Today was the day we got to see Machu Picchu.
Sandra was still feeling pretty puny, but determined to get to Machu Picchu, which is the whole reason we planned this trip. We had to pack two days worth in our small bag and send our other suitcase back to Cusco because the train only allows one 11-pound carry on. We left Yucay at 7:45am and drove 40 minutes to the train station. Then we boarded the Peru Rail train that runs to Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu is only 27 miles away, but it takes the train an hour and a half to get there. I think that's because now that you can get to Machu Picchu by bus or car, people mostly take the train for the experience. So they go slowly so you can enjoy the scenery and they can serve you a snack and sell souvenirs. They did stop once to let the return train pass us. For snack, we just had coca tea since we expected an early lunch. I also asked for a little taste of the Peruvian soft drink Inka Kola, which I've been wanting to taste, but I don't want a whole bottle. It's not cola colored; it's neon yellow. It tastes like slightly citrus-y bubble gum. Two sips were enough.
The scenery outside was beautiful. We were following along the Urumbamba River. It's sometimes wide and placid and sometimes rocky and more energetic. This is the dry season, so it would be much wilder in the rainy season. There were snow-capped mountains peeking over the tops of the nearer steep mountains. And in many places, we could see Inkan ruins. In one place there was a bridge across the river where the foundations of the bridge were Inkan even though the bridge roadway has been replaced in current times.
The plants changed as we got closer to Machu Picchu. It's pretty dry in the parts we've been touring so far, with few trees and scrubby plants. Along the way, the plants became more lush with more trees and bromeliads in the trees. I wouldn't call it exactly lush, but working it's way towards that. I presume that continues until the Urumbamba gets to the Amazon and the rain forest.
We arrived at Aguas Calientes where our hotel is, but sent the baggage to the hotel and got on a bus to go directly to Machu Picchu. The bumpy bus ride from Aguas Calientes is on a steep, narrow dirt road with lots of hairpin turns and sheer drop offs. This lasted for 30-40 minutes. When we reached the parque, we stopped at the cafe at the top for lunch. Then at last we were going into Machu Picchu.
It was a short hike up and down some terraces like we've been seeing many times before and then there it was.
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| Sandra and Nita at Machu Picchu |
For this trip, Diego our guide showed us around and talked to us about the history of the place and how it was excavated by Hiram Bingham. Unfortunately, there were lots of problems with how he ran the excavations so that artifacts were not recorded in situ and so for many of the rooms, it's unclear what their purpose might have been. So much of the information about what things were are speculation.
The photo below shows what they call the Temple of the Sun. That's because the window you see captures the rising sun on June 21 (winter solstice). There's another window on the catty corner side that captures the rising sun on December 21 (summer solstice). I like the way this building made use of the natural rock that it is sitting on.
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| Temple of the Sun, Machu Picchu |
The photo below shows a cave at the base of the Temple of the Sun.
The Temple of the Condor utilized the natural rock as part of the condor image: the two "wings" are the rocks forming a V on either side and the head of the condor is the rock on the floor below. Above the wings are niches that would have fit mummies. The Inka believed when people died, they were carried on the back of a condor to the next world. They were buried with food to feed the condor because otherwise the condor would drop them. There are also some caves under this temple, but they cannot be excavated because of concerns that the building might collapse.
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| Temple of the Condor |
Like many of the places we've seen, you can tell the importance of different buildings by the stonework. That's true at Machu Picchu as well. There's a big difference between the every day quarters, the temples, and (the most special) the quarters of the Inka (the chief leader). The quarters of the Inka was the only room that had a room off of it that might have been a bathroom. It's a small room with a drainage hole. The photo below shows a section were ordinary walls are on the right and nicer walls are on the left.
The room below was probably important as there is some nice stonework here. The room would have been open to the sky and there were two very round "bird baths" in the middle. Bingham thought these were places were maize was ground, but the bottoms are flat, not rounded like grinding stones. And they usually have water in them. So later theorists called these "Espejos de Agua" "Mirrors of Water." But they might also serve an observatory function as many other features do. It could be that at certain times, the water would reflect certain constellations in the sky.
The stone below exactly mirrors the shape of the mountains behind it. Mountains were sacred to the Inka.
We saw lots of llamas wandering around on Machu Picchu.
The next photo is of the common folk section of Machu Picchu. The year-round population of Machu Picchu was about 300 people, but these people were mostly caretakers of the place. When the Inka was in residence, there were about 1000 people. This place took about 60 years to build (Inka collected taxes through labor from subjugated groups by having them work on projects like this). But it was only used for about 40 years after that. At that point, the Spaniards came and conquered the Inkas.
We really enjoyed our first visit to Machu Picchu. It's hard work as there are lots of stairs to climb and many are narrow and steep with "beautiful views" as Diego calls them (translate: sheer drop offs). We'll come back tomorrow, and spend some more time on our own.
As we left the park, we got to stamp our passports with a Machu Picchu stamp.
Then there was the bus ride back, only this time, downhill (yikes!). Then we walked a ways to our hotel. It's the Inka Terra hotel and is on this lush property with a bunch of little casitas where the rooms are. It's super luxurious with shower sandals and bathrobes. REI (who organized this tour) certainly uses fancy hotels. The hotel folk will take you bird watching or to visit the orchid garden or their tea plantation. You can also go see some Andean bears they have on the property that are part of a project to repopulate the bears and release them into the wild.
We took showers and rested until dinner at 7 in the hotel cafe. Then bed!
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