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Published: September 12th 2009
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Machu Picchu: 31st August - 1st September 2009
One of our goals is to visit places that are out of the way. Machu Picchu seems to fall into that category, but only because we live in Hong Kong. In reality, the Machu Picchu money machine chugs efficiently with smooth transition points and bilingual assistance exactly where required. So, there are no difficulties in the actual process, except for maybe some altitude sickness.
Petra, in comparison, is a zoo: hawkers, camels, horse drawn carriages coming at you in a full gallop, garbage everywhere, kids begging, drivers over-charging, restaurants under-delivering. Don't get me wrong...it's a delightful zoo that is not to be missed, but one nonetheless. The serenity of Machu Picchu was a refreshing change.
Getting to Machu Picchu is not terribly fast, but the whole point of the experience is to exit the fast lane, get into the slow lane...and, if the mood should strike you, leave your blinker on and sing along to the radio. The process begins in earnest once you fly into Cusco. Next, you take a train to a town called Aguas Calientes, which is on the river below Machu Picchu. The train service is
efficient and clean. Announcements are first in Spanish and then in perfect English. This is where you the feeling that “they've done this before.” Arriving in Aguas Calientes, you walk 5 minutes to your hotel/hostel/accommodation. Everyone walks because there are no cars in town. Most people get in the night before because everyone wants to be up at Machu Picchu first thing in the morning.
To start the big day, our guide arrived at zero seven hundred hours. Not 6:59, and not 7:01. She walked though the door at 7am...sharp. Cool, calm, collected, and in control. We exited the hostel at 7:04, and made the 7:10am bus up to Machu Picchu. The buses are clean and the drivers are safe and unhurried.
We entered the site and walked up for “the million dollar view.” The site was clean and well managed. No stress. We strolled around the site and learned what archaeologists have uncovered as well as the current thinking surrounding the site. And that's the great thing about this and other sites we've come across: in 5 or 10 years, there will be much more uncovered and understood, so you leave knowing that it's ok to come
back.
Another aspect of Machu Picchu is that the Incas never finished it. There are plenty of examples of areas where work was ongoing and incomplete, which provides further insights. Also, the site had the advantage of having plenty of large granite boulders right there, which served as ready building materials. The Incas never had to quarry stone and bring it up to the city.
Our guide explained that archaeologists now presume that Machu Picchu was a place for the learned to go to exchange ideas and expand their understanding of astronomy, religion, and botany, to name a few of the most obvious pursuits. Also, she showed us a quipu, which was an accounting tool using knots to record amounts. I did a little web research, and it's amazing how much researchers understand about the quipu, which is still in use in remote parts of Peru today. I know you'll share my relief that the Incas used a base 10 system for counting. This base 12 stuff the Sumerians used is frankly confusing, whether we're reading a clock, counting inches per foot, buying eggs, etc. Any French people reading this are hereby recognized for trying to fix that
during the French revolution, but I do have to admit that a 10 hour day and a 100 minute hour is a radical change. I wonder what the Incas would have ultimately done?
Alas, we shall never know.
The Incas' short lived dominance of the west coast of South America from the early-15th century was shattered in the early 16th century by the Spanish conquistadors. Leading the charge was an unwittingly launched biological weapon much more powerful than guns, horses, or steel: Smallpox. The Inca Emperor became infected when the Spaniards were simply a rumor of happenings far away, and as he lay on his death bed, the Emperor divided the Inca empire between his 2 sons, which sparked a civil war. When the Spaniards met the Incas, they were a much softer target.
The above could be all wrong, but one point that I don't expect anyone to refute is this: the Peruvians are very nice to this golden goose, and they make it easy for anyone to visit and ponder.
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Daddy
non-member comment
Looks like a great place to go. There is really a sense of depth in the pictures. Eric is getting a lot bigger. I didn't know Eric is musical.