Machu Picchu - A Salute to the Inca People

From Cusco we took a train to Aqua Caliente - a
small tourist town at thebase of Machu Picchu.

We awoke to find ourselves at the bottom of narrow valley, surrounded by towering, sheer monolyths, shrouded in clouds. A dramatic start to a breath-taking day! From there we took a twenty minute bus ride up the very steep mountains to Machu Picchu - the ruins of an Inca community.

Interesting facts I gleaned from the guides:

• These ruins circa 1500 AD.


• These ruins were discovered in 1912 by an historian, Hiram Bingham.


• The Inca built these structures within 100 years.


• People did not pay tax, instead they were required to give two months of every year to the building and construction of the community.


• The facility was used by the leaders, nobility and learned people primarily for political and religious purposes. It was a place for learning. People would come from all over South America to study.


• It was also a place of worship. The people worshiped the Sun (the world above - symbolised by the Condor), the Earth (the plant and animals - symbolised by the Puma), and the world below (symbolised by the snake). They would make offerings by sacrificing animals (not people!).


• Pilgims would come to worship - they would bring a stone and food with them as contribution.


• The disciplines taught were: philosophy, medicine, agriculture, astronomy and religion. The women were also taught cooking and the preparation of halucingenic drinks for medical purposes .


• The Spanish did not find this community - the Inca fled when they knew the Spanish were in Cusco, taking their gold and treasures with them.


• About 500 permanent residents lived here.


• The people grew all their food including: avocado, tapioca, chilli, sweet potatoes, passionfruit, papaya, chirimoya, quinoa.


• Agricultural research was a primary focus - acclimatising plants for the high altitude. There are marked temperature differences between the terraces - each suited for a different crop.


• The rocks are granite - hewn by bronze tools as well as sand, water and hammers.


• They built high on this mountain (2860m above sea level) because of: the access to spring water, the abundance of rocks on the mountain, high position (protection from enemies), access to the jungle (special plants-coca), and built near the Inca capital - Cusco.


• The city is fully irrigated - channels carry fresh spring water throughout the housing area and down the terraces.

Off to buy chocolate now!

Adios

Travelling in the HUGE buses!

The two Sleeping Beauties - reclining in their seats , ready for a long, long bus ride. Note the ear phones - movies are screened on the buses, the curtains are closed as it´s night-time. The seats lie down and a foot rest can be elevated. We´re given a blanket and pillow for added comfort. Meals are also served. These buses are two levels and have two bathrooms - one on each level! The Peruvian buses are a sharp contrast to the Bolivian buses. I had so many what seemed like ´near death experiences´on the Bolivian buses.

We often use this time to practise our spanish. We´re getting good at BINGO - played on the bus in spanish. We´re also currently practising the phrase,

¡Soy mas joven de lo que parezco!

(I am younger than I look!) As yet we haven´t had an opportunity to use it - but we´re ready!

The Belly Button of the World - Cusco

Stone wall made by Inca - the twelve points of this large stone represent the twelve Inca rulers. Every stone in this wall fits perfectly.

Views of Cusco - also known as the Belly Button of the World because it was once the centre of the Inca civilisation.






The cobbled paths and roads are worn smooth from years of use.

Today, large elaborate cathedrals stand where Inca temples once stood. The city has a charm of its own - a mixture of the old Inca stone work and the Spanish architecture. While we were there, the people were celebrating the Festival of the Sun. There was dancing and music in the streets.

Every town in South America has a church in the the Square. They are very beautiful and elaborate - most are hundreds of years old.

We used Cusco as our base to visit the surrounding Inca sites.

Ciao

Colca Canyon - Farming

Colca Canyon - we were hoping to see the Condors. Huge birds that dwell in this canyon. They have a 3m wingspan. Unfortunately we didn´t see them up close - we were told later we were too early. They fly at midday - I wonder why?

Little girls we met on the way with their pet lamb.

!Hola! My blog is behind schedule. My sister and I are on route to Trujillo - we´ve stopped over in Lima for a few hours while we wait for our bus connection. A good time to blog! The city is pumping with people - as we walk, tides and tides of people are walking aound us - thronging, madding crowds. It´s nice to be tucked away in an internet cafe. These photos were taken on our way to Colca Canyon - one of

the deepest canyons in the world. This valley in the photos is near the Colca Canyon. It supports 10,000 people - all farming this steep, dry land. The land was terraced pre- Inca times. The terraces still stand today. The land is all farmed by hand - no tractors. It´s common to see young and old people carrying children, water, firewood, hay, and harvested crops on their backs. The land is harvested and sowen by hand. Their animals are shorn by hand, the land is tilled using donkey and plough. Nothing is mechanised! Some of the villages in this valley are only accessible by foot - seven hours walking. The land is irrigated by channels, made pre-Inca, that capture the melting ice and snow from the mountain tops. The people grow a wide range of crops. They wear the traditional dress worn for the last hundreds of years. It was common to see women, men, or children driving small groups of sheep and cattle down the road. There are no fences, the animals were often tethered. As we´ve seen all over South America, the homes are made from mud brick - bricks made from mud, straw, and animal hair.

Adios

Half Way!

What do you think of my new man? He´s a beauty!!!!! He´s an Inca! More about him on my next blog!



Time to reflect...I´ve been on the road for 3 weeks! ¿What´s the buzz? Hmmm......

The Upside of Travelling:

• Travelling with my sister


• Meeting new people


• Spending time with fellow travellers in the hostels - sharing stories and experiences - their enthusiasm for life and learning is contagious


• Seeing how other people live and adapt to their environment


• Absorbing the colours, smells, sights, and sounds - hearing beautiful , uplifting tradional music


• Trying different food -( haven´t tried the guinea pig yet!)


• Being surrounded by history, the sense and wonderment of many years gone by - evident in their clothes, music, architecture, food, customs, language etc
  
• Being pushed out of my comfort zone- having to think quickly, draw on my own resources within


• A great time to think about home - putting my own life in perspective, makes me appreciative what I have; family, friends, my job, and my home.
• Time to reflect and set new personal goals for myself.
• Being challenged to learn a new language
• Having the support and encouragement of friends as I travel - I feel your love!!!! Thanks!
• Snicker Bars - great to eat while spending many long hours waiting in bus terminals.

The Downside of Travelling:

• Having to wear jandels in the shower
• Cold showers - In South America, what they call a ´hot shower´ is 2 degrees above freezing
• Bed bugs
• Not knowing spanish
• Wearing dirty clothes - not being able to wash them as often as I´d like.
• Long distances on gravelly, bumpy, windy roads - sometimes 18hrs in one stretch. Oh man!!
• The smell of urine - there are not many public toilets in Bolivia or in Peru so the people squat down on the side of the road or pee against the village walls. This is the dry season so the urine is not washed away!!!! STINK!
• Meeting beggars - every time, my conscience is exercised and contorted until it hurts. Life is not fair!!!!!!
• Walking around a big city late at night looking for accommodation - every where is booked out! Feeling very vunerable! Finally, at 1am, going back to the bus terminal, jumping on bus to sleep as it drives north!!!
• Homesickness
• Nearly giving myself a hysterectomy every time I lift my pack! (if only I listened to my friend and took out one third of what I had packed before I left NZ)
• Sharing an internet cafe one evening in Peru with 20 other males aged between 20 - 30 , all playing internet games, yelling and screaming in excitement! I wanted to screw their ears. They were way too noisy!!!!

Today Peruvians are celebrating Independence Day! I´m now off to the town square to watch the festivities - dancing, singing, beautiful music, wholesome food, gun salutes, plus more.

Adios

Village Scenes

People are industrious - their hands are always working. Here an old woman is holding a spindle ( a wooden spinning device used for spinning wool - making it into thread)) and she is spinning alpaca wool as she sits in the village centre. She was very happy to have her photo taken. I told her I was going to show the photo to the chidren at school.´(I don´t think she understood me as she doesn´t ujnderstand english - my spanish is very poor).

Here a family is sitting resting on the side of the road - they have their llama with them.

Another family at the maket with their llama. The children are eating some fruit (pepinos) that I´d just bought at the market.

The markets are such colourful places - the woman all look so pretty in their traditional cñothing. The woman all wear hats - all traditional. Some are very colourful and elaborate, other simple felt bowler shaped hats. Their hats identify their people (tribe) and / marital status.

I came across this woman out in the countryside - she was sitting on the side of the road, spinning while minding her llama.
This woman made a delicious warm drink for me. She has this drink stand at the market - selling this traditional beverage. The pot on the right is full of various plants and herbs she has collected from the fields. They are standing in heated water. The pot on the left has a syrup in it - sugar, water , spices, seeds. The woman mixed a concoction of syrup and plant juice in the cup for me to drink. She assured me it was very good for my health. I eagerly drank it - it was very flavoursome.

Typical market - seen in every village. An abundance of fruits and vegetables - all growen locally as they have bee done for hundreds of years.

Bags and bags of beans, grains, corn and legumes from which the people make delicious meals.

I would love to take more photographs of people however I´m sensitive to the fact that the people are shy and my camera is intrusive (I think). Unfortunately I don´t have a long distance lens.

Floating Islands - Peru

Greetings from Peru! We took a bus from Copacabana (Bolivia) to the northern side of Lake Titicaca to Puno (Peru). From there we took a boat out to see the ´floating islands´.

These islands are inhabited by the Uros people, a people who have lived in this area since pre-Inca. They have traditionally fished and hunted for hundreds of years. In the 1500s, the Uros people fled the Inca by building these floating islands out of reeds. Here they have lived ever since. There are 11,000 acres of these reeds growing on the edge of the lake. The base of these reeds is used for food - tastes like cucumber.

The people traditionally built their fishing boats from these reeds - their next step was to build these islands for their safety.

These islands are one metre in thickness. The reeds are layered over large supports made from reeds strung together. They are anchored to the bottom by large rocks.

Today there are sixty islands. The Uros people continiue to live on these islands - they fish and hunt (birds, eggs). The children are schooled on the islands - both Primary and Secondary schools. Two languages are spoken - their own language and Spanish. The people also rely on tourism for their economy. Each island has it´s own leader. They use solar energy. They live very simply. Their sleeping accommodation is built higher as to avoid humidity - rheumatism is a problem.

There were five species of trout in the lake. Today there´s only two as Kingfish and Carp were introduced recently.

Ciao