Bee in my Bonnet

A dream come true. This is THE place I’ve read about, studied a bit, and hoped some day to be able to walk it’s trails and experience it’s beauty. 

Rising at 3:45 AM, to leave our hotel at 4:30, travel by bus to Ollantaytambo to catch the 5:30 train to the village of Machu Picchu. The little town used to be named Agua Calientes after the hot springs located there but earlier this year it officially took on the name of incredible archaeological site and citadel of Machu Picchu. 

Hiram Bingham III, an explorer and academic, in 1911, with the help of local farmers, is credited with the discovery of Machu Picchu. You can read more about him and further information here. 

The next three pictures are of the most well known and marvelous structures at Machu Picchu. If you want to read more about them click here. 

Overlooking the Temple of the Sun. It is the structure with the curved wall. 

Room of the Three Windows. 

The Inti Watana stone. 

A few more pics to enjoy….

Remember Fufu who wanted so desperately to come on this trip? Well, he got a bit of altitude sickness and refused to come along for the last few adventures. Hopefully he will feel better soon. Poor little Fufu. 

The afternoon brought a light drizzle of rain. It is the beginning of Springtime here, which means the beginning of the rainy season. 

We enjoyed a quiet time wandering among the market booths admiring the lively colors and friendly people. It felt like we had the place to ourselves. Most of the tourists disappeared. 

Located in the opposite end of the sacred Urubamba Valley is Pisac… the village and the archaeological site. 

The terraces are beautiful. 

Trying to post pics before we leave wifi service. So not much commentary at this time. 

The hike to the tower on top was hard and exhausting. The atitude is over 9,000 feet. Makes hiking so much harder. John stayed down a little lower since the altitude got to him. 

Here is a pic of me at the top of Pisac ruins. 

We spent a little time in the town and saw this cute family. Some native people dress in their local traditional clothing. For one sole, about 33 cents, you can take their picture. The cute little animals are llamas. 

We were able to go to a silver factory and jewelry shop. It was quite interesting to learn how they make the jewelry. They start from the raw stone and cut and polish it then it is mounted in the highest quality of silver work. Containing only 5% copper and the rest of the metal pure silver, it never tarnishes. The jewelry is created at a small work bench. 

Various stones and shells used for jewelry making. The very large pendant on the right shows the inlay work in progress. The other pendant is finished. This pendent has a spiral which represents the Inka/Quechua ‘Pachamama’, or earth mother. The rainbow colors are Quechua. 

 The significance and meanings for each color are as follows: Red: The Earth and the Andean man, Orange: Society and culture, Yellow: Energy, White: Time, Green: Natural resources, Blue: The heavens, Violet: Andean government and self-determination

The archeological site of Urubamba rises above the busy little village. The site gives you an idea of how the Inka laid out the land to use it to the best advantage. Terracing used the steep hillsides to provide more area to farm. Each terrace was made by hauling stones up the steep hillside to form terraced walls. Next gravel, sand, and top soil were layered in the beds. This created a very fertile area to grow their corn and potatoes and other food stuffs. 

Rock work becomes more finely honed and well fitted as you move up the hillside to the ancient palace and ceremonial sites located near the top of the mountain. This holds true with all Inka construction. 

Look at the size of these blocks. Can you imagine what skill it took to cut, move, and fit these stones together in such an amazing fashion?

You’re still with me? Good. I have a little puzzle for you. In the next picture of the mountainside that overlooks Ollantaytambo there are two impressive Inka structures. See if you can find them. First find the stacked stone structures. These were for storage of food and grain. The other is the face of an old man. 

Find them? I probably made it too easy for you. Try again as you look at this lovely picture of the village and mountains of Ollantaytambo. 

The Sacred Valley of the Incas through which runs the sacred Urubamba river. 

Our stay for the next few days was in this beautiful valley at a lovely resort. 

We began our adventure with an excursion at one end of the valley to the archeological site of Ollantaytambo. Our first stop, the village of Ollantaytambo. 

But first, time out for a little cultural interest item. Did you know the ancient people of this place are called Quechua? These are the same people we call Inka. The word Inca or Inka, actually refers only to the king. The king is Inka. The people are Quechua. 

The most common language in Peru is actually Quechua, although Spanish is spoken everywhere. 

A most generous and kind Quechua woman let us tour her traditional home. 

This is the cooking area of the home. 

An altar that displays many native artifacts. Even matches??? Don’t have photoshop to edit out but you get the idea. Above this altar was a sacred area for honoring the ancestors as well as various instruments of Quechua life. 

Dried corn and jerked llama hung from the rafters. 

One area set aside for grinding of various grains. The Quechua people have over 147 (this number changes based on who is telling the story) varieties of corn. Each of the kernels on the cob are huge!! Three times the size of corn kernels in USA. 

AND.. prepare to be most surprised by this next bit. In the home were little squealing guinea pigs scurrying all over the grey stone floors. Some babies, some bulging at the sides with new little guinea pigs waiting to be born. When inquiries were made we learned the cute little furry critters are for food. Yes. Mostly for very special occasions. 

A little Quechua lady. How the ladies wear there very decorative hats is very important. If the hat is cocked to the side you are unmarried and straight on the head you are married. Each region of Peru has different style of hats. All her clothes were created or hand woven by her. 

Water flows down from many glaciers to the Urubamba valley. The Inka have channeled the water to guide it to feed the farm lands and to provide fresh water for the villages and towns. These channels are seen everywhere. 

We made it to Lima! City of the Kings. Surprisingly, as far as architecture goes it is a new city with oldest major buildings from 1920’s or so. 

Lima was founded in 1535 by the Spaniard, Pizzaro. Remember him from your history books?

We saw beautiful buildings on the main square, “Plaza de Armas.” Elaborately carved balconies are common. Lima’s colonial past has been preserved in its architecture. 

Huge doors with imposing iron work abounded. 

Several pics of the beautiful cathedral. 

The presidents palace on Plaza de Aramas. Through a bit of creative sign language and my extremely limited Spanish, I managed to talk this guard into posing for me… gun and all. 

And this is the famous Lovers Park. The statue seemed to be an inspiration to all the young couples who were sitting in embrace upon the walls. 

The Pan-American surf competition was going on while we were there. Lots of surfers but not too much wave action. 

In addition to kissing and surfing, paragliding seemed to be a popular activity as well as many youth with soccer balls in hand. Peruvians love soccer. 

Last view of Lima from seaside. 

What I should have been reading on the plane…. (see books on Peru)

And…what I was reading. (Thanks Melissa for the great read)

…excuse the crazy hair and raccoon look. That’s what 2am in Lima looks like. 😜

Sourrounded by all the duty free shops such as Coach, Hermes, Godiva, there was this adorable Hershey’s kiss. 

Some of the best movies have to be those shown on interminably long flights. Yes, the audio is terrible, even with a decent set of quality little ear buds or worse yet the plane supplied head phones. Maybe you have a pair of noise cancelling super ear muffs? With the constant hum of the jet engine and low soft muttering of people and the occasional baby crying, it’s a different audio experience. Not to mention the itty bitty screens. 

And yet..there are movies that just need to be added to our repertoire of cinematic experiences. Films that enrich, inspire and enlighten our being. 

Oh, yes. The specific film, you ask?

The Man Who Knew Infinity