Atop Machu Picchu Mountain
Our group atop Machu Picchu Mountain
A typical trailFriday, June 11th
What do I get to do today? Tour the Lost City of the Incas - Machu Picchu - with no stress, no worries. Things could be worse.
We board a bus around 8am to go back up the 11-mile hill to the ruins. We spend the first 2 hours with our guide as he took us around and explained the layout. Pretty fascinating stuff. Everything built with a purpose.
Machu Picchu was first discovered by an American, Hiram Bingham in 1911. It's amazing how this place remained unknown to the world until this date. The reason was most likely due to the location. Machu Picchu is located in a steep valley. It was likely abondaned before the Spanish conquerors came in the early 1500's. It was grown over and would not have been visible to the common eye.
When Bingham arrived from Yale, he wanted to explore more areas of the Incas. He came upon this valley and talked with some farmers. It comes to find out that the farmers were getting some pottery from a location up on this hill adjacent to their land. They called the hill - Machu Picchu. They served him some potatoes in this old pottery bowl. Bingham knew at once that the pottery he'd been handed had ancient ties. Bingham asked if they would take him to where they found this pottery. After he promised to give them 1 solace (35 cents), they agreed.
On July 24, 1911 - Bingham and his explorers discovered Machu Picchu. He spent the next several years studying the area. One problem - the area was overgrown and full of poisonous viper snakes. The area was burned to get rid of the snakes. This aided in discovering new areas and bringing an overall perspective to the ancient site.
Machu Picchu was the religious capital of the Incas. As previously discussed, Cusco was the actual capital of the Inca Empire. A trail existed from Cusco to Machu Picchu. The last portion of this trail is now the present-day Inca Trail - the route we marathoned yesterday. It was said that when the Spanish came to conquer the Incas, a portion of the trail had been destroyed to preserve their religious location. Thinking about it, it wouldn't have taken much to let this grow over.
There's a few theories as to why the Incas may have abondaned Machu Picchu prior to the Spanish arrival. One theory is that the water supply had run short. Another was that the people had contracted disease and died out. This was identified in the bones found on the site. It was said that when the Incas made their final stand against the Spaniards, they used a trail that would have deverted the Spanish to another ruin site, bypassing Machu Picchu.
Some interesting thoughts concerning Machu Picchu
--- Temple of the Sun -- 4 mummies were found here, 3 standing and 1 in the fetal postiion. They were assumed to be leaders. There were 2 windows in the Temple of the Sun. 1 facing the location where the winter solstice sun would rise and 1 facing the location where the summer solstice sun would rise.
--- Machu Picchu faced entirely east. They could use the rising sun as a marker for the time of year.
--- There is a sun dial on top of the grounds.
--- There is a difference in construction of buildings which housed nobleman versus common class. Noble structures were well constructed with no gaps in the stones; whereas, more common structures appeared to be fit loosely.
--- The actual color of the stones has likely changed with time due to the lichens and growth on the stones. The current Temple of the Sun is most near to the color of the initial ruins.
--- Certain locations on the site were likely for specific classes of people. One area yielded the bones of 16-19 year old females (sacrificed virgins). Another site was the location of 50-60 year old men - believed to be the high priests.
--- Much of the city was built underground. They had an elaborate piping system bring water from the mountain
Bottom line - this place was fascinating. I have not read much on Machu Picchu. My details above are sketchy and based on word of mouth. I look forward to reading more and understanding a little better how this place came about. My biggest take home -- the place wasn't discovered until 1911. Are there other such locations yet to be discovered?
We had a great buffet lunch at the restaurant by the entrance. We had the afternoon to explore at our leisure. My buddies and I took this time to climb up Machu Picchu Mountain. This was a couple thousand feet above the lost city (what are we doing to ourselves?). It was a tough climb. It took about 1 hr, 15 min. Man was it worth it. Spectacular. When we peaked, you could see everything. I've included a couple pictures form this location. We didn't want to leave. We stayed on the peak for about 45 minutes to an hour. We were joined by several of our tour group. Pictures were taken. Our guide pointed out sites - the Inca Trail was laid out below us.
We worked our way back to the ancient city. We kept taking more and more pictures. The last bus left the site at 5:30pm. We ended up leaving just before this time. I remember standing there - looking out - knowing I would most likely never be here again. I didn't want to go. Nobody did. You get the feeling that everyone felt this way. We all knew this was something special - words and pictures can only tell so much - seeing the site with your own eyes is incredible.
Friday night was the best night of the trip. We had a great dinner and then the whole group went to this little dance club next to the hotel. Awesome. 4 hours later, after a couple tequila shots, a few beers, and some dancing to traditional rock music, we had all officially bonded as a team. This is one of the coolest things about tours. I feel like I can email most anyone on the trip now.
On my return to the UK - I have plans to meet up with Prav and Rachael. Rick and Cathy in Phoenix will share thier training coaches while I share details of my African trip. Mark and Cathy from Phoenix told me they want to introduce me to their duaghter. The contacts go on and on. One thing is for sure -- we will all remember this trip - and remember it fondly.
The night ended after an old Bryan Adams song - "Cuts like a knife." Bedtime - it's all good.
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