22 November 2011
Even though we turned in at 8 and were in bed well before 9,
our five am wakeup call still came early.
At 5:30 we met for breakfast and headed out for the bus back up to Machu
Picchu. I should mention we awoke to the
sound of rain…which was followed by large sighs. Rain gear it is.
And there it was – the glorious ruins of Machu Picchu! All shrouded in the mist and steady
rain.
Once we get back I will load an album with well captioned
pictures explaining the ruins more thoroughly…but for now, here are some fun
facts about Machu Picchu:
-you never see it like this because of the overall look of
Machu Picchu, but most of what you see of the ruins from afar are the base
structures of houses that originally had thatched roofs. They maintain a few in this fashion so you
can get a sense of what the whole city was really like
-Machu Picchu was a city of what historians and water
engineers estimate at about 700 people (based on what the plumbing could
sustain). Cusco was the capital of the
Inca Empire and Machu Picchu was the sacred site for the Inca king (Sapa) and
for the Incan Empire. Only upper class
citizens ever made the trek, but it could really be likened to being a
pilgrimage site in some ways – or if comparing it to Chinese history – it would
be the Chinese Emperor’s Temple of Heaven
-Why did the Incas choose this tricky place to access for
such an important temple? The geography
plays a HUGE role. Wilka Mayo is the
sacred river that wraps around Wayna Picchu and protects this religious
site. Machu Picchu is actually the old
mountain that protects the site, and there are several other major mountains
that protect this site. There are also
many ways in which the different temples within Machu Picchu line up
specifically on the day of Winter Solstice (in Peru June 21)…in amazing
ways…but the pictures will have to fill you in further.
-The ruins were technically found in 1911 by Hiram Bingham
(so this is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the ruins) and
were then excavated by professor Bingham’s team from Yale, scientists, the
National Geographic Society, and the Peruvian government
-Construction of Machu Picchu first began in 1438 and is
considered unfinished as there are three neighboring rock quaries that were
still in use when the city was abandoned as Pizarro arrived in Peru
-They actually brought volcanic soil from elsewhere in Peru
so that the terraces would be as nutrient rich as possible – and designed the
terraces in a way that the volcanic is STILL there 500+ years later!
-The structures in which no mortar is used are the
structures for religious purposes. All other structures have some kind of mortar
or soil
There’s lots more fun facts to share, but that will have to
do for now…
After our tour of the ruins we split in two – Ryan and
Stephanie headed back to Aguas Calientes to hang out there and Daniel, Chris, and
I set out to climb Wayna Picchu (it is the really tall mountain jutting up just
behind the Machu Picchu ruins). Our
guide didn’t go with us on this one, (it really is an independent thing anyway)…but
he gave us some hints and one of them was this:
with Wayna Picchu you feel like a Puma when you start the climb, a
Serpent as you humbly slither up it, and a Condor when you are at the top with
a phenomenal view. It is 1,180 feet above Machu Picchu and puts you back up at 2720 meters. And…that pretty much
sums it up. I’ll let the pictures speak
for themselves.
By the way – we used Llama Path and our guide was an awesome
guy named Alex…we were pleased with him and the company through and through…I
know there is a lot of competition for Machu Picchu tours – so that’s our fully
endorsed recommendation now. :-)
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| Oh Hai! |
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| The Sun Temple - Circular like the sun, built around the naturally occuring altar block for sacrifices, note the lack of mortar |
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| Enjoying our views of Machu Picchu and our tour of the ruins inspite of the rain |
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| Wayna (Huayna) Picchu. We are Puma...we will conquer |
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| Lots and lots and lots and lots of views like this.... |
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| And then the stairs got even more creative and were like this over and over and over and over again...sometimes with cables to help you to pull yourself up |
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| Indiana Jones (aka Chris) in the Snake Cave (almost almost almost at the top of Wayna Picchu!) |
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| We are Condors! (Can you see us in the corner?) |
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| At the very very top! Chris enjoying the view |
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| The Hals enjoying their view! So awesome! |
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| I am higher than some of these peaks - earlier in the day we would have been higher than some of the clouds! :) |
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| the Dr. Seuss steps...going down is probably even more precarious |
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| Enjoying the view :) |
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| Repelling down the steep steps |
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| Chris working his way down |
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| bidding farewell to the glorious and majestic Machu Picchu! |
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