Quintessential Peru.

Mention Peru to anyone and the first thoughts that cross their minds is Machu Pichu, a fifteenth century city (or sanctuary depending on your perspective) made oh so famous by Hiram Bingham.

This beautiful place high up in the clouds is a destination that can be experienced as a modern day royal through the Hiram Bingham Express and staying over at the Sanctuary lodge or as a journey that tests your endurance through a four day hike up the mountain and staying at hostels in the town of Aquas Calientes at the foot of the mountain.  No matter which route you take, reaching the top will leave you breathless and plant a firm belief in the power of nature and a higher being.

As a special celebration of twenty five years of marital bliss, we decided to take the luxurious route.  Our trip started as an overnight stay at Tambo Del Inka on the banks of Urumbamba (a fabulous property with an out of the world spa particularly the hydrotherapy), an early morning taxi ride to the town of Ollantaytambo and a train ride to Aquas Calientes. 

Modern lobby and gorgeous trees of Tambo Del Inka

 Rain accompanied us all throughout the train ride but the beautiful scenery and great company of a teacher couple from the Greater Detroit area kept us occupied.  Arrival in Aquas Calientes was more of a challenge with a severe downpour, unprepared hotel staff who dumped us in a bus line without proper tickets as we figured our way up to the top of the mountain (so much for paying for a premium hotel).  In that chaos, we did not appreciate the beauty of the town itself, but did manage to enjoy the town on the way down.  The little town next to the roaring river is a mix of local and tourist.  If you meander away few blocks across the river from the train station, you will find yourself in sections that have a fruit market for the locals.  Heres is the chance to experience local cuisine of guinea pigs or myriad colored corn.  I got separated from my friends and found a tiny square all with a sprite bottle christmas tree over a nativity scene and a few local boys playing matchbox cars while their parents were probably busy selling souveniers in the surrounding shops.

A bumpy bus ride (where there is no place to store even a decent size bag pack) later, we reached the Machupichu Sanctuary Lodge.  A few words of wisdom here, if you need a toothbrush, a toothpaste, shaving cream, hand lotion, tissue box, anything at all...pick it up at the bottom otherwise you will have to wait until the shift changes over and the staff comes up from the bottom.  For the small fortune that we paid to stay at the lodge the daytime staff and service was horrendous.

We had tickets to the park to go the next day, but decided to take advantage of our early arrival and check out the park the same day.  We were strongly discouraged by the hotel staff as it was a rainy  day.  Having spent more than enough to get there we decided to go with our better judgement and we are ever so glad we did.  Once the tickets arrived in the next bus from below, we entered the park and the skies opened up just for us.  Armed with The Machu Picchu Guidebook by Wright and Zeggara, i was ready to tackle the whole site on my own in the a few hours.  My companions though had a different idea and along we went with our guide Edgars recommendation.   I highly recommend sticking to the Self directed guide.

The Sun God blessed the site.   Heres the first image we saw.  No amount of gigapixel 360 google images prepares you for the sheer magnitude and engineering prowess of the complex.



The Incas were engineering geniuses building perfect rock wall through which even a switchblade cannot pass.  All angled just right for ideal drainage.  Each terrace able to hold the weight of the one above.

Some of my favorite close ups

I just enjoyed capturing every angle from which Huyana Picchu could be visible.



After visiting the "We Visited" check list of Sun temple, rock quarry, sanctuary, we headed to the guard house to set up and take images of whole sanctuary.  No sooner had we set up, the modern day guard asked us to dismantle the tripod and head out as the park was closing...well there is always tomorrow we thought.  So I leave you here with a couple of my most favorite images of the day.  The first one is of the wall behind the sun temple.  The temple side made with smooth perfectly aligned rocks whereas the residential wall was put together with rocks of all sizes and shapes.  After all it was for mere mortals.

Wall behind the sun temple

See the two set of stairs?  which one do you think will last through the next four centuries?



Its all in your perspective.  Less than a foot long chiseled rock at the Sanctuary viewed from the right angle makes the climb to the top of Huyana Picchu achievable.  True?  I will share that in the next entry.