WEATHER: Cool and rainy in the morning-Sunny in the afternoon
HIGHTLIGHT OF THE DAY: MACHU PICCHU
BUMMER OF THE DAY: The rain in the morning…….
BUYS OF THE DAY: A small shopping spree at the Handicraft Markets
WORD OF THE DAY: CONGRATULATIONS TREKKERS
TODAY IS MACHU PICCHU DAY. As mentioned previously this has been a dream of mine for a long long time and today is the day.
Today is also the day the Trekkers return. We know that they are going to be tired, maybe cranky and I’m hoping totally stoked that they finished their character building journey. I know, well I can guess, how hard the trek was and all I can do is have admiration for them for doing it. It is a BIG deal.
We thought we were getting up early at 5am, but think of the trekkers that were up at 3.30am and were already on the track by 5am in the rain and in the dark. Yep STILL glad that I did not do the trek let me tell you. Breakfast was at 5.45am and then we had arranged to leave the hotel at 6.30am to catch a 7am bus up to the ruins. The busses pretty much leave as they fill up, which in the mornings doesn’t take that long. The bus station was only a 5 minute walk from the hotel where we left our overnight bags to go back and collect them this afternoon. Even though we were aiming for a 7am bus but leaving the hotel so early we didn’t want to keep the trekkers waiting once they arrived in off the trail. That would be really bad that we couldn’t organize ourselves to get there when they have been walking in the elements for 4 days. We decided it would be better to get there early and we wait than the other way around.
After waiting only 10 minutes with a full bus we pulled out just after 6.45am for the 20 minute journey ascending the slope of the hill Machu Picchu, the mountain. We wound our way up and up and up, with the mountains covered in clouds and mist and with rain hitting the windows, it wasn’t the way I had expected to see Machu Picchu but when Mother Nature speaks who are we to argue. The said road, however, is not integrated into the national road network in Peru. Starting in the village of Aguas Calientes it can only be accessed by rail from Cuzco. The absence of a direct road to the sanctuary of Machu Picchu is intentional and allows the control of the flow of visitors to the area, which, given its national reserve, is particularly sensitive to the crowds.
So we arrived at 7.05am and with the sprinkle of rain falling we went undercover just near the restaurants, where they had picnic tables to wait for our group. Angelica asked what time the trekkers start to arrive and we were told anytime from 7.30am. So we were pleasantly surprised when we saw Sharon, Mick and Julia at 7.20am on the other side of the checkpoint. They had made it. I felt so proud, like a mothers pride for her children, welcome back with BIG waves and arm flaying. They waited on the other side for the rest of the group to arrive over the next 15 minutes and then they cleared the last checkpoint to come over and see us! I was so HAPPY to see them all and I had BIG warm hugs for Kate, Malar, Mick and Seamus. OH MY GOD GUYS YOU DID IT!!!! They all looked tired, some more than others, not naming anybody….Kate, but you have just climbed over 76,000 steps, in the rain, wind and sun and have made it through the other side. AWESOME ACHEIVEMENT.
So we waited for around 30 minutes for the guys to get drinks, go to the toilet where they didn’t have to squat, I pulled out the packet of Tim Tams and Angelica had bought Milky Ways and after getting as much as we could to get them half human we all entered back through the checkpoint at 8.30am for our guided tour of Machu Picchu.
So after getting our tickets scanned through the entrance we were in the Great Inca site. There was still a low mist and fog covering the complex, but you could see that it was slowly lifting and Ruben, our guide, said that it looked like it was going to be a good day and he would know, he has done the Inca Trail over 300 times!!! So we sat down near the Sun Temple and Ruben ran through the history of the Machu Picchu site from start to the current day.
Machu Picchu is the contemporary name given to a llaqta (old town Andean Inca ) stone built mainly in the mid- fifteenth century in the rocky promontory that links the mountains Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu in the eastern foothills of the Andes Central. Its original name would have been Picchu or Picho .
According to documents from the mid sixteenth century, Machu Picchu would have been one of the vacation homes of Pachacutec (first Inca emperor, 1438-1470). However, some of his best buildings and the obvious nature of the main ceremonial route of access to llaqta prove that it was used as a religious shrine.
Machu Picchu is considered both a masterpiece of architecture and engineering. Its unique architectural features and landscape, and the veil of mystery that has woven around much of the literature published on the site, have become one of the most popular tourist destinations on the planet. Machu Picchu is in the List of World Heritage of UNESCO since 1983 , as part of a whole cultural and ecological well-known under the name Machu Picchu Historical Sanctuary . On July 7th of 2007 Machu Picchu was declared as one of the new seven wonders of the modern world at a ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal, which was attended by a hundred million voters in the world.
By 1440 the valley of Picchu was conquered by Pachacutec , first Inca emperor (1438-1470). The site of Machu Picchu must have impressed the monarch for their unique characteristics within the sacred geography of Cusco, and therefore would have ordered to be built there, to 1450 , an urban resort with luxurious buildings of civil and religious buildings. Machu Picchu is believed that population had a mobile and most llactas Incas, which ranged between 300 and 1,000 inhabitants. It has been shown that the force consisted of agricultural settlers from different corners of the empire. Machu Picchu was not from any point of view an isolated complex, so the myth of the "lost city" and "safe house" of the Inca emperors lacks grip. The valleys that converge in the valley formed a densely populated agricultural productivity which increased dramatically from the Inca occupation in 1440. Machu Picchu of these complexes depended for food, because the fields in the agricultural sector of the city would be insufficient to supply the population. Intraregional communication was possible through the network of Inca roads: 8 ways came to Machu Picchu. The small city of Picchu was reached differentiate neighboring populations by the unique quality of its main buildings.
The Transition Period between 1534-1572 saw the Inca civil war (1531-32) and the Spanish invasion in Cuzco in 1534 that significantly affected the lives of Machu Picchu. The peasantry of the region was mostly Mitman, settlers from different nations conquered by the Incas and forcibly taken to the site. They took advantage of the economic collapse of Cusco to return to their homelands. Inca resistance against the Spanish led by Manco Inca in 1536 summoned the nobles of the surrounding regions to join his court in exile and very likely that the main noble Picchu then having left the city.
In fact an ongoing investigation recently reported reveals information about a German businessman named Augusto Berns who in1867 would not only have "discovered" the ruins they have founded a company "mining" to exploit the alleged "treasures" that held (the "Company Limited operator of the Temples of the Inca"). According to this source, between 1867 and 1870 and the government cameJosé Balta , the company would have operated in the area and then sold "all that he found" European and American collectors.
Finally in 1880 the French explorer Charles Wiener confirms the existence of archaeological remains in place (says "I was told about other cities, Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu"), but cannot reach the site. In any case is clear that the existence of the alleged "lost city" was not forgotten, as was believed until a few years.
The rediscovery of Machu Picchu 1894-1911 has the first direct references to visitors from the ruins of Machu Picchu indicate that Augustine Lizarraga, a lessee of land in Cuzco, came to the site on July 14 of 1902. The visitors left graffiti with their names on one wall of the Temple of Three Windows which was subsequently verified by several people. There are reports suggesting that Lizarraga had visited Machu Picchu in the company of Luis Bejar in 1894. Lizárraga showed them the buildings "visitors", although the nature of their activities has not hitherto been investigated.
Hiram Bingham , an American professor of history interested in finding the last of the Inca’s of from their contact with local landowners and thus arrived at Machu Picchu on July 24 of 1911 led by another tenant of land, Melchor Arteaga, accompanied by a civil guard sergeant named Peruvian Carrasco. They found two peasant families living there: Recharte and Alvarez, who used the platforms of the south of the ruins for farming and drinking water Inca channel still worked and brought water from a spring. Paul Recharte, one of the children of Machu Picchu, Bingham led to the "urban area" covered by weeds.
Bingham was very impressed by what he saw and handled the auspices of Yale University , the National Geographic Society and the Peruvian government to immediately start the scientific study of the site. Thus, the engineer Erdis Ellwood, the osteopath George Eaton, the direct participation of Anacleto Alvarez and Toribio Recharte and a group of anonymous employees of the area, led Bingham to Machu Picchu archaeological work in 1912 to 1915 period when it cleared the weeds and Inca tombs were excavated on the outskirts of the city. The "public life" of Machu Picchu begins in 1913 with the publication of this in an article in the Journal of the National Geographic.
While it is clear that Bingham discovered Machu Picchu in the strict sense of the word (no one did since I never was "lost" really), it certainly had the merit of being the first person to recognize the importance of the ruins, a multidisciplinary team studying and disseminating their findings. This despite the fact that employees were not archaeological criteria most appropriate from today's perspective, and despite also the controversy today involves more than leaving the country irregularly excavated archaeological material (which consists of at least a 46 332 pieces) and it was only in March 2011 that began some items were to be returned to Peru.
Between 1924 and 1928 Martin Chambi and Juan Manuel Figueroa made a series of photographs in Machu Picchu that were published in various journals Peru and expanding the local interest on the ruins that became a national symbol. With the passing of decades, and especially since opening in 1948 of a road for vehicles, climbed the slope of the mountain to the ruins from the train station, Machu Picchu became the main destination of Peru. During the first two thirds of the twentieth century, however, interest in the tourist operation was higher than the conservation and study of the ruins.
The built in Machu Picchu area is 530 meters long by 200 wide and includes at least 172 campuses. The complex is clearly divided into two main areas: the agricultural area, consisting of sets of agricultural terraces, which lies to the south, and the urban area, which is, of course, the one where the occupants lived and where some of the main civic and religious activities. Both zones are separated by a wall, a moat and a staircase, all of which run parallel to the hill east of the mountain. A significant part of the ruins you can see today are actually recent reconstructions, as shown by comparing the images obtained in the 1910 to current.
A stone city built on top of an " isthmus "between two mountains and two faults in a region subject to constant earthquakes and, above all, to heavy rainfall throughout the year is a challenge for any builder: to prevent that the complex does not falls apart. The secret of longevity of Machu Picchu is the drainage system. In fact, the ground of their non-roofed is equipped with a system of drainage which consists of layers of gravel (crushed stone) and rocks prevent ponding of rainwater. 129 drainage channels are spread throughout the urban area, designed to avoid splashing and erosion , resulting in most of the "moat" that separates the urban area of agriculture, which was actually the city's main drain. It is estimated that 60% of the constructive effort of Machu Picchu was to make the foundations on terraces filled with gravel for good drainage of excess water.
There is strong evidence that the builders were considered astronomical criteria and rituals for the construction. Indeed, the alignment of some important buildings coincides with the azimuth solar during the solstices consistently and therefore not by chance, with the points of sunrise and sunset the sun at certain times of the year and the surrounding mountain peaks.
All the buildings are preserved granite whitish, composed in 60% feldspar, 30% quartz and 10% mica. All the material came from the quarries located in the Inca complex contours. The rock is between 6 to 7 degrees of hardness on the Mohs scale . In Inca times this was worked with crowbars and other tools of bronze (no iron tools used in ancient Peru) and rock hammers harder. The rocks were smoothed by abrasion with sand. Most buildings are rectangular. They come in one, two and up to eight doors, usually in one of the long sides of the rectangle.
Hiram Bingham took 5,000 pieces archaeological University Yale as a result of excavations at Machu Picchu. For a long time were claimed by the Peruvian government in 2007 until an agreement was reached. Repayment is expected in late 2009; however, this did not happen. Yale University recently confirmed the return of the pieces in 2011 , to commemorate the centenary of the rediscovery of Machu Picchu by Bingham.
I know there is a lot of information there, but it is an amazing story to tell. It was now time to take a walk around, which we did for the next 2 hours. The poncho’s came off, the sun came pout and the mist and clouds lifted for an AMAZING day. There were a few other groups around the ruins, but we somehow managed to always be the last to arrive at each section, so we got some time to ourselves at each place without other people. There was one time, I had just got my Bernstar jump and one of the Machu Picchu officials came over to tell me off, that you are not allowed to jump in Machu Picchu and to start with I was horrified that I had broken some sacred religious rule. Till one of the guides in quite a tome, told me that they don’t permit people to jump as it makes the foundations unstable and it is for the preservation of the ruins. This is all fine and I totally understand, but the tone that he used was uncalled for, so I told him so and said that he didn’t have to talk to me in that tone, and now that I know I won’t do it again. Well then one of his American tourists piped in with her 5 cents worth, so I then told her that it was none of her business and to keep her nose out of it. And with that, and my Bernstar jump recorded on my camera I walked off to join the rest of the group. I am not sure what overcame me, but there is no need for attitude and he made out that I had been told a million times before. So if you go to Machu Picchu, then no jumps allowed, or don’t get caught, as you will get into trouble.
So after getting shown around the site for 2 hours, we pretty much had the whole day to either stay at the site for as long as we wanted or head back into town whenever we were ready and wait the afternoon away till our train departure at 6.45pm. I felt sort for the guys, as there was no chance for a shower and after getting up at 3.30am and to keep going till 6.45pm, I think is a big ask. I would have preferred to have a night in Agnes Calientes and have a night short in Cuzco, giving them then the option to go to the hotel, shower, and change and sleep if they wanted. But after speaking to a few of them, they would prefer to do what they did and just get back to Cuzco even though it made for a massive day. I can’t complain as I hadn’t done the trek, but it made it tough all the same.
A small group of us wanted to get the ‘postcard’ shot. The one that you see on all the postcards, tourism posters, internet anywhere you see Machu Picchu this is the picture you will see. We had to climb to the highest point of the whole ruins, and I wasn’t going to complain about how many steps we had to climb after the group had done 76,000 of them, but with the altitude and the uneven steps, just between you and I it was tough! I ended up climbing with O and Nic and they told me about the ‘Spirit of the Turtle’. Slow and steady wins the race, and on the Inca Trail they just kept that in their minds to get them through, one slow foot in front of the other. So instead of trying to race up the steps, I took on the ‘Spirit of the Turtle’ and I have to say it made small difference, but I was still trying to suck in the big ones. But once at the top, the view was totally worth it and we were so lucky the last of the low clouds had blown over and we had a 100% clear view of the ‘postcard’ view. I rekon I took over 50 pictures at all different angles and it was the most amazing experience. We stayed up there for around an hour, snapping photos and just marveling that we were indeed at Machu Picchu. This was one of my travel dreams come true. Machu Picchu. UNBELIEVABLE.
After being at the site for nearly 5 hours it was time to leave. With one more glance over my shoulder it was time to climb back down the stairs and head back to the entrance/exit. After 9am, the staff at the ruins set up a stamp and ink pad for people to stamp passports, tickets and books. So on our way out I got my Globetrotters Book stamped for my Peru entry. It doesn’t get any better than that does it? The busses leave every 10 minutes from the site back to Agnes Calientes, so we jumped on the waiting bus and drove the 30 minutes back to town. Tucan have an arrangement with a restaurant in the town, that they look after all the trekker’s bags and we got use of the 2nd floor area they have that has couches, toilets, music and a TV for our use. It was pretty good set up that overlooked the train track and shops and restaurants.
The afternoon was spent shopping for me. I still had birthday money to burn and a few souvenirs to buy. It started to rain later on, so it ‘forced’ me to spend more time at the markets while I waited for it to die down a little before heading back to our restaurant. Some of the other guys went to the hot springs, some got massages and pedicures to wile away the afternoon and then most of us had an early dinner at 5.30pm as we still had a few travel hours to do before making it back to Cuzco.
The last train leaves Aguas at 6.45pm. It was the same set up as coming up here. We were allocated seats, got served a hot drink and snack for the 1.5 hours travel time to Ollantaytambo. From here we had s shuttle van waiting for us, and with our luggage tied to the roof we drove for a further 1.5 hour drive back to Cuzco. Talk about a long day, and I didn’t even climb the 3 hours of the trail this morning, the guys must be feeling like zombies. We finally arrived into Cuzco just after 10pm.
I let Kate have the first shower, firstly she needed it, and secondly I am just the greatest roomie and new how much better it would make her feel. I have to stress again what an amazing achievement she had just done, but I think it may take a few days for it all to sink in, with sore feet, sore Achilles and a few sore toes, it’s gonna take some time to appreciate it all. I am still GLAD as hell that I didn’t do it and I was able to enjoy the ruins and my travel dream to cross them off my bucket list.
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