Machu Picchu Peru 1/28.29.30/24
Machu Picchu Cusco Peru
We’ll be in Peru during the rainy season, there’s an average of 9 inches (23 cm) of rain here in January.
Machu Picchu, the “city within the clouds”. Some research claims that it was populated from 1420-1530, but others say 1450-1550 which makes more sense if Emperoro Pachacutec ordered it to be built, as many believe, since he lived from 1418-1471. Whether it was a royal retreat, an astronomical observatory, a fortress, or a place of worship, no one really knows for sure as the Inca had no written language, it may even have been a little of all these and more. It is known that it is located in a holy place as there are snow-capped mountains all around it, these were sacred because they were a reliable source of water. It also in proximity to the rainforest which was the only place the Inca could get some of the items they most prized: colorful bird feathers, butterflies, coca leaves, exotic fruit, and healing herbs. Habitation of the site only lasted about a century and there’s lots of speculation as to why, it may have been that a lack of water had something to do with it, or the civil war for the throne between brothers Atahualpa and Husacar could have interrupted the food supply, or an epidemic may have killed the residents, the exact reason is just unknown. We do know it was deserted before the Spanish arrived in Cusco and that it lay mostly forgotten for 400 years until it was “discovered” by accident in 1911 by American archaeologist Hiram Bingham, who was led there by a local as this adventurer/scholar was looking for the site of Vilcabamba, known as the lost city of the Incas. This Yale professor was the first person to academically document the site, which at that time would have been covered with 12 inches (30 cm) of vegetation.
Machu Picchu is at a lower elevation than Cusco, only 7,972 ft (2,430 m) above sea level. It was a self-contained city, with terraces for farming and usually a consistent water supply, 60% of the structures, subterranean canals, drains, and walls, lie underground. The fortress had walls that were 19.7 ft (6 m) high and 6 ft (1.8 m) deep that surrounded this space that could house up to 750 people. There are two sections to the citadel that are split along a geological fault and multiple archaeological sites within the area. As recently as 2014 a hidden door was found into a burial chamber. Each of these stones, and many of them are massive, was carved/cut precisely to fit into those around it. Thanks to this exactitude, during the earthquakes that frequent Peru, the stones are said to “dance” as they sort of bounce apart and then come back together. If not for this unique building style Machu Picchu would have been destroyed years ago. One of the polygonal stones in a temple wall onsite has an estimated 33+ corners on it. The other crazy thing to think about is that the Inca didn’t use any types of draft animals, anything with wheels, and no iron tools, during construction, none of these were part of their culture.
The first major structure is the Intihuatana, a sculpted granite rock that resembles a sundial, which was actually one of its purposes, as well as other astronomical uses. The Temple of the Sun was built as a sacred space to pay tribute to and give offerings to the sun, one of the Inca’s most important deities. It is the only structure on the site with a circular shape, was built above a natural cave, and may also have been a royal tomb. There is the lovely Temple of the Three Windows, containing open spaces that are embedded perfectly and symmetrically in the wall. Each window supposedly represents one of the original tribes that combined to create the Inca Empire, but it’s also believed these are the “windows of the universe”. One is supposed to represent the underground/where the dead are (Uku-Pacha), another is heaven/where the gods are (Hanan-Pacha), and the final is the present/human world where people live (Kay-Pacha). But again, since the Inca left no written records, everything is just conjecture.
So, as we attended a Machu Picchu presentation to go over details of the tour, we were warned (as you may have read about) of a peaceful protest that was being staged at Machu Picchu and was effectively shutting down the train service into the site. Only other option is to walk the Inca trail, which I understand is a 3-day effort. Royal was not cancelling the tour, and even extended the ship's time in the port of Lima, hoping that the government and protesters could come to agreement and allow the trains to run again. So off we go to Cusco, flying on a private charter from Pisco to Cusco. We were welcomed by dancers and music, given a tea for high altitude sickness (we were counseled to eat lightly, drink lots of water, walk slowly, and take deep breaths to help us acclimate) and were given a lovely bouquet welcoming us to their city. From there we headed into Cusco and experienced an afternoon tour of Cusco and the surrounding area. Cusco is a charming city, combining Inca influence and of course, more of the Spanish as they were the conquerors. As stated above, they built over the ruins, but some remnants of the Incan ingenuity still remain. There are 3 main squares in Cusco, and each has their own personality and lots of activity in all. Beautiful fountains, statues, and flowers are in abundance. We toured the Cusco Cathedral, and it is absolutely breathtaking - definitely Spanish influence here. Not sure how many altars there were, the main one was made of pure silver and is stunning, we were not allowed to take interior pictures, so I bought post cards and scanned them into my phone so you can see some of the details. This is a town we could come back to - definitely not enough time to explore and enjoy. From there we headed into the country to enjoy a lunch in the Andes mountains, The pumpkin soup was excellent as was the rest of lunch. and then on to Incan ruins, where we learned about their building techniques - no mortar - and all the stones built to precision to fit into each block of stone. Absolutely remarkable that they had the skills and knowledge to accomplish this, while figuring out how to get the stones up the terraced hills (all done by human labor, they really don't have any pack animals here) and in place. Everything is built in a trapezoid to better withstand the earthquakes, and there is still much standing today. Herd of Alpacas were grazing and not frightened of us at all...a baby was with his mama and as cute as could be.
We arrived at our hotel around 6 pm, leaving just enough time to get ready for the gala dinner for that evening. Our hotel was a former monastery and as we walked in, you saw the altar and the magnificent goldwork adorning the chapel. The entire property was very special (we were to have stayed here on an earlier planned trip (that go canceled) to Machu Picchu, so feel very fortunate to have finally gotten there Our dinner celebration was at the San Francisco Convent (not current) and we were greeted by street dancers and cocktails as we awaited our seating. At that time, to our dismay (but not surprised) we were informed that the protestors were still blocking the train tracks and so no Machu Picchu for us the next day. Hats off to the Royal team, they stepped up and put together another wonderful day of experiences.
Day 1 - Cusco
Saqsaywaman Incan Ruins
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