Blogs from Machu Picchu, Cusco, Peru, South America - page 79

Well we met our trek guide on the 7th June in Cuzco to go over a few important points about the trek, and to get to know him. We packed only the essentials that we needed for the trek, and the next morning took a 3 hour minibus journey to the start of the trail, stopping off on the way in a small village where the cook could buy some meat for the trek. We also took the opportunity to buy some bamboo walking sticks to help us on the trek. After leaving the village we continued towards the start of the trek, but not before stopping off for some lunch at the bottom of a passing stream in a valley. After lunch we went to the beginning of the trek, only another 20 minutes drive ... read more

Machu Picchu is likely the most famous archaeological site in South America if not the world. About 400.000 tourists visit the site per year (at least you’re never alone). It was founded ca. 1440 and was inhabited until the Spanish conquered the Inca Empire. The name Machu Picchu is not the original Inca name for the site as this one was forgotten over the centuries. The name is derived from the mountain the city is built on which simply means “Old Mountain”. The city was more a luxury retreat for the Inca nobility than a normal city and had only a max population of around 750 people. There is no evidence that the Spanish found the city, which explains why so many temples are in such a good shape. The Spaniards had the habit to destroy ... read more

Peru has proved itself to be a very interesting country. I came in search of my old buddy Paddington Bear but it seems he has left for good. I'm not sure why as even though Peru seems to have a reputation for being really dangerous, I really liked it all. Puno and the islands on Lake Titicaca were the first destination. I stayed with a local family for the night and after eating a very delicious local meal of potato and quinoa, we subjected ourselves to being dressed up like the locals and then went to a local dance where we tried in vain to keep up, not helped by the altitude at all. I was then off to search for some Inca Ruins and boy did I find lots of them! No trip would be ... read more

well, I think I will have one more entry before I go, but it is possibly my last one as I have a long busride ahead tomorrow evening, a bit of shopping to do, plus saying my farewells to the latino world... only to say hello to the chicano world in cali. :) so today I arrived back in Cuzco from the one and only machu picchu. Unfortunately I am extremely tired so I won't be able to describe in this email the extent of my love and amazement that I have for this truly magnificent lugar. It was absoutely breathtaking, in more ways than one, though it is lower in altitude than Cuzco. Where to begin? After a long and rather unsuccesful day of shopping at the market in Pisac, I took a couple buses ... read more

We woke for the sunrise, but it wasn't the sun that we wanted to see, it was what the sun was illuminating. With our backs to the heat, we watched the city awaken. The cold dark stones slowly warmed into a living city. The slabs of rocks evolved into living rooms, bedrooms, an empire. Silence was broken only by the waking birds and the grazing llamas eating their breakfast of grass grown in ancient soil. Were we really here? Were we really a part of this morning's moment in a place so well-known and so well-preserved? Taking photos at times such as these almost feels, well, sinful. We walked through kanchas (apartments for the extended family of royalty) and temples, through fields that once were filled with all sorts of garden goodness. To think that until ... read more