Machu Picchu

MACHU PICCHU
I Came, I saw, I crawled
Sunday, October 14  When we arrived in Aguas Calientes, our Condor tour guide met us with the Hatuchay Hotel representative who picked our overnight luggages.  Our tour guide walked us to the bus stop, next door to the train station.  A 20 minute shared bus ride took us to the top of the mountain - getting off right there at the entrance of the marvelous citadel, an awe- inspiring wonder of wonder.   http://youtu.be/yL_PyaaBr9Q

I've driven a stick-shift car for many years.  I admire this driver driving a stick-shift bus to Machu Picchu - got to be in control, not the vehicle.

The ruins are situated on the eastern slope of Machu Picchu ("old peak"), in two different areas: the agricultural and the urban.  The latter includes the civil sector (dwellings, canalizations), and the sacred sector (temples, mausoleums, squares, royal houses).  Although the constructions show different levels of architecture, religious buildings exhibit a high degree of perfection.  The construction was with general use of stone, and the roofs were built of tree trunks and thatched with ichu straw.  The walls were made with an inward inclination for protection against earthquakes. 

The mountain behind the Inca city is known as Huayna Picchu ("young peak")

 The Incas made a religious sacrifice of black llamas - not white or brown - so this llama is safe

http://albinoblacksheep.com/flash/llama

The smallest stone in Machu Picchu, according to our guide Yimmer who's of Incan lineage.  Try looking for it somewhere along the trail.  Ha-ha!!

 The terraces of the agricultural sector - on top the Caretaker's Hut

The Temple of the Sun was built upon a natural rock outcrop that was carved to form a small mausoleum with trapezoidal niches in its lower part.  In the exterior, the rock has been carved to form a series of steps which symbolize the three sacred spaces of Inca beliefs: the world of the dead, the world of the living and the world of the gods

 Perfection, just like built today and not thousand of years ago 

 Magnetic stone

 Winay Wayna on the Inca Trail

 King Pachacutec of 9th Dynasty resting/sleeping

 Guinea Pig (Cuy) stone

 Intihuatana - in Quechua, "Inti" means "sun" and "huatana" means "place where it is tied".  The forms of worship of the Incas were related to the agricultural calendar and included sophisticated ceremonies which combined astronomical and engineering knowledge with religious beliefs.  During the winter solstice, which marks the shortest day of the year, the Incas asked the sun god not to abandon them, exhorting it to begin its cycle once again so that the daylight hours would lengthen again.  The Intihuatana not only marked the changing season, it also served as a focus for rituals which called upon supernatural forces to influence future lives in a positive manner.  Visitors are not allowed to touch the stone with their hands or else have bad luck (?)

 Luz ready to jump down below - she's fearless and not afraid of height

 

 After almost three hours of walking, climbing up and down (thanks to the patience and help of guide Yimmer) and then finally crawling, you could say I survived my tour of Machu Picchu

 Stone in the shape of a condor

 Part of prison room