Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Visiting Machu Picchu 


We were undecided about whether we'd go to Machu Picchu.  It's a bit pricey and being the rainy season you're not guaranteed to get good views.  In the end we bit the bullet and decided to stitch together an overnight trip.  We took a small tour bus through the sacred valley and visited Pisaq and Ollaytantambo (covered in a previous post, here). In Ollaytantambo we left the tour and boarded an evening Perurail train for the two hour ride to Aguas Calientes.


We arrived in Aguas Calientes at 9pm and walked the short distance to our hotel.  At precisely 6:30 the next morning our terrific guide, Julio Cesar (our first emperor!) arrived at the hotel, introduced us to the third member of our party, Marie and we all boarded a bus to take us on the 20 minute ride to the entrance of Machu Picchu.  The ride consists of  a series of switchbacks and we had to wend our way around a rockslide that had closed the road for a time.



Rockslide


Our first stop when we entered the site were two plaques.  The first commemorated the "discovery" of Machu Picchu by Hiram Bingham on July 24 1911.  The second plaque recognized the three Peruvian families that were already living nearby and were cultivating some of the Incan terraces when he arrived.  In fact, Bingham and his Peruvian escort, Sargeant Carrasco had been guided to the site by Pablito, the 8 year old son of one of the resident families.


Julio Cesar reading a proclamation -I mean plaque

Pablito and Sargeant Carrasco


The weather was quite overcast and cloudy when we arrived, so we weren't greeted by the iconic, verdant sweeping view of the site. Initially we could only make out the gray shapes of buildings and landscape.  We contented ourselves instead with looking in the near distance.  What was of particular interest to us was the manner in which the builders integrated the natural landscape and existing rock formations with their meticulous stonecutting.  Time and again, we would see the organic and chaotic jumble of  rock flow into beautifully ordered and executed construction. There was not a sense of the builders trying to overpower the site, rather it seemed a kind of landscape/building Jiu Jitsu.  An example is the Temple of the Sun or "Torreon" below.




The Temple of the Sun



Altar below the Temple of the Sun




 The Incas built extensive terraces throughout the entire Sacred Valley.  Some for erosion control, but the vast majority for farming and agriculture.  You can't swing a cat in the area without hitting a terrace. There's a fair amount of engineering and careful construction in the terraces beyond merely fashioning stone retaining walls.   The walls were  backfilled  with a careful progression (starting from the bottom) of largish stones, then smaller stones, gravel and finally topsoil (the last transported by llama - the Incas only beast of burden - from a great distance away).  This layering technique assured ready drainage for the heavy rains that fall in the area.  Were it not for this construction, the terraces would become sodden with water and would quickly burst, tumbling down the mountainside taking everything else with it.  If you look carefully below you can see a cross-section of this method.




Example of the "layering" involved in a terrace


One of the amazing things about Machu Picchu is that is was occupied for only a very short period of time.  In fact, it was never completed.  Construction started in 1450 by the Sapa Inca, Patchacuti.  Worked ceased in 1536 when the site was abandoned by the Incas in advance of the approaching Spanish.  Ironically, MP was never actually discovered by the Spanish and this kept it from being destroyed or defiled.  (well almost - see end of blog)


The day started to lighten and we began to get brief glimpses of the site and the setting. The location and the surroundings of Machu Picchu are truly beautiful.  There are multiple surrounding peaks or spires.  There are a couple of rivers that wrap themselves around the base of mountain.  Clouds and mist often swirl through the valleys, lending a bit of an enchanted feeling.




Melanie and I had a lot of fun trying to "reverse engineer" how some of the work was done. There are techniques that I am familiar with as a former woodworker (granted on a much more modest scale), that I could see would apply to the massive stone work.  For example, scribing joints to fit two blocks together, "backing -out" a joint to achieve a tight fit and the "subtractive" method of dressing a stone (or chair part in a furniture making case) after the joint is fitted to achieve a fine finish are all things I can relate to!




A "backed - out" joint seen from above with the top stones removed 




A stone clearly waiting to be dressed after fitting of the joints




In our experience, guides occasionally make some dubious claims to try to impress.  I've seen guides tell their charges that "this sacred rock is a source of energy, put your hands on it to feel the warmth it's emit ting!"  (Umm, it's 2 in the afternoon. The rock has been sitting in the sun for 6 hours. We're at the Equator.)  And much of what guides claim is speculative - "we think that the Incas built this citadel to look like a llama when viewed from the sky!" But Julio Cesar did show us one thing that was compelling to me.  There was a stone that had clearly been worked. If you're familiar with the constellation of the Southern Cross, you will instantly recognize it.  Julio pulled out a compass ant set it on the stone and the compass pointed directly with the Southern Pole Star as represented by the stone. Not particularly complicated but effective when the constellation is not visible due to daylight or inclement weather.


Cool!





Enough talk, here's what you really want to see......






Look closely, the retractable Inca Bridge!











Standing in front of the main plaza


Oh, right, in case you were wondering about my cryptic reference to the Spanish never defiling the site, a quick story:

"According to accounts by Dr. Manuel Chávez Ballón, Machu Picchu’s late resident archaeologist, in 1978 in preparation for the arrival of the king and queen of Spain, Carlos and Sofia, and by order of the Peruvian Government the Monolith Stone located in the middle of the Main Plaza was removed to allow for the landing of a helicopter!"  It was never replaced.


And finally - one more addition to the ever popular "Justin towering over our guide series....."










Sunday, March 22, 2015

The desert coast and first Inca ruins


We traveled down to the coast to visit Paracas National Park. The desert landscape is part of the largest marine reserve in Peru. It feels a little like visiting the only ocean on the moon. Here is the "road" leading to our campsite:





The park is the windiest place we've ever been and Justin's left flip flop (already rescued once in Peru) blew over the cliff to the beach below. Knowing that a size 14 flip flop is not to be found in Peru, he went down the sand cliff after it...







Success!!!

While the park was pretty empty, the views were entertaining and the sea lions and fishing birds kept us company. The area's main industry is small boat fishing and tourism.  These little pengas (boats) usually hold 4-5 . Two stay aboard and monitor the air hoses while the other two dive for scallops.









A natural bridge formed along the shore.

 Sunset was a spectacle every night...



We left the shore and headed towards the Andes and the city of Cusco. Cusco is the jumping off point for all visitors to the Inca's Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. Cusco is a lovely, if very touristy city and was originally the center of the Inca empire. All Inca temples are coincidentally now the sites of Cathedrals and monuments to Spanish conquistadores. The remaining buildings are lovely and the city takes care to be clean and attractive. 


The main Plaza de Armas, the historic center
View of the mountains from the center of town

The women still weave using traditional patters, a back strap loom and shuttle sticks to keep the yarn in place.  They count fibers as they weave and keep patterns in their head. The result can be remarkable.














We took a one day tour through the Sacred Valley, where the Inca farmed corn and raised llamas who carried heavy loads and alpacas who provided fiber and food. Both domesticated animals are kinds of  "camelids" and are still raised for meat and wool and to entertain tourists.
The alpaca doesn't appear to be entertained...

Peru has a third camelid, called Vicunas who have the best fibers for wool and were nearly hunted to extinction. A few are in captivity and they have a large reserve high in the Andes, where some 200,000 roam freely, by the highway. They are really shy, so we were happy to see one up close

Justin is making friends.  

  















At the end of the Scared valley,we visited the Inca ruins and town both named Ollantaytambo.  The Incan site was the personal estate of the ruler Pachacuti and the city was occupied in the Spanish colonial period. The ruins are impressive and include many engineering marvels, such as farming terraces, water canals with fountains and beautiful stone work. 

The terrace walls are 6-8 feet tall and are still perfectly straight and even

Temple walls and doorways feature masterful stone fitting with notched corners
and fine even finishes.  

Incas brought water into temples and bathing areas. Almost better water than Peru has today. 




We saw some Inca stone work throughout 
town. Later residents built Colonial houses 
right on top of ancient foundations.


 Other parts of town are more modern and fun to walk through. This kid's dad plunked him on the seat and ran to the market. He looks ready to ride.  

Is the owner a Simpsons fan???





And Justin's favorite find...
 Next update: Visiting Machu Picchu! 

Friday, March 13, 2015

Canyon del Pato and Huscaran National Park

Worlds most dangerous road Part 2. Still traveling with Jen, Witt and Quinn Sparks, we traveled the "highway" through the Canyon of the Ducks. We're not sure if the canyon is  named for the bird or what you have to do to get through the tunnels.


It's a tight squeeze!




The road is narrow and twisty through a series of tunnels. Signs warn drivers to honk before entering the tunnel. Westy's horn was not working so we had to tuck in behind a construction truck AKA the "pace car" and stick with him for the whole canyon .


Yes, yes this is a two way highway....



At least they added some safety signage...





























After two days of driving through hot, dusty desert we stopped to take care of some important "man stuff."




The Sparks Mobile has never looked so shiny!



Justin in his element.

Next stop is Huscaran National Park. The park boasts 200 glaciers, some of the tallest mountains in Peru, crystal clear, blue lakes, waterfalls and valleys full of of happy cows. Here is one of the peaks seen from the park entrance.




The lakes really are that color blue.





















The flowers and trees were amazing with blooming Bromliads and peeling bark trees






Hiking in the high altitude cloud forest. Wonderful views!



Sadly, the Sparks family decided it was time to settle down for a month or two and left us for an apartment in town.

We returned to the Huscaran park to camp and hike to Lago #69. The hike took 3.5 hours (with a little extra time for getting lost) but the view at the end was worth it.




Justin was pretty happy to be headed downhill after the lake. If only it wasn't sleeting for a half an hour.

Hiking along the edge of the glaciers



We found a water spring coming right out of the rock and filled our tanks. This was some of the coldest and best water we have ever tasted.














Our camp view was wonderful. Even the Michelin Man came out for a visit one night.





Ok,,  adopting a dog isn't really a practical idea right now but this Mamma and baby would fit into the rig perfectly no???

The baby looks like he's wearing a Peruvian ear flap hat.