The reason for everything: Machu Picchu

Day 4   Machu Picchu Part 1 - A Jewel Beyond Compare

"Hit me with your best shot."  *I couldn't help myself* I thought better of trying to post the whole day in one entry... So here's the first part.

This was our best panorama of the day; though there are scads of stunning pictures. I think I'll just post as many as you can stand to scroll through. We simply soaked it all in (literally...) and truly couldn't believe the workmanship, setting, and magnitude of the place and the people who built it. Difficult to wrap your mind around - so grateful to have experienced it.

I'll just start posting pictures and see if I can give you some sort of story line. Here goes...

We woke up to rain :)  You've come so far to see this place, and that is your day. Seize it! And the rain made the colors so brilliant.

The Train

The drive to the train station in Ollantaytambo was a bit nerve-wracking. The streets into the town are extremely narrow and there was backed up traffic due to a semi-truck trying to negotiate a hairpin turn on the outskirts of town. Finally, there was no other way for the truck but to scrape along the side of one of the vehicles at the bend. No backing down, no place to get out of the way. I tried to get pictures, but it was impossible.

We made it to the train with only minutes to spare, found our train car, and got in and seated.

The first car Ev and I entered was a luxury coach :)  They politely invited us to find the right car.

The train went along the river. The Inca trail criss-crossed along the way. You can see it on the left of the river. Some ambitious tourists hike in on the trail rather than taking the train.

Yup - more terraces. And clouds.

And if you hike in you miss the experiences of train refreshments and interesting people watching ;)

This woman and her husband were Yoga masters traveling with a group of students who had been to several different places on a training tour. She graced us with her flexible moves :)  They were very nice people!

After arriving in Aguas Caliente, we boarded buses that would take us up this road to Machu Picchu:

This is taken from our hike up to the Gate of the Sun.

Just as we were going to board the bus, David realized he didn't have his camera. PANIC! This camera is like a Rolls Royce. Anyway, he thought about where it might be, and realized he had set it on the counter in the station at the food/drink area - surrounded by about 500 people. He bolted back to see if he could find it. Tender mercy - it was right where he'd left it. No one picked it up. Almost as amazing at what we were about to see...

This entry house was the first thing we came to after hiking up from the bus: "No Unauthorized Personnel Allowed!"

Then you go around the corner and see this... Amazing!

The rocky, sharp rise of these mountains encased in clouds made me think of those wonderful pictures of China...

The rain made everything so vivid and clean.

You'll see a lot of these. David hates taking pictures without people in them ;)

The bright plastic was such a stark opposite of our surroundings. We look cute though, right? :)

The construction varied, and was a statement about the use of the building. The smoother, more exact the stones and fit, the more sacred the space. I think it's amaziing how they stabilized structures with these smaller rocks

On the way up to a vantage point.  The structure is the guard house for that section of the city.

Yup, this is me being photographed in a picturesque Inca nook.

And this is David - David the Great :)

And his loyal companions. Notice the smooth stones of the doorway and lintel.

I wish I could describe to you how cool this was to have the homes, the terraces, the clouds enshrouding it all, not being able to see just yards away, then having it clear for a few minutes so we could drink it all in. What an amazing day.

Isn't this just intriguing? It is to me...

If you didn't know this was on a ridiculous drop off cliff edge...

The colors are so rich...

These guys are great at the "selfie" thing. Mine just make our noses look big.

I put on my knee brace and the world was a much happier place ;)

 

Disregard the smart remark about facebook. You all know Dad checks out my facebook page all the time. It's how he keeps up with everybody... ;)

That's enough for now. "Coming Soon: Part Deux!"

Day 3    Ollantaytambo and Patacancha (WARNING: This is one long day...)

So after we settled our stuff into the hotel, we met Juan Carlos to drive into the ancient city of Ollantaytambo. It's a town built on ancient stone walls, an "old town" and a terraced mountain that was meant to represent the constellation "Llama" which the Inca valued and revered. We didn't get to really spend time here - no tour into the site, but we did spend some time in the area.

Another fascinating sight in the valley overlooking Ollantaytambo is the image of  "the white bearded God" on the mountainside. They carved it in the mountain anciently, representing the God who came to the valley and taught them how to live, how to farm, how to act. I wish we'd had more opportunity to talk with a guide about the history and folklore behind this. It was our first real day being tourists, and we hadn't figured out how to glean everything from Juan Carlos yet... after the first few days, we just told him to tell us everything he knew, then among ourselves (Evelyn and Dad spoke some Spanish, and Cary speaks Portuguese, so he understood and they could all communicate. Me - I've sung in just about every language)  ;)

Pictures around Ollantaytambo:

The mountainside with the carving of the White Bearded God. Also notice the storage "bins" for grain, potatoes, and other food supply.

Do you ↑ see the profile of a bearded man? 

You can see the terraces - all of that was farmed and food stored in the square silo "bins." This was truly huge. Can't tell the scale in these photos...

These are pictures from the Llama structure that we didn't go into. The blind man playing the harp was really good. I would like to have had a recording of his music.

This is from our book so you can see what the Llama was supposed to look like. It would have been covered with foliage.

After our time in Ollantaytambo, Juan Carlos drove us as far as he could up a very narrow valley to Patacancha, an ancient Quechua village. We ended up walking the last part of the way in, because the road was washed out. The people here were beautiful! One of the families let us into their home. We were amazed at their way of life...

The skies were an amazing blue!

Beautiful Quechua children on their way from school.

The ancient terraces were farmed - can you imagine working all those levels??

The end of the valley. We were told there is another village up and over that mountain... no road.

The scenery was beautiful!

Our first sight of Patacancha.

The bridge to the fish hatchery and the restaurant... I don't know how much business they get :-/

The fish hatchery and restaurant.

Our first glimpse of my favorite face of the day :)

This mother was threshing dried beans of all sizes.

Juan Carlos playing around :)

You can see the variety of beans here. They actually eat dried beans like they were peanuts.

She invited us to come see her home.

Pets/dinner...

This one stole our hearts ♥

These are very small potatoes. She pulled out some of her weaving for us to see (and buy)  ;)

Juan Carlos was so charming! He called her "Mama" and teased the little ones.

The hat tilted to the right means she is married. They mostly don't marry, but simply pair off. When the girls are about 14-15 years old they begin their families. Boys keep going to school, girls quit at about 13-14.

It was hard for me to know this beautiful little girl would follow that same path.

"Mama" pulled out her weaving... they design it all out of their heads.

We had lots to select from! All of this is handmade.

While we were looking at their weavings, David couldn't resist taking pictures of their beautiful faces...

After we selected some items and "visited" - kind of difficult because they speak Quechua. Thankfully Juan Carlos was fluent because his Grandmother was pure Quechua - they wanted to give us woven bracelets.

(I bought the scarf)  ;)

The Family Photo!

Juan Carlos discovered the handsome son had recently been subjected to a father's haircut. Juan Carlos teased him a little - yikes! But he seemed okay with it. Not sure I'd like that haircut, but we all know the adage: the difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut is about 2 weeks. ;)

In spite of the teasing, this family invited us into their home (after being in their yard for quite some time...) The following pictures really amaze me still. The whole family - probably 6 or more people - live here.

Mama came into the room and spread out grass in the middle of the floor and...

A mass of guinea pigs came scrambling out from under the bed - where they live.

They look like they should bust out into a rousing chorus of "Cinderelly!"

We soon found out these guinea pigs, or "cui," are quite the delicacy in Peru. These were not pets.                                                                       They were dinner.

Cooked here in this kitchen, with these pots at this stove/oven. A very simple way to live...

While we were in the kitchen, the 10 year old daughter shyly got Evelyn's attention to show her what she had done in school. Her notebook was immaculate, the work neat and correct. Apparently she had just "graduated" or received some sort of certificate. Evelyn can clear that one up :)

 She was so bright-eyed and happy. It really hit me that in a few short years she would no longer be in school, but beginning her own family. Hard to believe. At least her brother sees her good, hard work.

Other pictures in and around the kitchen/home:

This tiny stool would fit cupped in my two hands...

Farming tools - a single plow...

and a yoke.

I really wanted to snatch this stool. :-/

And this little sweetheart :)

They have electricity :)

And a great transistor radio to listen to their evangelical programs :)

The back alley and laundry line.

The honored neighborhood "pet."

We left our new friends walk through the village. People were out, women finished with their work in the fields, men coming home from shepherding the animals, children coming home from school. It was great to see this convergence of gathering at the end of the work day and beginning of their relaxed evening activities. Ladies sitting along the roadside drinking corn beer - "Want some?" -
children in school uniforms playing in the street. It was nice to meander, but we had to be wary of encouraging them much ;)

This is a little beauty.

This boy had a hurt on his face, and his mother had applied medicine...

Too bashful...

Headed home.

Finally a smile :)

Even the tiny ones carry bundles with the blankets knotted around their shoulders.

Stacks of adobe clay bricks everywhere to build and repair.

This was a political sign - it was election time. They would rather have DAVID than APU apparently...

construction with those crumbly adobe bricks...

The little kids really wanted us to give them some soles (dinero).

And the corn beer :)  See how charming they were? They really wanted to share!

 Time to head back to Ollantaytambo... from any direction the drive was gorgeous.

While in Ollantaytambo we ate a our first restaurant in Peru. When we first went to sit down it smelled like urine (delightful) so I asked if we could go upstairs to the covered balcony. Much better! Dad and Evelyn ate alpaca, Cary had chicken, and I had trout. I think mine was the most delicious :) and we tried the Inka Cola. Just once. Nasty stuff. Tastes like bubblegum & cream soda. Sicky sweet.
But you know, the rice was ALWAYS really wonderful. Texture and flavor.

Alpaca - without fur.

Just a few more pics around Ollantaytambo before we leave:

These are the ubiquitous 3-wheel motorized rickshaws. Seriously, they were everywhere!

Don't know if you can tell, but the man is transporting chunks of pig. True story.

Boys playing football on the way home from school.

She was an Inca queen. Stuck with her head between wires...

All cobblestone streets in the town.

So we leave Ollantaytambo to head back to our hotel in Urubamba. On the way we drove past the LDS church on the main road. It really is incredible that there's this church, beautifully built, right there in the middle of all this ancient history. And this jagged peak just pokes it's head out in the skyline of the narrow valley. The Andes are stunning. And it doesn't snow in the valley. Only up in the peaks.

 This has been a LONG post. I apologize, but I'm not sure it won't happen again. Some of these days were literally packed with great experiences. I'll give you a little rest :)