Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu seems to be the iconic representation of the Incan empire and it is indeed somewhat breathtaking. Surprisingly, as far as Incan cities go, it is not particularly ancient. Cuzco was the historical capital of the Incan empire for its entire duration, with major temples like Qorikancha, and elaborate palaces, as well as canal systems to control the two rivers and extensive neighborhoods of both royal and ordinary dwellings. By contrast, Machu Picchu was only in use for about 100 years by the time the Spanish defeated the Incas. And, despite (as you can see in the picture) being located on top of an almost inaccessible mountain, it is quite a bit lower in absolute elevation than Cuzco.

Here's some proof that we were actually there, and that there were Llamas present...

The city itself is a mix of religious, residential (royal and common) and agricultural sections. The religious buildings, as elsewhere, can be distinguished by the absence of mortar between the stones, while the residential and agricultural building use less finely-worked rock and employ mortar in the construction. Theories as to the purpose of the city suggest it was primarily a sacred site, a sort of royal retreat, or a guard-post and garrison to help control conquered territory. Here I am at the city entrance, testing out the guard-post theory. Seems pretty solid...

And here (below) is one of the sacred areas. This particular temple is dedicated to the condor: the rocks to the sides are the wings, with the head on the ground below. It was probably a place of sacrifice, which was seen as a great honor for the sacrificial victims, an assurance of entrance into a paradisaical afterlife.

Erica has heard that the city as a whole was dedicated to the sun - there are various remnants of astrological structures at the highest point (in the religious zone) - and that Huayna Picchu was dedicated to the moon. Huayna Picchu is the mountain rising above the city of Machu Picchu in the first picture. You can see, from long-distance, people climbing and exploring it in this picture.

It takes about an hour to ascend and another to come down, and the way is very, very steep. Given our time limits - and that Fredy would have never made it due to his acrophobia (we're proud he did so much this trip!) - we didn't climb Huayna Picchu this time.

Even here, where the drop-off wasn't so extreme, Fredy stayed pretty far back.

Eduardo had no problems with the heights.

All told we spent three or four hours wandering around, listening in on various tour guides to learn more about what we were seeing, posing for pictures, taking pictures, and generally enjoying really amazing sensations of time and place. In a city so well preserved, it seems easy to imagine day-to-day lives of people so long ago as well as to lament the loss of an ancient and vibrant culture to European colonialism. It was also neat to see near-complete buildings to understand better the anti-earthquake engineering. In a seismically active region, you would think that more ruins would have fallen by now, but the preventative architecture - the walls all slope slightly inward and the doors and windows are generally trapezoidal - has helped the structures endure.

Erica wrote already about the train ride out to Aguas Calientes / Machu Picchu, but she wanted me to mention the ride back too. It was a bit more luxurious, with a delicious dinner of steak, vegetables, potatoes, cheese and a dense tart. The flower arrangement on each tray was a nice touch too.

But that's not all! In addition to dinner, we were also treated to a traditional dance, complete with elaborate devil/cat costume and some impressive leaping about in the aisle of our constantly rocking train. And, afterwards, a fashion show of sweaters, shawls, hats and other wool products. (The train-attendants put on the fashion show and the dance, to much applause from the passengers.)

All told, a long day, but full of exciting sights and quite luckily free from rain. Definitely worth the trip.