Machu Picchu, A Dream Come True

 

I can't remember the moment that I first wanted to visit Machu Picchu, it just seemed to be one of those long standing desires that I have always had. So when I began planning this round the world trip, it was on the ABSOLUTELY MUST SEE list. Paul, on the other hand, had only a vague notion of what we were doing and seeing on our day there. Whether you come in knowing a lot or nothing about these ancient Inca ruins, you will leave feeling awed at their ability to plan and build a spectacular city.

Contrary to popular belief, the Inca Empire is not even very old. In fact, Oxford University is older than the Inca Empire. Makes you think a little bit, doesn't it? On this tour, our guide helped us to learn a little more about the Incas, and specifically why in the heck they built a city that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Let's start first with a bit of background about the Incas.

Before they came into power (and well before the Spanish arrived and ruined everything), the Andes People lived all over Bolivia and Peru. This is a group of hundreds of different cultures and communities with slightly similar customs and gods that are still distinct in many different ways. Then the Incas came, and well, they acted like the terrible dictators that most groups who take over act like. They forced the Andes People to learn a common language (known today as Quechua), they imposed taxes that many people couldn't pay, and used forced labor to build their cities. 

Now Machu Picchu, which seems to be really in the middle of nowhere, was the perfect administrative center between the jungle to one side and the Andes to another. It gave them the ability to control more people, and so they built right there in the cloud forest. Not quite the jungle, not quite the Andes, but beautiful and unique in its own way. They created terraces to stabilize the land and farm. They trucked (or donkey-ed?) in fertile soil because the soil on site was too acidic. They had their own supply of water running through the town. The entire village of Machu Picchu was supposed to be completely self sufficient and could have food in reserve to last 3 years. Everything in the entire village had a purpose and was built in the most specific way. Elaborate sun dials that told not just the time but the month in the year. Windows that faced a certain way to tell exactly when the solstices and equinoxes were. The rock was quarried from the mountain itself, and the builders had used as much of the original bedrock and boulders in their construction as possible. This includes the Sun Temple and Condor Rock, as well as many other features. The examples of well planned construction could go in and on, but I won't bore you any longer than you already have been...

Our tour was just over 2 hours, and we walked most of the site. She let us pause for pictures occasionally, and she commented about how empty of tourists it was (it didn't feel empty to me!). I tried to imagine this being a living village, and thought how I'd love to have a vacation home somewhere like that.

The terraces where the crops were grown.

One of the temples with the 3 steps to show the 3 worlds above ground, on the ground, and below the ground. You can see the bedrock being used here and the stone being expertly carved.

Stone quarry near the top of the site.

You could tell how important a building was by how smooth and well built the stone walls were. Here you can see that these are carved expertly to fit together without any motor. They signify they were probably used for a religious temple.

The all-important sundial which helped keep everything in town organized.

Once our guide left us, our feet were aching from the very small amount of walking and stair climbing we had done. We sat down for a cold drink, and who did we run into but our friends from Ilha Grande, Danielle and Larry! We were ecstatic to see them again and it felt like a miracle that out of everywhere in South America, we were both here in this little refreshment bar. They had actually completed the four day Inca Trail hike and told us how incredibly miserable they had been during the hike, but how glad they had done it. We had tried to book the same tour, but the permits had been sold out already (and this was 6 months in advance!). We could have booked a different hike in, but in the end, due to reasons with timing, permits and health, we decided to take the train to Aguas Calientes the day before and the bus up the day of. We said goodbye and made plans for the evening to catch up one more time before we left.

By 9:30 it was time for me to head back into the park to climb Wayna Picchu (Huayuna Picchu), the mountain overlooking Machu Picchu. I learned later from Danielle that this was considered the most unsafe hike around Machu Picchu because it is all the original trail and nothing has been tested or reinforced. Ah well, ignorance is bliss, right? So I hopped in line for my 10am slot to climb up the very steep, towering mountain. Paul opted to stay behind as he wasn't feeling too well and being sick on a hike like that is not a pleasant option. The hike did not disappoint, and within minutes I was huffing and puffing my way up the slabs of rock you might be able to call stairs. Sometimes it was just a slightly-smaller-than-a-foot footholds notched into the rock. As sweat poured down my face and I struggled for breath, I pretended that it was just the altitude that was making it difficult to breath, but internally admitted that I was a bit out of shape. I was, however, in much better shape than most of the people on the hike as I passed group after group stopping on the side. I did stop to enjoy the view from time to time, as well as let some people descend. Waiting patiently on the side of the narrow path, people would thank me for letting them pass. 

"It may look like I'm being considerate," I would wheeze, "but I'm really just trying to catch my breath a bit before I continue." That would get a laugh out of people and we could commiserate on the tough climb up and the incredible views that were worth it.

 

 I got to the first stopping point after about 40 minutes of hiking, and many people had decided that was the furthest they wanted to go. 10 more minutes of up, a handstand picture, a cave and two ladders, I was finally there, the top! The view was incredible as I perched on the top of the scattering of boulders. Butterflies fluttered around my head and I took turns with the other people at there taking pictures and laughing about how much UP we had just climbed. With a sigh I slowly made my way down. I could stay up there forever, but there was so much more to see down on the main site. 

Hanging on for dear life on the boulders on the top. What a view!

My legs wobbled for the hike down, but my overall maybe-hopefully-slightly-better-than-average fitness helped me get down without any real pain or discomfort. I could see many people wobbling, crying out and pausing every few steps. I thanked my 28-year-old knees as I descended step after large step until finally, 30 minutes later, I had returned.  
 

The gorgeous mountain I climbed! Can you see the steps in the bottom right?

I met Paul at the cafe just outside the main gates and we had a quick lunch before returning back into Machu Picchu. He told me about the nice shady quiet spot he had found to observe the ruins and the llamas that had grazed next to him. We walked up in that direction to sit down and just admire the view one more time before catching the bus/train to get back to Cusco.

Most of the site was perfectly completed when the Incas lived there, but some parts there is evidence that the work was started and then left abandoned. Rocks that should have been smoothed down flat were left bumpy and rough, and piles of rocks that had been quarried and unused. The Incas had disappeared from this beautiful site, and no one really knows why. Once they left, it was used here and there by people that discovered it and farmed it, but it was unknown by the Spaniards and so one of the few ruins to be left relatively undisturbed. Only more recently has it come to the attention of the Peruvian government, and now preserved as a place of cultural significance. The pictures, as usual, don't do it justice and the only way to really feel this incredible place is to visit and walk as they did along the footpaths and terraces.

(Disclaimer: The information and history I have given here was what was explained to us by our tour guide. Numerous other websites, however, tell many different varying tales of Machu Picchu, why it was build, lived in and abandoned. I think no one actually knows for sure as the Incas left no written information about it behind. Maybe when you go, you will learn a different story!)