Machu Picchu

Just 10 minutes from the hotel we stopped to view “cabins” attached to the side of a rock wall. You literally have to climb up the rock to get there. If you want when you check out you can take a zip line back down. 

On our way we stopped in the small village of Ollantaytambo to experience the way an Incan village was laid out and to see the inside of a home with rooms that surrounded a central courtyard.  One room was filled with guinea pigs, a staple of rural Peruvian diet. 

No they aren’t holding live Guinea pigs. 

Late morning found us boarding the Hiram Bingham luxury train where we had lunch while enjoying the beautiful river and mountains as we descended into the Sacred Valley where we will find Machu Picchu.

We arrived in the town of Aguas Calientes then took the bus up the mountain on winding switchbacks to the entrance to the ruins and the Hotel Santuary Lodge.

The Incas moved into this area of the Andes, along the Urubamba river, around 600 AD and stopped building in the 1300s.  By 1400s they moved to another city, Villa Bamba, about 72 miles away. Most likely they were run off by other Incans or the lack of food. That city was totally destroyed by the Conquistadors in 1872 and that was the end of the Incan dynasty. They only occupied Machu Picchu for about 100 years and the Spanish never discovered Machu Picchu. 

The word Machu Pichu means Gold.  There are 178 buildings on the site for 700-1000 people.  The round building is a temple to the Sun god with one window facing east.  What looked liked other windows was actually niches for idols or other objects.  The structure was most likely covered with gold or plaster painted yellow.

Machu Picchu was discovered in 1907 by Hiram Bingham.  He returned in 1914 -1921 to remove a lot of the vegetation that covered the stones but nothing else happened to the site until the Peruvian government  took over in 1968 but by then most of the stucco and paintings had been lost to the jungle.

We ended our afternoon at the Sacred Plaza where two unfinished temples bordered two sides, a third side was another unknown building and the west side was open to the setting sun.

Humming Birds, Potatoes and Salt Mines

I started off the morning feeding baby alpacas but as I was going back to my room I tripped up the steps, fell and cut my nose and bruised my forehead.  The hotel staff were very concerned and called a doctor to come to the hotel and examine me.  It was not a deep cut so only a bandaid but the bump concerned them.  The doctors returned later in the day to make sure I was okay.  I love being pampered.

Our first stop of the day was at a hummingbird sanctuary where we spied a Giant Hummingbird, a long tail hummingbird, tanagers, turtle doves, a thrush and many small green and orange hummers. The sanctuary is run by a local man who is concerned about the birds and the environment.

Our next stop was at the home of a milliner, a lady who makes hats for women of Incan descent.  Each hat reflects the education of the wearer or her marital status.  Her husband works the salt mines so they are fairly well off and able to help others in their community.

On our way to the salt mines we stopped to see Moray (pronounced Mo rye) which was discovered by a plane flying over it.  The three circles resemble crop circles from above but are actually deep, terraced holes built by the Incas to experiment with growing crops, mainly potatoes, at different elevations and different temperatures.  We saw the largest hole and were told that the temperature from the top to the bottom can vary by as much as 52 degrees.  Over 3,000 varieties of potatoes are grown in Peru and it is believed that the Incas created many hybrids by using this terracing. 

A short drive up the hill took us to an overlook for the salt mines.  A salt water spring feeds the 3,000 pools where the water is evaporated and then the salt removed to begin the process again.  Because this is so open, when the rainy season begins in late October the mines are closed and the miners become farmers. Each pool is owned by individuals or coops. The area of the pools is over 800 years old and is thought to have been established by the Moras who conquered the Incas.

Lunch was at a Hacienda established in 1572.  The building was beautiful with many antiques and the food was very good, with lots of local foods including llama.

Cusco

It was a short flight to Cusco where our guide, Carlos, met us at the gate and directed us to our van driven by Wilson. Cusco is the 7th largest city in Peru with 400,000 people and is the safest city with a no crime culture. There are more women than men, it rains 32 inches a year and their flower is the Kanu. It’s at a very high altitude, slightly over 11,000 feet. 

Our first stop is at the Museo Machu Picchu de La Casa Conca run by Yale University.  Hiram Bingham discovered the ruins in 1911.  It wasn’t until 1914 that the ruins were uncovered and explored.  There are 178 buildings, which housed an estimated 700,000 Incans.  We’ll learn more as we travel.

Our hotel is located in the Sacred Valley along the Urubamba River with expansive lawns and luxury quarters. We couldn’t walk back to our room from the restaurant, up 2 flights of stair without stopping to catch our breath at least twice. 

View of our hotel from the river bank. 

Incan History

We met our guide, Ruth, and the other couple, Sherry and David, this morning before heading out to explore more of Lima.  

Lima is a city of 11 million people divided into around 40 districts.  It is also the longest city at 60 miles in length.  We are 10 degrees south of the equator. Lima is a dry arid city with only 2-3 inches of rain a year but there are 50 rivers that drain the Andes and supply the city with water.

The main economy in Peru is mining (silver, gold, copper, arsenic, and lithium), fishing, farming and tourism.

Ruth took us to a rich part of the Barranco District.  Barranco means cliff as it sits on the cliffs overlooking the ocean.  Most of the land at the bottom of the cliffs is rock and soil that has been moved building the city. On top of that are highways, parks, beaches and many recreational areas.

Barranco is where we find art and cultured. We visited a very nice neighborhood with beautiful homes and a restaurant where we will dine tonight. We then stopped at a park with buzzard sculptures and a bridge of sighs. These are sighs of love as we held our breath when we crossed the bridge so that our wishes will come true.

We were introduced to Chanukah Granda, a famous Peruvian singer-songwriter.

Now for some history.  We visited the Museo Larco. Italian archaeologists discovered a treasure of over 25,000 artifacts on a relatively small area of land.  They have determined that the pottery was pre-Incan people called Moche.  There is no written record, only the pottery and paintings, and a few textiles and mummies, to tell their story.

The pottery were drinking vessels and the beverage is a fermented corn drink.  It is estimated that these artifacts are over 3,000 years old. One mummy they found was a 6 year old boy curled into the fetal position before being wrapped in many layers of cloth.

Jewelry was also found.  They had the large hole in the ear lobe and they also wore large and elaborate nose rings.  Some of the pottery was very erotic.

We again visited the Plaza Mayor but this time we entered the Cathederal of Lima.  Pizzaro, a Spaniard, laid the first stone of this church in the early 1500’s but this is the 3rd building due to earthquakes.   The ceiling is all wood and the organ has 5000 pipes.

We next visited the Monastery Santo Domingo, built in the 1600’s to house over 100 monks.  Today there are still 30 monks living and working here. It has an extensive library and is covered in Moorish tiles from 1660.

Historical Plazas of Lima

A long Uber ride took us to the historic district of Lima, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There we walked through Plaza San Martin also known as Plaza Aramis or Army.  It is surrounded by the Presidential Palace, City Hall and the San Franciscan Cathedral where we toured the underground catacombs. The church was completed in 1620.

Following a short tour of the interior of the church (no photography allowed) we headed into the crypts. They estimate that over 25,000 individuals were buried here.  Most of what is seen is skulls, tibias and femurs as those are the largest bones that have not deteriorated yet. Supposedly St. Francis of Assisi is buried here as is a body part of Jesus.  Bones are moved after two years to make room for others.  It was not known until after 1968 how many persons were buried here when the tombs were opened, cleaned, organized and opened to the public.

Another Bucket List - Perú

After spending almost 18 hours Friday at the Kansas City airport due to technical difficulties and changing airlines we arrived in Lima Peru at 6 am Saturday morning.

Since we had reservations at the world’s best restaurant, The Merito, we met up with our friends, Lanny and Katy, after a long nap and Ubered to the restaurant.  It definitely lived up to expectations.

Later in the afternoon we walked around the Barracon neighborhood.  A small bar beckoned then we were ready to take in some of the night life.  John and Lanny felt like they needed a midnight snack (at 9 pm) so we found a food court and some tasty smashed burgers.