We are up bright and early for breakfast at Paprika restaurant in the hotel because our flight to Cuzco is at 9:30. At 7:00 we finally gather with our fellow travelers in Tumbes lounge and meet our tour manager, Julia Huaman. What a joy she is! Throughout the tour she organizes our meals and activities and from our perception it is flawless. (But I’m sure she is busy fixing things behind the scenes.) She herds us across the street and through the airport and all together to the gate. Local custom allows senior citizens to board the plane first, which was convenient but we all ended up on the same bus to the plane.
The first thing that impresses me during the flight is the height and steepness of the mountains. The Andes are the second highest mountain range on earth and are quite young. The snow line is at approximately 15,000 feet. We pass over high plains (Alta plana) and numerous glaciers. Jeff is by the window and takes photos with my new mirrorless camera. Afterwards I would remark to Terry that the camera has this auto setting called Jeff.
Julia Huaman
In Cuzco we met our tour guides, Lourdes and Ernesto. Both are Quechua - the native people of the Cuzco region. The term Inca refers to the Sapa Inca or emperor and the small ethnic group that migrated from the south near Lake Titicaca to Cuzco while the people in this wider region of the Andes refer to themselves as runa. The Inca were a small community until the 15th century when they were attacked by a tribe from the west. After winning that conflict they continued to expand their empire under the Inca Pachacutec until it became the largest empire in South America, stretching from southern Columbia to northern Chile. Both of our guides were very knowledgeable and showed us that what we know of the Andean people is filtered through the European bias of the Conquerors. We began to develop a more indigenous perception of the Andean culture.
Some of our group were arriving from other tours and met us in Cuzco. We were slightly delayed because one couple’s suitcase was missing. Eventually we were divided into two groups, we went to our buses and headed out to the Valle Sagrado.
We pass a statue of Pachacutec looking out over his domain, now transformed by foreign invaders. Everywhere you go in Cuzco, there are hills and staircases to climb them. There is no need for a gym in Cuzco. Daily living will keep you in shape. The city sits in a valley at 11,000 feet and is surrounded by higher peaks capped with glaciers. We will have to climb to higher elevation before we can descend to the Sacred Valley. Along the way, red plastic signs indicate Chicha de jora, a local corn beer, for sale.
We passed through Cuzco and out onto the alta plana beyond Chinchero. Cuzco is at 11,000 feet elevation but the plain is at 13,00 feet. We stopped for lunch at a tent on the plain, Parador de Maras. The setting was breath taking. A storm was approaching and the contrast between light and dark with the background of the mountains and glaciers made me dizzy. Of course, that could have been due to the lack of oxygen. At this altitude the air is quite thin. We were all three of us taking Diamox to protect against altitude sickness but even so, a short walk left me breathless. I had been training by swimming 2 miles every other day and walking 3.4 miles every day but I was still challenged. I have to say that every meal we had was excellent. In Peru, they know how to cook vegetables without making them soggy. I may not know what they are, but they’re good. The storm passed through with just a little rain and we headed to the Inca site of Moray.
Moray was an Inca agricultural laboratory. The Incas gathered crops from all over their empire. This included the desert shore, the various mountain elevations and the Amazon rainforest. The structure of Moray is tiered to produce multiple microclimates so the Incas could adapt crops to grow locally. They had over 6,000 varieties of potatoes. Most people don’t know that potatoes originally came from Peru. Multiple varieties of corn grow here but are derived from species in North America.
From Moray we were supposed to visit the studio of Pablo Seminario who is a famous ceramic artist. It was getting late, so instead, we went to the next goal on our itinerary and traveled deeper into the Sacred Valley along the Urubamba River to the town of Urubamba. Further downstream, the river wraps around Machu Picchu mountain before continuing east to form the Amazon river. The surrounding hills are heavily terraced, dating back to the time of the Inca. The purpose of these is to increase the amount of arable land on the steep mountain slopes. The Incas provided all their people food and Chicha (corn beer) in return for labor building roads and other structures. In places like Ollantaytambo, travelers and passing armies could find food and drink. We descended in altitude to about 8,000 feet, giving us a chance to adapt to the thin air. Along the way the landscape became more desert like and we passed people in traditional garb, still farming and raising livestock like their ancestors.
In Urubamba we checked into the Sol y Luna hotel. We each or each couple had an individual casita which was lovely. The resort is surrounded by the hills and has luscious greenery. House plants that we see at home like poinsettias or chrysanthemums are large shrubs or small trees in this valley. The setting sun on the surrounding hills produced gorgeous highlights on the mountains and greenery. The food again was excellent but dinner took almost three hours - tough going considering the amount of travel we did that day. Exhausted, sleep came easily.
The following morning was again early so we could attend a lecture by Peter Frost. Peter is a National Geographic archeologist in residence. For an academic he is incredibly personable and engaging. The hour passed quickly. He then accompanied us on our visit to the Inca site of Ollantaytambo (pronounced oh-yahn-tah-ee-tahm-bow). A tambo was a place for growing food and storing it in structures called qullqas, a place for lodging for itinerant military personnel, messengers, state officials and sometimes the emperor and an administrative center, usually at strategic points on the road system. Local people were used to staff and work the structure as part of their mita, a system forced labor for which the participants were compensated. The Inca actually built on top of structures previously created by other tribes like the Wayri. Our guide, Ernesto, is Wayri and described some of the rituals and military customs of his people. From the top of the site you can see a quarry high on the mountain on the opposite side of the valley. This was the source of the stones that the Incas used to build Ollantaytambo. Western history texts will tell you that the Inca did not have the wheel to help them move the stones. In fact, they knew the wheel but it was worthless carrying stones weighing tens of tons down steep hills. Instead they fashioned a sled and railroad like tracks with movable sections out of wood. The logs would protrude on both sides. Men would then use levers to push the sled along the track. Many stones remain along the path, abandoned when construction halted, not because of the conquistadors but because of disease and civil war which had weakened the empire prior to the arrival of the Spanish.
Facing north across the Plaza of Manyaraki. Note the qullqas on the face of Viracocha mountain on the right. These were used to store grain and other crops. They were placed at higher altitude so the wind and lower temperatures would preserve the food. Grain would be poured in through the upper windows and removed from the lower ones. Note also the face of the god Viracocha (white arrow below) left of the qullqa.
This is the "fortress" although that is a misnomer as the function was primarily religious. The terraces of Pumatallis lead to the ceremonial center on the top left (south) and the middle (west) and Funerary (north) sections which have several buildings. The entrance to the ceremonial center is through the Enclosure of the Ten Niches and then up to the Temple of the Sun at the west end. The temple is unfinished and its east wall is composed of six monoliths. The stones in the ceremonial center are carved and tightly fitted whereas the walls in the middle and funerary sections are made of fieldstones. On the east end of this part of the ceremonial center side of the hill there are structures built by the Wayri. There is a plaza in front of the terraces called the Plaza of Manyaraki. Several of the buildings there pre-date the Inca.
Enclosure of the Ten Niches. Note the carved, tightly fitted stone seen mostly in the ceremonial area.
The Platform of the Carved Seat sits above and behind the Ten Niches leading to the Temple of the Sun.
The Wall of Six Monoliths comprises the east wall of the Temple of the Sun.
Downhill from the ceremonial center, the windowed structures at the top of the hill are Wayri in origin. The buildings at the base of the hill are also pre-Incan.
Annotated image, right, view from the ceremonial center over the terraces and Plaza de Manyaraki toward the town of Ollantaytambo. Mount Viracocha is toward the left.
This view is looking southwest from the Temple across the Urubamba valley. The peak at the top middle of the picture is Katchiqhata, located 5 km from Ollantaytambo. It is the quarry source of the large stones used at the site, many weighing tens of tons. The gray area to the right of the mountain is not a landslide but rather it is tailings from the coarse carving of the stones which was done at the quarry prior to transport. The stones were brought down the hill, across the Urubamba river and up the hill to Ollantaytambo. Many abandoned stones (piedras cansadas or sleeping stones) can still be found along the route. Note the terraces near the river which were used for farming in Inca times and still to this day.
Looking north from the ceremonial center across the terraces to the Middle and Funerary areas.
Above, a typical Incan trapezoidal doorway - they had not invented the arch. Right, more qullqas near the Plaza de Manyaraki.
The Spanish conquistadors were able to conquer the Inca empire because it was so weakened when they arrived. After the arrival of Europeans in the Caribbean, diseases like smallpox swept through the Americas. They reached the Inca empire and killed not only the Sapa Inca, Tupac Amaru, but also his designated heir. During the expansion of the empire a secondary capital was set up in the north. A son of the Inca, Atahualpa, was in charge there while his half brother, Huascar, led his army from the original capital of Cuzco. The question of succession led to a civil war. Eventually, Atahualpa’s forces defeated and killed Huascar. Atahualpa was on his way to Cuzco to be installed as Sapa Inca when his troops encountered the foreigners at Cajamarca.
Atahualpa made two critical mistakes. He agreed to meet with the foreigners at Cajamarca and agreed to come unarmed. The Inca had bronze weapons but had not discovered iron. The Spanish had horses which the Incas had never seen before and were heavily armed despite having agreed to an unarmed meeting. Fewer than 200 Spaniards were able to slaughter thousands of Incas and capture Atahualpa. The Spanish had heard rumors of tremendous stores of gold in the Andes. They promised Atahualpa that they would free him if he filled a room with gold. Of course, being good Christians (they claimed they were bringing Christ to the pagans so that Jesus would return), as soon as they got their gold they became afraid that Atahualpa would be freed by an Inca army that was reported to be approaching (there was none) so they executed him. The Inca emperors were usually mummified and their mummies participated in festivals throughout the year. The Spanish were going to burn Atahualpa at the stake which would have robbed him of his eternity. He agreed to become Christian to avoid the burning so they strangled him to death... and then burned his body.
The Spanish conquered Cuzco and then installed Atahualpa's half brother Manco as Sapa Inca, under their control. After several years of enduring the Spanish oppression, Manco gathered a large army and laid seige to Cuzco. Despite being vastly outnumbered, the Spanish were able to break out of Cuzco, capture the nearby fortress of Sacsayhuaman (you pronounce it like "sexy woman") and forced Manco to retreat to Ollantaytambo. There the Inca had their first and only success against the Spanish. Manco flooded the plain in front of the tambo and the Spanish horses were not able to approach the fortress. A year later, however, they returned in greater numbers and Manco was forced to retreat to the Vilcabamba region.
From the Araqhama (the terraces and "fortress") of Ollantaytambo we proceeded across the Patakancha river to the town of Ollantaytambo. The Inca did not have the arch but their doorways were tapered in a trapezoidal shape to support the lintel. Similarly, the streets in the old town that proceed up the hill come closer together while the side streets are parallel. This allows for larger buildings closer to town for the elite and smaller dwellings up the hill for the not so elite. The original channels which brought water to the town are still in use today.
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Further up the valley is the picturesque Hacienda Huayoccari. It is owned by descendants of the conquistadors. The main house contains an extensive collection of precolumbian art. Peter gave us another lecture on the Inca building techniques, concentrating on how the stones were formed and transported. We had the opportunity to purchase his book Exploring Cuzco and to have it signed. Lunch was served in the enormous dining room. Lower down the hill we were treated to a demonstration of the Peruvian paso horses. These horses are taught to walk, always maintaining three feet on the ground. This gives them a very smooth gait. They also danced with a pair of humans. National Geographic grantee Nilda Callañaupa, founder of El Centro de Textiles Tradicionales de Cusco, who has helped preserve and revive traditional Inca textiles gave a detailed explanation and demonstration of Andean weaving techniques. She was accompanied by several Andean women who were dying, spinning and weaving the wool of sheep, llamas, alpacas and vicuñas.
Top left, Fred and Terry flanking Peter Frost. Top right, Paso horse with typical gait. Bottom, Paso horse dances with a young woman.
Along the road returning to Hotel Sol y Luna are the Skylodge Adventure Suites. You climb from the signs down below to those silvery structures at the top where you can dine and then spend the night. Definitely not for
someone like me who is afraid of heights. I can't imagine what it is like to work there and have to carry supplies up and trash down the hill. We were offered the opportunity to visit the ceramics studio but everyone on our bus was too tired. Returning to the resort we had a short time to relax, stroll the grounds and regroup before dinner which was preceded by a folkloric show depicting the Inca gods.
Above, the gods of the Andes battle to restore harmony to the people and nature. Click the image to watch the video of a small portion of the vignette. Below, just before and just after sunset at Hotel Sol y Luna.
Wednesday dawned bright with anticipation. We packed a day bag while the rest of our luggage went ahead to Cuzco. The buses took us back to Ollantaytambo to board the train to Aguas Calientes. The train ride was quite pleasant, following the Urubamba river. We were seated at four top tables and served a light meal. The domed roof allowed sight of the high peaks. Passing through the valley the landscape changed as we lost altitude, going from drier, mountainous terrain to a mountainous jungle rainforest.
Along the Urubamba river, top and second row left, the sights include Katchiqhata quarry, top right; Mt. Veronica, second row right; Inca terraces, second, third and fourth rows left; Mt. Salcantay, third row middle; jungle terrain, third row middle and right, fourth row left which also includes some Inca ruins; and finally, the train station in Aguas Calientes.
Aguas Calientes is situated at 6,693’ above sea level. Machu Picchu is 7,970’ above sea level. From the train station we walked through town and had a long wait in line to board a bus. On the way we passed a statue of Pachacutec with a condor, puma and snake. These represent the three stages of Inca life: the condor connects the earth with the heavens, is master of the sky and carries the dead to their final rest; the puma is a symbol of strength and life on earth - Cuzco is shaped like a puma with Sacsayhuaman as the head; the snake represents the underworld which unlike the Christian tradition is not hell but a new life. They represent the three spiritual and spatial levels or pachas: Hanan pacha, the upper world where Viracoccha the creator and the higher gods live; Kay pacha, the world in which we live and Uku pacha, the lower world under the earth. Pachacutec embodies all three as Sapa Inca. He wears the symbol of Inti, the sun god, around his neck with the Inca cross, which depicts the pachas, on his belt.
Upper row, left, Pachacutec; Upper right, the Urubamba river flowing through Aguas Calientes; Lower row left, the line of people on right waiting for the bus ; lower middle, the train runs through the town (and the line) next to Pachacutec; lower right, Aguas Calientes seen from the bus ascending to Machu Picchu on the switchbacks.
Above, driving up the mountain, our first views of the terraces (left) and city (right) of Machu Picchu. Below, annotated view from the road to the Sun Gate.
The road going up the mountain has a series of dramatic switchbacks and takes the bus approximately 25 minutes to make the climb. That’s approximately how long it took the young French hikers to run the mountain the next morning. Oh, to be young again! Along the way our anticipation increased as we were about to get our first glimpse of Machu Picchu Our hotel was the Belmont Sanctuary Lodge, only a few yards from the entrance to Machu Picchu Park. They serve a buffet lunch which is quite elaborate and the resort is all inclusive.
Finally, we entered the park and Ernesto led us on our discovery of Machu Picchu. The park entrance leads into the terraces above the city but is not the way a traveler would have approached the city in Inca times. The "Inca Trail" comes from a point 950 feet above and south of the city at the Sun Gate which is the old entrance to the site. Ernesto led us to a point just below the Guardhouse adjacent to five buildings which were storehouses and living quarters for agricultural workers, and asked us to put away our cameras. The idea was to just take in our first view of the site and not experience it through a lens. It was very quiet with a gentle breeze rustling the leaves in nearby trees. The city was bathed in sunlight which isn’t always the case. Machu Picchu is sometimes referred to as “the city in the clouds” but this afternoon the sky was clear. Finally we ascended to the terraces above the city where you get the classic view in all the promotional pictures. The sight before us was unreal. “I can’t believe we’re actually here!” The brochures don’t give you a sense of how the city fits into the landscape. It is surrounded by tall peaks of the mountains, some of which are capped by glaciers. It straddles a ridge between two of the mountains and seems draped across it, the terraces dripping down the mountain. The city is built on a structural block between two faults which separate it from Machu Picchu mountain on the southeast and Huayna Picchu mountain on the northwest. The block has dropped creating the ridge the city is built upon. The main water channel to the city is near our feet. Eventually, you come back to the present reality and begin the journey to the city. You climb down from the agricultural terraces and approach the Main Gate.
Top and bottom left, Machu Picchu and its surroundings from the upper terraces. Bottom right, looking up to the terraces and Guardhouse from the city. To the right of the Guardhouse is the kallanka or meeting hall used by the working class people. The city was reserved for the nobility.
Top row, storehouses adjacent to the terraces. Top right, the water channel runs under the flat area to the left of the storehouse. Below left, the dry moat runs along the city wall from the main gate downward. The large stone halfway down is a survey stone; below center, the dry moat which collected runoff from the terraces; below right, the main gate with large lintel was the front door of the city.
Goods delivered to the city would be unloaded just inside the gate. The road that enters the city passes a series of buildings which were storehouses, residences and workshops. Continuing forward you arrive at the rock quarry which provided the building materials for the site. Downhill and east from these is the area which contains the Temple of the Sun and the Royal Residence. From the quarry there is a climb down and north to the level of the Western Urban Center and the Sacred Plaza, where the Principle Temple and the Temple of the Three Windows are located. The hill in the back of the plaza is the Intihuatana pyramid. A grassy central plaza separates the Western (left) and Eastern (right) Sectors.
Top left, The city viewed from the south and annotated. The buildings to the left of the grassy Main Plaza are the Western Sector. The Main Gate is on the left; Top right, close up, annotated view of the Sacred Plaza and the Intihuatana Pyramid. Second row left, the passage leading into the city from the Main Gate; middle and right, the rock quarry. Third row middle, the Royal Residence and the Temple of the Sun; these are downhill and east from the various buildings near the Main Gate; right, The Sacred Plaza and Intihuatana Pyramid viewed from southwest. The settling of the eastern wall likely occurred in Inca times. It is much easier to get a view of these things from a distance (the image above) because up close the tourists block your view. Bottom left, The terraces of the Intihuatana Pyramid. You can see tourists ascending the western stairs; middle and right, the Intihuatana Stone. Bingham thought this had astronomical significance but it was most likely religious. The triangular stone in the ground in the picture on the right points south. The building to the left has a window which appears to have been formed by partially filling in a doorway.
From the Intihuatana Pyramid, we descended the stairs on the north side to the Main Plaza. There is a small cave at the base of the pyramid on its eastern side. There are more agricultural terraces to the north and at the east of these are the two wayronas (three sided buildings) which flank the plaza of the Sacred Rock.
Top left, view from the Intihuatana Pyramid looking northeast. The two small buildings at center are the wayronas in front of the Sacred Rock. The overgrown terraces to the right are an unfinished temple. Agricultural terraces are seen in the foreground. Top right, the small cave (it's bigger inside) at the base of the pyramid. Bottom left, view of the Western Sector from the northeast looking southwest. the Guardhouse is in the upper left. The gray building with three windows almost directly below it is the Temple of the Three Windows. Bottom right, the Sacred Rock which resembles the contour of Mt. Yanantin behind it.
By the time we reached the Eastern Sector, I had pretty much lost the group. I hadn't heard a lot of what Ernesto was saying because I wouldn't have gotten any photos if I took the time but now I couldn't even see him. We passed many buildings which were probably residences with some commercial areas thrown in. I caught up with the group in what he described as an aristocratic dwelling. The niches in the wall were for storage. Across the way was the room with the Water Mirrors. The two depressions, when filled with water, were probably used to track the stars. Starting around the bend was another two story dwelling, probably that of a prominent citizen. Farther down the hill I could get a glimpse of the Temple of the Condor but we didn't go there. That's on tomorrow's agenda but we're going to hike to the Sun Gate instead. Eventually we ended up at the lower terraces heading for the exit. As the afternoon wore on the sun sank lower in the sky and clouds rolled in. It began to lightly rain. The most dangerous aspect of that was another tour group, all of whom had umbrellas open and no sense of how close the umbrellas were to your face. We lingered after the crowds thinned and just took in the quiet, peaceful aura of the site. Sadly, we had to leave to attend a group meeting to inform us of the next day’s itinerary. Then we were free for the evening. Dinner at the hotel was excellent as were the drinks at the bar.
Top left, two storied buildings, probably high class dwellings; top right, likely an aristocratic dwelling. Middle left, the Water Mirrors; Middle right, another two story building like two wayronas back to back. Bottom left, looking down toward the Temple of the condor, the peak of its beak on the floor indicated by an arrow; Bottom right, the park clears out. Below left, annotated view of the Eastern Sector. Below right, llama.
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That night, Jeff and I had wanted to take some photos of the night sky and try to see Machu Picchu after dark. There is a path behind the hotel which can be accessed from the second floor. It goes a short way up the hill on what is called the Olive Garden path. When we went out at approximately 10:00 PM the sky was completely over cast so we decided to get up at 3:00 AM and see if it had cleared. At 3:00 AM the alarm wakes us. We hurriedly dress and head out on the trail. Looking up at the sky all we see are clouds, but they seem to be moving and we remain hopeful. Momentary openings occur in the cloud cover every so often but not prolonged enough to obtain any photos worth looking at. But what an experience to sit in the dark and listen to the sounds of the jungle and watch the clouds roll overhead. Imagine what this place was like when the Inca ruled here. We just hoped there weren't any pumas or spectacled bears nearby! Around 4:30 we return to the hotel to prepare to be at the park entrance at 5:30 to get ahead of the crowds arriving from Aguas Calientes.
Next morning (or just a few minutes later) we were waiting at the entrance to the park at 5:30 AM to get in line before the buses arrived. While we were standing there, these young men and women ran up the hill from Aguas Calientes to be in line with us. I can't imagine having the stamina to do that at this altitude. The young men started taking off their shirts which prompted some non-PC comments from some of the women in our group. This surprised me as their husbands were standing right there. Had the genders been reversed (excuse me for speaking as if gender were binary; I do not believe that) there would have been hell to pay. I thought the view was OK but not exceptional and was more taken by the brightening of the sky behind the shifting clouds above the Sun Gate. The Sun began to rise but was obscured by clouds. The promotional material for our tour spoke of hiking to the Sun Gate to watch the Sun rise over Machu Picchu. This is unlikely to happen because with the exception of maybe 2 or 3 days out of the year, the area is shrouded in clouds in the morning. That's why the terrain is called a cloud forest. Add to that the fact that the park does not open until after sunrise and it's impossible unless you hike the Inca trail from Cuzco or points in between. So don't believe everything National Geographic tells you to get you to go on this tour.
The park opened and we began our ascent to the city. Another thing that Nat Geo got wrong - the promotional material states there is a photography expert on the trip to assist you in taking better photos. There is NOT! In fact, I learned from the Internet that there are restrictions on photography in the park that are variably enforced depending on who sees what. The guards there are about as consistent in enforcing their rules as TSA agents and they don't speak English. Tripods are not allowed. Jeff was challenged because he had a monopod but was allowed in. No one said anything about my monopod. Professional photography is not allowed, but how does one define that? Try not to make your gear look too professional. They may make you go back to your hotel to store it or they may watch it for you (yeah!). Also, if they think your clothing looks like a costume, they may make you leave. Anything that they think is not amateur photography requires a permit which you must buy in advance and is quite costly. I called Nat Geo about this and they said this was on their website. When I pushed them to tell me where, they discovered it had been taken down. Thanks a lot for nothing. You're supposed to be helping me prepare for the trip in a way that avoids these types of problems.
Stepping out onto the agricultural terraces above the city, we watched as the Sun struggled to break through. Standing below the Guardian’s house we watched the play of clouds and sunlight dancing over the landscape for over an hour. At one point the city was completely hidden, engulfed by clouds, only to slowly emerge as the sun rose higher. Rather than wait for the rest of our group, and because I anticipated being slower than the group, we set off on the trail to Intipunku, the Sun Gate. The path is paved with Inca stones which have uneven surfaces and are not uniformly spaced. It would be very easy to sprain an ankle. The hike is only approximately one mile long but gains 950 feet in elevation. Since the lower end is at almost 8000 feet, the air is pretty thin and we frequently stopped to breathe. The sun burned off the clouds and gave us spectacular views of Machu Picchu from above. The hike back took half the time of the hike up and left us some time to shower and finish packing before taking the bus back to Aguas Calientes. Two half days are not sufficient time to experience the site. If I went back I would stay there at least two full days.
The hike up the Inca trail to the Sun Gate is approximately 1 1/4 miles and gains 950 feet in elevation. The stonework is pretty much as the Incas left it. Near the lower end you cross the waterway to the city. A large standing stone beside the path was found to have a burial site beneath it. Further along there is a shrine with a ceremonial stone where another path joins the trail. The views along the trail are spectacular! Reaching the top, somewhat breathless, it really was worth the climb. Coming back down, be careful not to twist an ankle.
Top row and middle second row, beginning the trail. Second and third pictures on left, the waterway to the city. Second and third rows right, the Inca trail; note the shrine along the path and the Sun Gate. Fourth left image, standing stone over burial site. Fourth row right, shrine and ceremonial stone. Third and fourth row middle, view of Machu Picchu from the trail. Remaining images, Sun Gate and the view therefrom.
We had a group lunch at Cafe Inkaterra in Aguas Calientes before boarding the train to Ollantaytambo followed by a bus ride to Cuzco.
Left, Cafe Inkaterra, perched above the Urubamba river; middle, Ollantaytambo train station; right, the Sacred Valley at dusk
Our hotel in Cuzco, the Belmond Monasterio, is built on an old monastery. We entered through an ornate chapel and our rooms were arranged around the central cloister with the oldest cedar tree in Cuzco. The rooms were decorated with what I call “atrocious religious art”. When I was much younger, a friend kept a collection of photos of classic religious paintings in a book, captioned with blasphemous phrases. To this day I think of him when I see such paintings. One interesting aspect of indigenous Christian art is the incorporation of Quechuan imagery. The Virgin Mary is depicted in dresses that are triangular, simulating a mountain. The Andean goddess of earth, Pachamama, became Lady Mary under Spanish rule.
Top left, the chapel at Belmond Monasterio; Top middle and bottom left, the courtyard, the tree is the courtyard is centuries old; top right, the bar (the most important place). Bottom right, the Virgin Mary depicted in indigenous style as Pachamama.
Our morning in Cuzco began with a visit to the Q’oricancha, the Temple of the Sun which was razed by the Spanish who built the monastery of Santo Domingo on it. Initially almost completely lined with gold and silver and containing many gold objects, it was stripped by the Spanish before the Pizarros ever set foot in Cuzco to pay Atahualpa's "ransom".This was the Incas' astronomical observatory. The priests studied the sky to predict the seasons for planting and the times for religious observances. It also was the hub of a system of radiating lines called ceques. Shrines called wacas were located along these lines which extend outside Cuzco and were integral to many religious and ceremonial events. The monastery was devastated by earthquakes in 1950 which revealed the Inca foundation. There are several rooms which are thought to be temples to the Moon, lightning and Venus but this is not known with any certainty. The Sun Temple is no longer but its curved outer wall can be seen outside the monastery.
Top row left and middle and middle row left, Inca walls in the Q'oricancha creating various "temples"; top row right, windows between the rooms; middle row center,the Inca courtyard - this is original, including the fountain but has been redesigned by the Spanish; middle row right, a restored Spanish mural painted on the wall of what some call the Temple of the Moon; Lower row left, the Q'oricancha viewed from Sacayhuaman; lower row middle, the entrance to the church - no photos were allowed in the church, you can steal the place from its rightful owners but you can't photograph it because that would offend God; lower row right, the curved outer wall of the Sun Temple.
We toured the Inca portion of the building before returning to our bus for a visit to Sacsayhuaman. This was a religious and ceremonial center as well as a fortress. The Inca fought back against the Spanish here, but lost despite their greater numbers. The Spanish tore down most of the site, including three tall towers, but the terraces and large foundation stones remain. Our tour allowed us only 20 minutes at the site because of a subsequent tour of a llama and alpaca farm. Terry, Jeff and I decided to skip that and spend another hour and a half at Sacsayhuaman. For us it was an excellent choice. The views of Cuzco and the surrounding mountains from this site are spectacular. We met up again with the group at the cathedral on the Plaza de Armas in Cuzco. Photography was not allowed in the cathedral. Afterward, we returned to the hotel where we said good bye to Lourdes and Ernesto. The afternoon was on our own.
Top left and right, the battle plain at Sacsayhuaman - the photo on the right shows the zig zag pattern of the wall like a puma's teeth; top and second row middle, giant stones in the foundation weighing over 100 (upper) and 200 (lower) tons; middle row left, Sun Gate, right, foundations of the Inca structures torn down by the Spanish; third row, vistas from Sacsayhuaman of Cuzco valley and plane take off; Panorama on right, the terraces of Sacsayhuaman - the Spanish had to fight their way up these to enter the fortress; below, Cuzco.
In his book, The White Rock, Hugh Thomson tells of an indigenista Peruvian photographer named Martín Chambi. He was born in southern Perú near Lake Titicaca. He photographed the Cuzco region, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, as well as the indigenous peoples there in the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s. His photography is all black and white and is very important to the movement to preserve the Andean culture. There is a small gallery of his photography in the Scotiabank in Cuzco. You have to walk past the teller lines and upstairs. The exhibit is free to view. I have a book of his work but it was an extraordinary treat to see the originals that afternoon. There was no one else in the gallery so we could converse about our impressions without disturbing anyone. I did not take photos of his work, only some of the signs. Our next stop was the Casa Concha museum which houses all the artifacts removed from Machu Picchu, including those taken by Hiram Bingham to Yale. These have been returned. (The British Museum should follow Yale’s example and return the Acropolis artifacts to Greece!) The collection is well laid out with printed and video explanations in Spanish and English. Photography is not alllowed.
As the sun sank lower toward the horizon we returned to the Plaza de Armas to photograph the area during the Golden hour. On the return to our hotel, we detoured to see the Piedra de doce ángulos (12 angled stone) a uniquely carved stone in one of the walls of the palace of the Inca Roca.
Above left, Martin Chambi's biography; above right the Plaza de Armas at dusk. Below, top right, Pachacutec witnesses the Sun setting on his empire, right, the stone of twelve angles; lower left, the Monasterio bar, below right, inside Chicha.
Dinner that evening was on our own. After sampling some Piscos in the hotel bar, we walked to the Plaza Regocijo to have dinner at Chicha. This restaurant serves both Novo Andino and traditional Andean foods and is owned by Gastón Arcurio. We arrived early for our reservation and spent some time in the nearby Choco museo sampling and buying chocolate. The meal was excellent. I really appreciated the walk back to the hotel after such a filling meal.
After an early breakfast we returned to Cuzco airport for the flight to Lima. Our experience was almost comical. Initially, we were at gate 1, then were sent downstairs to gate 7, then back upstairs to gate 1. We sat on the runway a long time and our flight arrived late in Lima. This messed up the day’s schedule. Rather than tour the Larco Herrera museum first, we wended our way through the Pasaje del Correo Central de Lima, the old Post Office converted to an open air mall, and stopped for lunch at Casa de Aliaga. This hacienda is owned and operated by descendents of Jeronimo de Aliaga y Ramirez, the conquistador who built the house in 1535, the year Lima was founded by Francisco Pizarro. I had mixed feelings about being in the home of the descendents of such a brutal man. The obvious wealth of the house and its furnishings is the result of the genocide committed by its founder. But the current owners did not do these things. We briefly toured the house, had lunch, and a quick stop at the Plaza Mayor which looked quite different in the light of day. Then, we were treated to a presentation by Kike Pinto, a musician specializing in prehispanic indigenous instruments.
Top left, the Old Post Office. Top middle, entrance hall and Top right, fountain in a courtyard at Casa de Aliaga. Middle row left, dining room and middle right drawing room at Casa de Aliaga. Third row, left, Palacio del Gobierno, Third row middle, fountain and right, Kike Pinto. Lower left, La Catedral de Lima
We strolled back through the Old Post Office, boarded the bus and went on to a tour of portions of the Larco Herrera museum which houses pre-columbian artifacts. It was founded in 1926 by Rafael Larco Hoyle with 45,00 pieces of art from various epochs and regions of Perú. It is well known for its collection of pre-columbian erotic art. What we saw was impressive but the collection really deserves the better part of a day or at least a morning. Driving through Lima, the bus passed one of the pre-Incan pyramids called huacas, Huaca Mateo Salado. This was a ceremonial and administrative center of the Ychsma people who inhabited this area around 1100 ACE following the breakup of the Wayri culture and continued under Inca domination. It consists of a main pyramid which was a temple and four secondary pyramids which may have been secondary pyramids or palaces.
Top right and left, Museo Larco Herrera. Left, our Julia at Museo Larco. Below middle, fountain at Museo Larco. Right middle and and below, Huaca Mateo Salado
We then checked into the Belmond Miraflores Park hotel. The Belmond hotels, Sanctuary Lodge, Monasterio and Miraflores were formerly owned by Orient Express. I have previously referenced the explorer Hugh Thomson. In his book Cochineal Red he writes of a subsequent exploration of the Vilcabamba where the team stayed in all three of these hotels and he describes them in brief detail. Reading this after the tour definitely put it into a different context as the setting is now so familiar.
This was the official end of our tour and the last we would see of Julia. So we said our goodbyes in the lobby and went to our rooms. The view from our rooms was the sun setting in the Pacific - Wow! Dinner that night on our own was at Tanta Larcomar in the nearby Larcomar mall. We were still too full from lunch for a big meal. We strolled along the waterfront before returning to the hotel. At the bar the server tried to educate us about pisco and did an informal tasting.
Pisco is a brandy,a distillate from wine. Peruvian and Chilean piscos are quite different. Peruvian Pisco can be puro, made from a single grape, usually Quebranta; aromática, made from muscatel, albilla, italia or torontel, but still a single grape; mosto verde, which is fermented from must before the fermentation process is finished; or acholado, which is blended from several grape varietals. At the right are the piscos we had in our informal tasting.
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