Limerence Update #45

Inland trip to Peru – Cuzco,

Machu Picchu

September 2002

Visiting Peru for almost two weeks gave us a glimpse into the rich archaeological wealth and culture of the third largest country in South America. Northern Peru borders Colombia sharing the Amazon basin, while central Peru boasts the second greatest mountain chain in the world – the Andes Mountains. We flew from Cartagena to Panama City Panama, then onto the Capital, Lima Peru, on the arid coastline. We had to spend the night in Lima and fly early the next morning to the ancient city of Cuzco. Our first glimpse of Cuzco was of towering cathedrals, a huge central square, narrow alleys, and cobblestone streets. Andean women in traditional clothing sat on the steps of the cathedral knitting sweaters and cuddling baby alpacas. We were in love at first sight! We decided not to travel on a tour package, but book daily tours at our leisure after getting settled in Cuzco.

Cuzco was the capital of the Inca Empire in the 12th century and was occupied by earlier cultures before the rise of the Incas. It is curious that none of the early civilizations of Peru had written records. Therefore, most of what is known about the ancient cultures is from archaeological findings and decorations on ceramics, textiles, and artifacts. When the Spanish invaded Cuzco in 1533, chronicles were finally written as the Incas told their history to the Spanish.

The area around Cuzco has many small villages and archaeological sites including the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu. Cuzco was our home base for nine days. We were glad to have the time to acclimatize to the altitude of over ten thousand feet. We drank plenty of coca tea, and moved slowly as we walked the steep cobblestone streets of Cuzco and climbed the hundreds of steps that are the hallmark of Incan structures. We were warned about the effects of the altitude, and it can’t be underestimated! We stayed in the Novotel Hotel, built around a centuries old Spanish hacienda. Our room overlooked the village houses made of reddish mud bricks with tile or straw roofs, framed by the Andes Mountains behind.

We took a “city” tour the first day. We piled into a minibus with a handful of international tourists and were guided through the Cathedral built in 1559. It houses hundreds of paintings from the colonial period, and is connected to two other churches. The massive rooms, domed ceilings, frescoes, statutes, and altars, go on and on. The size of the place is astounding and impressive, even after seeing plenty of churches in Italy!

Many places throughout the city are built on stone foundations that remain from the Incas. The base of the church of Santo Domingo is Coricancha that was once a temple surrounded by a garden made entirely of gold. The trees, flowers, statues, llamas, and life-sized replicas of corn, were all solid gold. Within months of the arrival of the first conquistadors, all of this incredible wealth had been looted and melted down.

Our bus also took us into the nearby hills to the ruins of Sacsayhuaman, Qenko, Puca Pucara and Tambo Machay. Each had certain functions for the Inca, and we trekked around using our imagination to visualize life here some 700 years ago. As we hiked up and down we gasped for breath in the thin air and our hearts pounded. Later, back at the hotel lobby we sipped coca tea, the recommended remedy for altitude sickness. It tasted like burned leaves but we gulped it anyway.

A full day tour 15km north of Cuzco is the Sacred Valley dissected by the Urubamba River. The mountains on each side of the river are covered with vast agricultural terracing, joined together by diagonal flights of steps made of flagstones set into the walls of the terraces. From a distance it is a crazy quilt of patterns against a vivid blue sky.

We stopped in a city market at Pisac, and then continued on to Ollantaytambo that is considered the end of the line! It is a massive fortress and is one of the few places the Spanish had trouble conquering. Below the spectacular fortress and sun temple is the village of Ollantaytambo that is a traditional village still fully occupied by descendents of the Incans. With a lot of encouragement and rest stops, we managed to hike in the blazing sun for several hours to the top of the fortress. The size of the rocks cut from a quarry across the river and used in the construction is mind-boggling. In addition, the physical feat of dragging them up the steep mountains and placing them in perfectly engineered structures made us stare in wonder. How DID those Incas do it? They have endured many earthquakes and not moved an inch.

The Inca Trail is the most popular hike in South America, and trekking it is a lifelong ambition of many people. It is the ancient stone path over the mountains to Machu Picchu. It takes several days of hardy climbing and hiking at high altitude. There are organized campsites at strategic locations and Andean guides are employed. We met a young couple from the Netherlands, who had just completed it. Despite the fact they hired porters, they were completely exhausted. It is an exhilarating experience but must be done with caution.

The best-known and most spectacular archaeological site on the continent is Machu Picchu. It certainly was unknown to the Spanish and academics still speculate about its purpose. Hiram Bingham, an American historian from Yale, stumbled upon it in 1911. The city is nestled at 8000 feet in the towering Andes Mountains in a tropical rain forest! It truly looks like OZ. Archaeologists worked for years to untangle the vegetation and thick forest from the well-preserved ruins. It is believed that Machu Picchu was an important ceremonial center. We stood on a lookout point and marveled at the hundreds of stonewalls and steps making up the ancient village. It is easy to study the architecture. . . only the straw roofs are missing! There are many ruins to hike for hours, all within Machu Picchu. We had a two hour guided tour, and then wandered on our own.

 Part of the wonderful experience of seeing Machu Picchu was the three-hour train ride through the mountains from Cuzco. We traveled in a modern glass domed train, which slowly descended two thousand feet into the rainforest. The tracks were laid along the roaring Urubamba River. Sheer cliffs lined the riverbanks and boulders the size of boxcars littered the rapids. We passed through several small villages and observed the campesinos at work farming and wearing traditional Andean woolens. The women’s clothing is especially beautiful – thick colorful sweaters, full skirts, leggings, and top hats. The train stopped twice in small villages for a few minutes, and Andean women rushed to our windows holding up hand woven blankets and sweaters for sale. Several tourists leaned out the window and quickly exchanged a few dollars for the goods!

Visiting Machu Picchu is on the top of many people’s list of places to go. It is a special archeological wonder that makes one think about the relatively transient nature of life, and marvel at the tenacity of the human spirit. Peru has a special magic that is a combination of history, people, and magnificent natural resources. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have experienced this place!

Fair winds friends,

Doug and Judy s/v LIMERENCE

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