Machu Pichu
The site and the village.
This is looking down on the site from the Warrior's house.
This is the view from the bus down at the river (and village).
More Machu Pichu Village and our train ride.
These apartments just need the wood and thatch for the roofs. Then they would be ready to be moved into.
Through the fog it looks almost magical.
This is the court yard.
The circle temple.
This is the so-called "house of the three windows" from the courtyard.
This is the condor rock.
Here we are at the"hitching post of the sun" in the rain.
This rock is shaped like the mountain behind it. Hey we climbed all the way up here, we're posing at all the important rocks!
This is the warrior's House on the top of the site.
This is the rock near the Warrior's House.
More about our bus ride down the Mountain and our experience with an Inka runner.
I'm not sure if that is pain or pride on my face, but I am definitely not fearing anything at this point (except maybe falling off).
This is the entrance to the site. It was raining and then we were above the clouds. We sent six hours climbing all over the site. Compared to all the temples in Egypt and all the other ruins we have seen so far, this is by far the most pristine and untouched site even though it is visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year.
Two thousand miles, a train ride full of danger and we finally get to this point. Talk about "on top of the world." We conquered Machu Pichu!
To paraphrase a great man: "We have been to the mountain top and seen the other side... and we're not fearing any man..."
You can see why this place made such a great palace and summer home.
Some of it is carved into the rock and other parts are built around the natural rock.
Doesn't this look like a pyramid?
Its not, but look at the steps. Are they going up or down?
This is our guide, Jovanna, pointing out that this was a temple.
This is "the school house." Where's the projector?
This is an alley with Kimberly and Jovanna.
This, they tell us, is the mummy rock and room.
Here is an example of the fountain system, which still works, channeling water from a spring on the other side of the mountain to 14 fountains around the site.
This is part of the drainage system, still working.
This is me as I am approaching the Warrior's House on the top.
This is the top of the site.
This is literally the other side of the mountain.
This is a look down the steps on the back side of the mountain. So watch your step all the way down. Again, a few inches either way really matters.
They say there is still much to be excavated. Most estimates put the site at only 60% uncovered.
One last little story. On your flight back to the states, we got "upgraded" to the row of seats at the emergency exits. They don't recline, but you get and extra six inches or so. It was heaven. That extra space to stretch out and begin to recover from our adventure was what really convinced me that life is a game of inches.
It is the little things that make life worth living.
send comments to jopeyer@socall.rr.com
Cuzco, Peru (The City, Sacred Valley, Machu Pichu) Cuzco, Peru (The City, Sacred Valley, Machu Pichu)