Hello, All -

We had a wonderful trip to Peru, returning via the La Paz area of Bolivia - and I took almost 1,000 pictures during the 7 days we were gone.  I thought I could pare things down and report half our trip in this first blog, but when I started trying to leave things out, I just couldn't make myself do it.  SO . . . today I'm just going to report on the trip from Cochabamba to and including Machu Picchu - and spread this whole thing out over several blog entries.  If it's a nuisance for you-all to keep checking back, I'm sorry . . . but this is our trip journal, too and we want it to be somewhat complete.  So here goes . . .

I should explain first - there was a mix-up with our tickets when we left Cochabamba (an error on the part of the travel agent which we didn't spot until we got to the airport counter).  It was resolved to our great relief but it put us into Cusco 1-1/2 hours later than originally planned, which meant we didn't get to stop in the Sacred Valley or see anything there.

This is what we saw as we left the airport in Cusco.  The bottom line is Spanish ("we receive you with our heart") and the top line presumably says the same thing in Quechua.

We left the airport in a private van and immediately began the drive to "the Sacred Valley of Ollataytambo". These are just three pictures of "beautiful Peru".  Truly as soon as we left the outskirts of Cusco there was not an unlovely inch between there and Machu Picchu.

There is a lookout above the Sacred Valley and we stopped there to take pictures.  This little girl's mother and father were selling souvenirs.

This is looking down on Ollantaytambo (the town) and the Sacred Valley.

I don't know what makes it "sacred" because we didn't have time to stop and find out.

In Ollantaytambo, we changed from van to train - Peru Rail - which runs on an old-fashioned narrow-gauge track all along the Ollantaytambo River to Machu Picchu pueblo (town).

The river was in flood - big time.  I have never seen such angry, violent water.  Kinda scary, actually.

This is just SOME of the terracing we saw from the train.

It is everywhere.  The Incas must have farmed every square inch of these hillsides,

and their retaining walls were so well-built that they are still in place 

(and people are still using the planting areas.)

When we got to Machu Picchu town, we walked to our hotel and crossed a footbridge over this river which flows into the Ollantaytambo River.  The sound of the rushing waters could be heard all over the town and was very beautiful (and soothing).

We had a nice hotel near the river.  I decided not to show pictures of our hotels today.  I think I'll do a blog just on our hotels some day when I have nothing more interesting to show you.  They were all quite unique.

This is a picture of Machu Picchu town from the roof of our hotel at dusk.  The second picture is the very same view in the early morning, but you will notice the mountain in the center is totally obscured by clouds. Also notice how straight-up-and-down these mountains are.

This was another view in the early morning from our rooftop observatory.

Machu Picchu is behind that central mountain.

We started toward Macchu Picchu in one of the tourist buses.

Notice how narrow the road is - only room for one vehicle.

If you meet someone coming down the switchbacks, 

the one coming down has to back up to a wide enough spot that you can squeeze by.

Welcome to the National Archaeological Park of Machu Picchu.

This sign was actually at the top of the mountain but I wanted you to see it first so you could see how there really is a trail you can climb all the way up to Machu Picchu if you have the time, strength and stamina.  You can also see from this map how many switchbacks there are on the road.

Below are two snaps of the hiking trail as it crossed the road.

 Not the best foot path in the world, as you can see.

This was our first glimpse of Machu Picchu.

We had to walk and climb about 1/4 mile from the bus to reach this point.

This is another view from that first vantage point.  Again, I can't get over how sheer these mountains are!

 

At first we thought we'd take a less-traveled trail that led higher on the mountain

(and eventually to a different mountain altogether),

but when we got halfway up, we found there was an extra fee to keep going.

This wasn't what we came to see, so we turned around and went back down 

with the rest of the tourists.

I wanted you to see first the grating or grill-work or whatever you would call it that they have to put over all the grassy areas where the tourists walk.  Without it, I'm sure the grass would be ground to bits. 

 


Initially we were pretty far above Machu Picchu the city, as I said, so this next shot is from that distance - pretty much what you've seen in National Geographic, right? (Only the photos aren't as great).  This is looking across from one side of Machu Picchu to Huayna Picchu (the big peak).  "Machu" means old (peak) and "Huayna" means young (peak).  Believe it or not, there is a trail to the top of Huayna Picchu and people climb it every day!

 

 

Just wanted you to see again how the hills are terraced all around the city of Machu Picchu.

This is where they grew the food for the town - which numbered only about 400 people.  

We had always thought it was a big city but it wasn't.  

That explains how they could actually grow enough food even in these mountains to sustain themselves.

At this point we began the hike from one end of Machu Picchu to the other.  All the shots in between are rather random - that is, looking back on my photos now, I can't remember exactly when we were where - so I'll just tell you what the two of us can remember.  This is looking from one end toward the other; we were about halfway down the first hill.

This was taken about in the middle of things,

looking down from the top level to a grazing area where their llamas probably fed.

There are actually a couple of llamas and their babies on site,

but they were playing hard-to-get as far as pictures go.

We're still looking toward Huayna Picchu here.

Notice the lintel on this arch.

It's HUGE.

Also notice how the stones are fitted together so tightly that a piece of paper can't be slipped between them.

True Inca stonework/artistry.

This is just a row of their houses.  The living quarters were very small - room for 4 to 6 people to squeeze together and sleep on the floor.  But at that altitude, I think in the winter you'd want a small space that one fire in the corner could keep warm.

This was taken inside one of those little houses.

They had thatched roofs; that's why they are roof-less now.

This is looking down into one of the homes - a larger one than that above, actually.

If you look closely, maybe you can see a ledge jutting out of the left wall about 1/3 of the way down.

This may have been a two-story dwelling.

This was a much bigger building and was for storage. Right now it has stones from the excavations stored there.

This was taken inside a similar storage building that has been re-roofed.

This was where the llamas stayed in bad weather!

  

 This was a burial chamber.  I always thought the Inca emperors had lived in Machu Picchu, but not so.

This was a city of nobles and their servants, but the emperors lived in Cusco 

(and that's where the last one was murdered by the Spaniards.)

By the way, don't you love my classy hat?  JK

Thought you'd like to see how much work it would have been

to climb to the next level of houses,

especially carrying a heavy load!

Take a good look at the walls here and find the round "pole-like" rocks sticking out of the walls.

The rafters were tied to these rocks with cords/ropes as you can see in the next picture.

And here - in the storehouse I mentioned - are extra stones/rocks from the ruins - 

carved for that specific purpose thousands of years ago.

 This is the altar of the Temple of the Sun.

And here's a picture of us by it, so you can see the proportionate size.

The Temple of the Sun is about 2/3 up the side of the city nearest Huayna Picchu,

opposite where we started.

This is looking back from the Temple of the Sun.

We started a ways up the hill beyond that building you see at the top of these terraces. 

This is just one example of the damage earthquakes have done to Machu Picchu.

Anytime you see a big crack between two rocks, it's been caused by earthquake.

Thought you might also like to see the rabbit - only he's not a rabbit.

He's a relative called a viscacha - and he looks part kangaroo in the tail.

Our guide said the viscacha is very good eating!

  This shows you how those rocks should fit (and do, most places).

This is one of 2 or 3 buildings for which the park has replaced the roof, so tourists can see what it would have been like.

This is what it's like inside.  (This is down in the center of the city, a convenient resting place.)

This is what the roof looks like inside.

Notice the rafters are lashed together, not nailed.

As we started back from the Temple of the Sun,

I took a picture looking all the way (nearly straight) down to the river.

Hard to believe there can be a road from there to here.

Farron, being Farron, was fascinated with the water system the Incas had developed.

The water came from the top of the mountain - either a spring and/or rain water - 

and was channeled to go from one level to the next ALL the way down 

to the bottom terraces.  Amazing, huh?  These next two pictures show a little of the water system.

This was taken near the beginning of our tour,

but I thought I'd end with it anyway.

I don't know if Machu Picchu is one of the 7 Wonders of the World,

but if it isn't, it should be!

That's all for today.  Have a safe, happy, healthy week . . . y vayan con Dios!  (More good stuff next week . . . )

Sorry there's no blog post this week.  We are up to our eyebrows in work that needs to be done before the temple closes this Saturday evening for the annual two-week maintenance and refurbishment.  We will be traveling to Macchu Picchu and Lake Titicaca during the break, so I'll have lots of good pictures starting February 25th.  'Til then, vaya con Dios!

Last Monday (January 27) we took a road trip (paseo, en español) to Incallajta (In-ka-yahta), which was the southeastern-most fortification of the Inca Empire.  With our usual luck - and because it is summer here in the Southern Hemisphere - it rained ALL day.  In order to let you see Incallajta at its best as well as its worst, I have co-opted some of my friend John Norman's photos from the day he was there last summer (the dry season).  So when you see a sunny-day picture, he took it; the ones that are gray and rainy are mine. Thank goodness for friends who happily share their pictures!

We left the hospedaje at 7:00 in the morning.  It was a 3-hour ride, so we saw a lot of scenery - some, really beautiful like this . . .

. . . and some not-so-beautiful but very much the norm in the campo (countryside), like this.

We saw several flooded areas.  Believe it or not, there are homes back among those trees.

 And this is a lake we passed.

There were restaurants along the shore, offering trout dinners.  I wouldn't want to eat a trout that came out of this, would you?

 There were many homes built right alongside the highway.  Animals are everywhere; there is nothing like "zoning", of course.

 For example,

there were many houses with cows,

sheep and/or pigs tethered in front.

This was one of the beautiful vistas.  Notice the small farms here and there.

We saw quite a few fields of this stuff that looks like the mustard plants we have at home.  Nobody on the bus knew what it was, but we're pretty sure it is a cash crop, not a weed.

These also are a real crop (not weeds).  These are bean plants.  The beans when harvested are about the size of lima beans and taste quite similar.  Can't for the life of me remember the Spanish word for this plant.

This is one of many potato fields we passed.  Potatoes are the staple of this region,

both for marketing and for home use.  There are something like 2,000 varieties of potatoes in Bolivia.

This is just to show you how they use the land.

Some of these hills are so steep, I can't imagine cultivating there.

However, they do everything by hand, so I guess that's how they manage.

This is a picture John took of a native woman moving her cow from one grazing spot to another.

Finally we got to the park and couldn't drive the last little way to the entrance,

because the river was too flooded for the bus to go through.

The driver said this is the first time he hasn't been able to drive all the way to the entrance,

though some of the boulders you can see make me wonder how he could cross this river

even if the rain hadn't made it higher than usual.

Anyway, we got out here and walked the rest of the way.

This is the suspension bridge the government has provided for park visitors when the bus (or cars) can't get through.  L/R:  Dawn Hurst, Rene Cabrera, Teresa Cabrera, Lynda Westover, Glen Westover, me, Rosario Garcia, Martin Paredes, Isabel Paredes, and Luis Garcia.  Please note that I am not alone in the "floppy hat" category.  Hermana Garcia's hat was every bit as floppy as mine (to my great relief.)  FYI: Rene Cabrera is the Temple Recorder (extremely-responsible position) and Luis Garcia is the First Counselor in the Temple Presidency.  All the others are temple missionaries.

 This young couple had walked from somewhere and came up with us at the swinging bridge.

Notice how she's carrying the baby.  The shawl is called an aguayo.

We see women ALL the time - in the city and out - carrying not only babies (up to and including toddlers) but also big loads of produce and many other things.

Here we are just starting up the trail after checking in at the entrance and paying our fee.  I am the third from the left (you can always spot my floppy hat), and Farron is behind me.  His hat has a scarf-type thing that hangs down in back to protect his neck from sunburn (or in this case, from rain.)

 Speaking of rain,

here's a shot of Sister Westover and me with our cute little guide, Ruby Tudela.  She is studying tourism at the university and saving money so she can go on a mission.  Hosting these missionary paseos helps a little.

The wall of the Kallanka.  This was a huge rectangular building,  the largest known roofed structure built by the Incas.  Notice the wall niches--44 in all.  You can see the dimensions of this building --it was HUGE.  It is suggested that it was used for public or administrative meetings or even as a theater.  This is one view in the rain . . .

. . . and here's what it looks like from the other end, in the sunshine.

This is the end wall of the Kallanka, which had a thatched roof.  

There were pillars down the center of this long building, but they are all gone.

These long niches in the walls were thought to hold idols.

(Can you see me - 3rd from right - scrunched back in the niche to get out of the rain?

It worked, too.  Only my legs got wet and it was raining quite hard right then.)

Farron is in the blue poncho, 2nd from the right.

This is an altar - as in "sacrificial altar".  Toward the end, I believe the Incas were sacrificing virgins as did the Aztecs.  In these (modern) days, they still have ceremonies up here - to bring in the planting season and pray for good crops, etc. - but they sacrifice baby llamas.  Incidentally, this rock is not big enough for a person to stretch out; the sacrificial victims must have had to be very small or curled up in a fetal position. 

These are thought to be residential areas on the site.  (That's our friend John, who took the sunny pictures.)

The ruins are built in a small valley, surrounded by mountains.  People still live and farm here, using irrigation.

The canopy is covering a section of the wall of the Kallanka which still has some of the red plaster covering the stones.  This red plaster was common in Incan buildings.  That's Farron in the blue poncho.

After we had walked around all the above ruins, we hiked about 150 yards

to a steep set of rock steps that took us down the side of a narrow canyon 

to the bottom of this waterfall.  Our camera doesn't accurately portray the height of the waterfall.

It was at least 100 feet high (which makes sense, since the steps up out of the canyon

totaled exactly 100.)  We were glad for the newly-installed handrail,

both going down and coming up (but especially going down, 

because in the rain, the steps were slick.)

 Looking back at the waterfall - you can almost sense how high it was. 

Climbing out, in the rain . . .

Our guide told us the Incas used this canyon as a barrier to protect themselves from attackers.  She showed us an observation point about halfway up a cliff (about 50 yards past the top of these steps).  When the sentries saw enemies coming, everyone non-military on this side of the canyon went over on the other side for safety (back by the Kallanka) and the soldiers came to the west side to fight the battles (away from the residences and the administrative buildings.)

 On the way back everyone stopped at the park entrance to use the rest rooms again

(the only opportunity for 3 hours!)

This indigenous lady, who collects the fees from visitors, was sitting on the floor reading her Bible.

Brother Westover took two videos of her - in the first one, she sang in her native Quechua a hymn praising God. In the second one, she was demonstrating how she turns wool into yarn using the hand spindle you can see to her right. (I assume she also had previously carded the wool - or someone like her had done so.)  I tried uploading the videos but can't get them to work.  If anyone reading this knows the secret, please post it in a comment and I will try again.  I'd really like you to see them.

When we got back to the bus we all ate the lunches we had brought (there is no place to buy any kind of food or drink here, nor for miles in any direction.  Obviously not your "North American" type of tourist attraction.) Then we started the 3-hour drive back.  Just before we got to the main highway (it's a 10-mile cobblestone road from the highway to the park entrance), we passed this graveyard.  All the graves are above ground (maybe it's too wet here to make underground burial possible?)  Anyway, there were many more than these, but this is a representative sample.

The next three pictures are of cool things John's group saw on their way home.  We didn't see anything but rain and mud, but I want to share these with you because I know you will be interested.  First, this girl is mashing chuno to loosen the outer peel.  This is a small potato that is peeled and "freeze-dried" in the open air.  It allows the people to preserve food and obviously is still eaten today.  She mashes them with her feet after they are peeled (and no, I don't think they do anything about "sanitizing" them before freeze-drying OR eating them.)

Here are the ladies peeling the potatoes.  

You can see them laid out on the blue tarp on the right so that they will dehydrate somewhat
before the girl starts trying to mash them.

And here is a farmer preparing his land for planting (last summer.)
Remember the growing season is reversed here.

They still plow by oxen and wood plow.

By contrast, this is what we saw when we finally got back to the edge of civilization.

Rain and mud - the two are inseparable here - 

and in my mind one of the most unattractive features of living in this country.

The reason it's muddy everywhere is that so many streets (in fact, the majority) are not paved.

And here we are back at the hospedaje.

Notice the nice clean pavement under the bus, in spite of all-day rain.

This is one of many reasons we are SO blessed to live on the temple grounds!

 

All in all it was a great experience in spite of the rain.

That's all for today.  Have a safe, happy, healthy week . . . y vayan con Dios!