Mount Putukusi in the background.

Another view of Machu Picchu with the agricultural terraces in the background.

Urubamba, Aguas Calientes, Putukusi

The train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes follows the Rio Urubamba. It is a beautiful, powerful, river that the Inca believed to be the earthbound counterpart of the Milky Way and thus a direct connection to the heavens.














Aguas Calientes is little more than a shanty town at the base of Machu Picchu. We got off the train and set out to find a hostel. Pretty much all there is in Aguas Calientes are hostels and restaurants. When you disembark from the train you are met by a plethera of "hawkers" wanting you to come to their hostel. Grant did a much better job than I did at ignoring the protests. In this picture you see him on his way to find a hostel and escape the hawkers.
We got a very basic hostel and shared it with Valentin---there was only one towel---there was hot water, but no shower curtain, so that made showering interesting.






We arrived in Aguas Calientes in the early afternoon and there just wasn't much to do in terms of sightseeing. I read in our guidebook that Mount Putukusi, just outside town, offered some commanding views of Machu Picchu. It said it was an "athletic feat"---that didn't phase us. Valentin had been up all night the previous night and just wanted to sleep, so we left him in the room and headed out.
The hike to the top of Putukusi was supposed to take 90 minutes---it took us closer to 2 hours. It was the most strenuous trek I've ever taken. It starts with mainly a path up stone steps like those you see in the picture on the left and winds back and forth and then you are encountered with 6 sets of ladders. The ladder pictured at the left had 112 rungs! The others ranged from 12 to 60. It was pretty scary.
We met some people coming down about 30 minutes in and they were concerned that we wouldn't have enough time to make it u and back down before dark. Then about 20 minutes later, we met another group of 4 with a guide who said a storm was moving in. Grant had been very patient with me waiting while I rested after the ladders and steep climbs, but at that point I told him to head on and make it to the top. We had gone through all the ladders and were just climbing on paths. He headed out and got to see Machu Picchu before the clouds moved in. I made it, but we didn't have much time to sit and soak it all in.

This is what it looks like looking down from the top of the 112 rung ladder!

Here is a view of the Urubamba from our climb up Apo Putukusi. It winds its way through the Andes.

Ollantaytambo

One of the things I loved about Ollantaytambo was the quiet, small town atmosphere. In this picture you see an Inca courtyard. Ollantaytambo is a wonderfully preserved Inca settlement. The streets and homes have been maintained in the same style as they were built by the Incas. One of the ways that the Inca designed homes was a "cancha", or block of homes. This is an example---the opening from the street opens onto a courtyard, off of which are 4 houses. Our guidebook told of a family who opened their home for people to see. It wasn't easy to find, but I followed the directions and found the house.
Notice in the picture the canal down the middle of the courtyard---stone lined from Inca times. In the background on the mountain you can see ruins of Inca storehouses and the Inca face that I posted in the previous post. Grant and I climbed part way up that mountain---to the storehouses on the previous day. It is where the cactus I posted was. I also found some tiny shells on the side of the mountain. They looked like tiny sea shells.




These skulls were on the mantle inside the house pictured above. I spoke in my limited Spanish to the woman, who told me they were skulls of her Inca ancestors. She was very personable and welcoming. I wish my Spanish had been better so I could have asked my many questions.
















The husband was preparing a fire to cook the cuy, guinea pigs. The cuy seemed so happy living in the house with the family. See the one perched on the stone overlooking the fire? He doesn't know what his future holds....








The woman shows me her bowl of cuy ready to be roasted. "Cuy al horno" is a dish available in the restaurants. I didn't want to try it.

This old dog was laying on these steps every time we walked by. He never lifted his head to check us out, even when I talked to him He reminded me of Champ, our 14 year old dog, who mostly sleeps these days.

Well, good-bye to Ollantaytambo. Grant is shown here waiting to board PeruRail for Aquas Calientes. Grant and I rode the "Backpacker", which was the cheapest and slowest of the three trains. The middle choice, the "Vistadome", was considered 1st class, and the most expensive, the "Hiram Bingham", named after the man who rediscovered Machu Picchu in 1911, was luxury, costing about $450 for a one way ticket.

Our ride to Aquas Calientes was comfortable, lasting a couple of hours. We met a kid from France, Valentin ---you can see him getting his ticket out in the picture. We ended up sharing a hostel that night with him.

More Ollantaytambo...

These are some photos which show the beauty of Ollantaytambo. We spent only one night there, but I could have spent several nights. It was a beautiful location as these photos show.
In this picture two cattle are grazing at the base of the ruins. You can see the cloud forest floating over the Andes in the background.






Several little mountain streams flow through Ollantaytambo towards the Urubamba. In this photo, you can see how close we are to the tropical jungle. The vegetation is becoming more and more dense and very lush.
The Inca were very advanced in their engineering skills and harnassed the power of these streams.












These are ruins of the baths at the base of Ollantaytambo. Water from the stream above was diverted into these pools. Behind you can see the bathhouses.










This picture shows a part of the mountain which thrusts out and to me looks like the profile of an Inca. Grant was not totally in agreement.
















This is the carving of an Inca in the mountainside. He overlooks the valley and the temple.

Ollantaytambo

I have been remiss in completing my blog about my trip to Peru. Life goes on and there are so many pictures to take and things to do. But, I do want to finish the story, so hopefully I will complete the postings in a more timely manner.


This picture shows the main entrance to the temple of Ollantaytambo. It was built by the Inca Pachacuti, but is probably most well known because this is where Manco Inca retreated after his defeat at Sacsayhuaman. Manco Inca actually held off the Spaniards here and when you look at this entrance, it's easy to see how. There are 200 steps to the top! One of the Spaniards main advantages over the Incas was horses and the horses offered no advantage on these steps. That put the Spaniards more in line with the Incas. When the Spaniards advanced on Ollantaytambo, they were bombarded with stones thrown by thousands of Inca warriors. They were unable to gain any advantage and finally retreated. Manco Inca finally left Ollantaytambo when he felt it was to his advantage to lead his attacks from a more remote location further into the jungle.

This wall of pink granite at Ollantaytambo is considered to be one of the finest examples of Inca architecture in existence. It appears to be the beginning of a room never finished, probably because of the Spanish invasion. The stones are huge and smooth and fitted together amazingly.

Behind the wall, on the side of the mountain, you can see ruins of Inca storehouses. The Inca (actual name for the leader) never wore the same outfit twice (Paris Hilton would be proud) and changed outfits several times a day.

In this close up, you can see some of the detail that was begun in the wall. One that you see in the center is the beginning of a chakana cross, a symbol of the Incas. It has 12 corners, representing the 12 months; 4 arms, which represent the compass points; 3 steps on each arm, which represent the 3 tiers of the Inca world; and the hole in the center, which represents Cusco, the center of the world for Incas.

One view looking down from the top....

This was a series of narrow steps which led down and after the light rain, it was very slick. There was no rail and I was feeling a little unsteady descending them with my camera in one hand and nothing to hold onto.

(Those little black dots at the bottom are cattle.)

Another view looking down from the top. You can get an idea from this viewpoint of the advantage the Inca held over the attacking Spaniards here at Ollantaytambo.