caramelo

wow.....also bcnvcanada for such nice words. You have the memories and are lucky to be returning soon..... when I get some more time I will continue.... now arriving in Ecuador.... we´re getting closer!!!! I just need your patience as it is a lot of work and needs its time, but soooooooon!!!!

Thanks so much for your nice comments LittleYiaYia, Brazilgirl and Eileen & Jay.

We have rain forecast for this weekend so maybe that will make me sit down and do some more of the story!

Coming down the path we met up by chance for the 3rd time with our friends from Malta.We arranged to have dinner again together tonight when we all arrived back in Cuzco.

We left Machu Picchu at about 13:45pm just in time to go to the toilet and take the bus down to Aguas Calientes at 2pm to then catch our train.

At Aguas Calientes we looked for a place to eat something and went to a pizzeria but when we saw the other customers pizza made in an open oven with the bottom completely burnt black and the top part of the pizza still and uncooked, and they had not even begun with ours, then we were in time to change restaurants and we had a sandwich at a nearby coffee shop before catching our train at 4pm.

On our train, the Vistadome, we had a fashion show on the way back with the attendants modeling woolen clothes, which were for sale (not cheap). yes, a train fashion show, featuring alpaca shawls and sweaters:

The train took 3 hours, 45 minutes and then it was a further half an hour by car from the train station in Ponroy to our hotel in Cuzco, so we arrived at 8:20pmOur friends were already waiting for us so we left them having a drink while we took a quick shower and we all went to dinner at 9pm.

It was a very enjoyable dinner. After, as we were all very tired after the 2 very full and active days and thinking of the early rise again at 5am to fly….. our friends to Guayagil and us to Lima for a connection later to Quito in Ecuador, so we said our goodbyes and we went off to bed.

TO BE CONTINUED…………In QUITO, EQUADOR

After quite a long time he returned and we went down together to enjoy the really beautiful views of the Machu Picchu and in front of us the Huayana Picchu.

Like yesterday we again had wonderful weather, something not always guaranteed as in Machu Picchu you often have mist or fog with little visibility and logically then you don´t get to see views like ours today.

Everything was really beautiful so we enjoyed just sitting on the ground, without cameras or anything, and just watch the scene.You had the feeling of great peace and tranquility, and from this height you didn´t notice so many people around.

They were really very special feelings and emotions. The place had a big impact on us and we will never forget it. (The only other place that has left a similar feeling was the Iguazu Waterfalls in Brazil and Argentina).

We saw this little lizard perfectly camouflaged among the rocks:

And we saw more llamas:

Friday 6th of August.

After many early risings and appointments and day-tours, the luxury today was to be able to “forget the clock!"We got up a little later than the previous days and went for breakfast at 9am.After getting ready we went back in to the Machu Picchu around 10:30 am.This time we took a different path and we climbed the mountain of Machu Picchu itself.

This was the way:

We saw the fantastic views of Huayna Picchu ( 2,667 meters high), standing opposite the sanctuary of Machu Picchu to serve as an excellent background of the photos of the city.The mountain was put on surveillance, communication station and point of worship of the people of Machu Picchu and there are numerous archaeological discoveries.

As I explained before the sanctuary is actually in the center of both mountains and is located on the ridge that serves as a bridge between the two, and I think it may be better understood in the following image, where you can see the Huayna Picchu in the front, below in the middle the sanctuary and on the left and below in the photo is the mountain of Machu Picchu:

We reached a height much higher than the previous day, and like yesterday where I had problems with shortness of breath and with so much uphill there came a time when I had trouble breathing and could not go higher, so I decided to just sit down where I was in the shade and rest and my husband continued on his own to reach the observation or lookout point with these views:

There were these beautiful views of the mountain peaks covered with snow, which I think must be Salcantay (6.270 m) and Humantay (5.917 m) belonging to the Vilcabamba mountain range:

The day had been a real dream.We returned to the hotel and enjoyed a nice quiet dinner, and I started with a pisco sour as an appetizer and my husband a “Cusquena” beer "

We finished the tour and left Fabrizio, but we stayed there, and climbed up to the higher areas where we got some nice photos and some of the Machu Picchu with the llamas.

I found it difficult to climb so much uphill with the height and I was breathless, but that is purely my own fault for not doing more regular exercise and being more fit, but it was worth to see such beautiful views from there.

And the llamas also enjoying the views:

The Temple of the Condor was a shrine built to worship Apu Kuntur, the Condor God.The temple was built using the contours of the rocks which together with stone walls formed the labyrinth in whose lower part is a sculpture in the shape of a condor near some caves with evidence of ritual use.The Incas had the sun as their chief god, but had other minor deities worshiped in addition to certain animals such as the majestic "Condor of the Andes.Under the wings of the condor is a cave, where they found a mummy.In the back of the temple is the prison, which consisted of a series of niches with a maze of underground dungeons.

We also saw this image, which looking at it closely, looks like the shape of the face of a person:

The main temple is located in front of the priest´s house and has good architectural style.It has three walls, leaving the side facing the open square.The stone blocks used in the building are as large as those used in the Temple of Three Windows and also have a good finish in both the assembly of the stones as well as the grinding or polishing of the same.On the back wall there is a special altar made of stone and the three walls have trapezoidal niches with a very good finish.Unfortunately, earthquakes have affected the back wall which represents a risk of collapse:

In the industrial area one of the rooms, which has two round carved in stone mortars, was the area of the city where they did leather work, weaving, and pottery. Another theory suggests that mortars, full of water, were used to reflecting the stars and could be easily observed by Inca astrologers:

The cottages are deposits or "Qolqas" as stores:

The Main Square:

The Sacred Square is the platform around which the Incas built religious buildings, and therefore would have had a purpose for performing rituals:

The Temple of Three Windows, located on the northern edge of the square is formed by three walls of polygonal stones and adobe roof was supported by a single stone pillar located in the center of the temple.

Machu Picchu (the "Old Mountain") is the contemporary name given to an ancient Inca Andean village of stone built mainly in the mid-fifteenth century in the rocky promontory that connects the mountain Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu in the eastern slopes of the Andes Center, located at the top of a peak at an altitude of 2430 m above sea level and 400 m above the Urubamba River. It had two sections: one south, called Machu, and another north called Huayna (“Young Mountain"). In reality the sanctuary is to be found in the centre of the 2 on the ridge that serves as a bridge between the two.

In 2007 Machu Picchu was elected one of the "New 7 Wonders of the World."

We can only admire the Incas for what they did ... they literally crushed the top of a mountain to build a city composed of hundreds of buildings with an area of agricultural production, irrigation and other facilities.

The cutting and shaping stone, dry stone techniques (mounting large bricks without mortar) used for the construction of buildings of Machu Picchu remains a mystery and there is only speculation about how this could have been done. Using clever techniques, the Incas managed to transport heavy stone blocks and carve and polish them with surprising neatness.

Several churches, a prison and a quarry (where they extracted the building materials), a flat area known as the Plaza de Armas and an irrigation system that still works today are in the urban sector, which is justnear the terraces in the agricultural sector where the crops were produced for ensuring food.There are even buildings on top of the steep high mountain called Huayna Picchu ("young mountain").

The exact reason for the construction of Machu Picchu is not determined.Experts have concluded that it could have been a sort of religious shrine, perhaps in a place where the rich Incas had retired.Tourists visiting this unique natural heritage are convinced that the mystery may never be fully revealed because until now, there are only hypotheses and guesses.For some, it was a projected expansions by the Incas, others believe it was a monastery, where girls (acllas) were taught how to serve the Inca and Willac One (High Priest).This is presumed because of the 135 bodies found in the investigations, 109 were female.

Since its discovery in July 1911 by the American Hiram Bingham, Machu Picchu has been considered, by its extraordinary magnificence and harmonious structure as one of the greatest architectural and archaeological monuments of the planet.

Hiram Bingham arrived with experts from Yale University in topography, biographies, geology, engineering and osteology.They were taken to the site by Melchor Arteaga, a local resident who gave them instructions on how to get there.

Subsequently, in 1914, Bingham returned to Machu Picchu with economic and logistical support from the university and the Geographical Society of the United States leading a specialist team with a publication that was already circulating around the world: "The Lost City of the Incas”.

The surprising perfection and beauty of the walls of Machu Picchu, built by joining stone over stone, without cement or glue, have led to many myths about its construction.Many of the stone components are still very stuck together, I could not put a paper between them!

But beyond the myths, the real allure of Machu Picchu (declared Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 1983) is in its squares, its aqueducts and watchtowers, its observatories and in its sundial, evidence of the wisdom and technical Andean builders.

Everything indicates that the citadel of Machu Picchu was quickly deserted after 1540, when the Spanish, in a campaign against the rebellious Incas of Vilcabamba, began its penetration into Cusco.

Fabrizio took us to show us the most important sites such as terraces of the agricultural area, the caretaker's house, the main door, the Sacred Plaza to the Temple of Three Windows, the Main Temple and a cave where the Incas performed curesreligious ceremonies and rituals as well as the industrial area with 2 stone monoliths and the Temple of the Condor.

The terraces in the agricultural area:

Once up at the top we found our guide Fabrizio waiting for us to show us Machu Picchu.We were together in a group of 6 people.We went through a control for passports and entry tickets, and as we were just going in we came face to face again with our friends from Malta, we were going in and they were coming out.It was the second time that we bumped into them just by chance. We couldn´t stop long to talk with them as we were together with our group, so again we said goodbye to them and continued our excursion.

We passed through passport control and about 100m further we turned the corner and there it was, the Machu Picchu, so much more beautiful seen in person than I had imagined.There are no words to describe it.We were very lucky with the weather as apparently it had been overcast in the morning but when we arrived was totally clear and a splendid sun.

Our guide Fabrizio:

You can tell the height from the next image, from above you can look down and see our train below:

We arrived at the village of Aguas Calientes:

From Aguas Calientes you take a bus - they leave every 30 minutes - to Machu Picchu.It takes about 20 minutes to drive up some very narrow roads with many precipices:

I don´t know whether you will be able to see in the next picture a small, narrow road with a precipice by the middle of the mountain, well this road is a piece of the Inca Trail.

We continued our route, not only enjoying the views seen through the windows of the train but also through the skylight in the roof:

We even saw some archaeological ruins of the Incas in the middle of the country:

Soon we were served breakfast:

The train continued on and I saw this site which I guessed, from the large amount of luggage they had, that it was accommodation for those who want to go along the "Inca Trail". There are two known ways to reach Machu Picchu.The first is the traditional train and the second is for those who enjoy adventure travel is the "Inca Trail" hike that requires a lot of effort over four days:

I was amused to see the sign about Elvis but it seems that it was just publicity for the town mayor and did not mean the singer!:

We have seen the hugh damage caused by the flooding of last February and, although the main part of the railway line has been fixed, there are still many things to repair.

And like in the old days, the farmers working their land with the help of animals instead of machines, or even themselves only with their hands:

And an image that usually surprises me in many different countries, the very basic house in a humble area, but with their satellite dish!:

Thursday 5th of August.

Today we had to get up early at 5am and we were collected at 6 o'clock to take us to thePoroy train station in Cuzco to take the train to Machu Picchu.

You have to be at the station 30 minutes before the train departs.Our train was due to leave at 6.55 am. The passengers are only allowed take with them one piece of baggage which should not weigh more than 5 kilos!I am sure that we had twice as much because our small case must weigh about 1 kilo when it´s empty, but luckily nobody contolled neither the baggage or the weight.We have left our big luggage in the hotel in Cuzco as we would be spending one more night there on the return from Machu Picchu.

When travelling this route there are about 90 kilometers distance from Cusco to Machu Picchu by train and the trip takes three hours and 40 minutes, going slow, not more than 20 km /hour because ofthe complicated geography by the edge of the river Urubamba, but the scenery was so beautiful that I have enjoyed every second.

The journey begins at the Poroy station in Cusco, passes by the mountain Picchu via a winding zigzag track until reaching the highest point called "El Arco" in the northeastern part of the city.

It descends through the towns of Pory, Cachimatyo and Izcuchaca to the Pampa de Anta, an ample livestock area of undisputed geographical beauty, through the narrow gorge of Pomatales, into the Sacred Valley of the Incas, by the Pachar train station.Then it carries on through the Urubamba River to the right until arriving at the Ollantaytambo station and then continues to the Puente Ruinas station in Aguas Calientes also known as the Machu Picchu Village.

These were some of the images which we saw along the way:

Thanks Tom47. I had hoped to be back sooner but have been very busy the last few days. Hopefully I´ll get some time over the next couple of days to continue with more. Thanks again. :)

Thanks Christine Frances: I hope to have time in the next few days to translate & continue.

Thanks also Taxjam: You can be sure that February will be one of the best trips of your life time................. I hope I don´t spoil too many surprises with my photos & details when it comes to the Galapagos?

My dish was lamb:

There was a folkloric show at the restaurant where again you can see the masks related with spirits and devils, superstitions, etc.:

We spent a very pleasant evening together and after such a coincidence of the unexpected meeting up we promised to keep in touch this time.We said goodbye and went back to the hotel and straight to sleep as we had a very early start the next morning at 5am.

TO BE CONTINUED ……………..in Machu Picchu.

We have said goodbye to our guide Juan Carlos and he lives in upper part of Cuzco, you will see in the next 2 images where he goes down to his house with extremely sloped roads and steep steps:

The driver dropped us off in the centre of Cuzco at our hotel.We showered and relaxed a bit and at 8pm we met our friends from Malta who we had bumped into by chance the previous day.

The restaurant was the Tunupa which was also in the Plaza de las Armas.

Our friend took the guinea pig which is a specialty of the area and originally from the Andes.

His wife tried the alpaca:

The alpaca is very similar to the llamaIt differs in the size, the alpaca is smaller than the llama and its hair is finer and a more silky fiber that of the llama, etc.

We finished in the market and started on our way back to Cuzco.Along the way we saw the views of the valleys:

Also we could appreciate the damage which the area suffered by the heavy flooding last February:

We stopped along the road where we saw some nice panoramics arriving in Cuzco: