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Peru, Part 13 – Machu Picchu

If you don’t have the time or inclination to hike the 26-mile Inca Trail to Machu Picchu on a particular trip, you can instead take the train and ride in comfort, enjoying the scenery and complimentary beverage service on your way from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes.

Along the train ride, the environment changes abruptly from the dryer high plains to rain forest. The trees close in overhead, and you feel as though you are traveling back in time.

We arrived in Aguas Calientes late in the afternoon, with the plan being to get up very early to ride the bus up to Machu Picchu. The large, comfortable buses travel up a very steep one-lane dirt road with lots of switchbacks, and when two buses going different directions meet, one has to wait for the other to pass before going on. Looking out of the window, we could see the very sheer drop-off below.

There are no restrooms available inside the ruins, so you must make sure you take care of matters at the entrance complex. Once inside, you are greeted with a scene you many have seen many times in photos, but being there in person is a transcendent experience.

Machu Picchu was built in about 1450, and it’s an engineering marvel especially when you consider that the Incas didn’t have iron or steel, nor wheels. How the large stones were transported and put into place is a mystery. After the site was abandoned roughly 100 years later, the rain forest vegetation grew back over it and it was lost for several hundred years until the archaeologist Hiram Bingham arrived there with his guide in 1911. What we see now has been reconstructed. The fast-growing plants are always trying to cover the structures again, so workers are constantly on the job removing it. Because it’s an important archaeological site of such extraordinary beauty, things can get pretty crowded after the very early morning. You can get away from the masses of people by doing one of the hikes to other nearby landmarks.

We chose to do two hikes, one before lunch to see the Inca Bridge. Access to the Inca Bridge is controlled, and the guard keeps track of all who enter and when they come back out.

This hike is pleasant, not too long, with the usual spectacular scenery. The culmination of the trail is a fence that blocks access to the bridge itself, but viewing it from afar should be enough for all but the most daring. The bridge itself is nothing but a couple of logs laid across a sheer, steep drop.

After hiking back down, we had worked up a good appetite and were ready for lunch. Food is not allowed in the park, so we walked back to the visitor’s center to see what was on offer there.

“Meet” pie, anyone?

After lunch, we hiked the trail to the Sun Gates. It’s a bit longer and more strenuous, but the views are worth it. On the way back down, we were surprised to see a line of several porters charging up the hill from the other direction, each carrying two large mattresses on his back. At the end of the line, there was a guy with an apparently very heavy box who had set it down to take a moment’s rest. I asked him what all this stuff was for, and he said it was for the tourists who were going to camp up there that night. Sounds pretty cush, but I couldn’t help wondering what the porters think of those campers – are they disdainful, or are they just happy to have the work?

If you want to see the iconic view shown on virtually all the postcards and posters, this is the hike for you.

After all that hard work, you should treat yourself to an ice cream cone before you get back on the bus.

February 6th, 2013|Travel|Comments Off

Peru, Part 12 – Chinchero

Getting near the end, I promise!

On the road to Chinchero – ©2012 Deidre Adams

Another day excursion from Ollantaytambo was to see the village of Chinchero, known for its traditional-style weavers and the extraordinarily fine work they do. It is home to The Centro de Textiles Tradicionales de Cusco (CTTC), founded by Nilda Callañaupa in 1996. Nilda grew up in Chinchero in the 1960s, at a time when “most weaving was of inferior quality with synthetic fibers and Dayglo colors” (Hand/Eye). She later made it her mission to learn the techniques of her ancestors and teach them to other women in the village to preserve the fine craft traditions of the past.

Our guide at the CTTC was Carolina Concha, who combines work and parenting with admirable ease.

There was another little girl here at the center that day, keeping herself busy with her own toys or intermittently interesting herself in the work of her elders.

(Side note: In fact, as I noticed throughout most of the places we went in Peru, this seemed to be the way children behaved. They stayed near the adults, playing or otherwise occupying themselves, and they didn’t have tantrums or beg for attention. The only time I saw children out of control was in a rather upscale restaurant in Lima, where an obviously wealthy family was having a large gathering complete with several children and no fewer than 3 nannies in uniform. Still, the children ran around making noise and disturbing the other diners, looking much more like the scenes I’m accustomed to here in the U.S.)

We saw demonstrations of spinning, weaving, and knitting. The CTTC weavers are also making a big push to study and return to the natural dyeing techniques of the past. The beautiful colors come from leaves, moss, lichens, roots, and other plant matter, and of course, cochinilla.

After leaving the center, we did a little more exploring of the town and, of course, the ruins.

February 4th, 2013|Travel|2 Comments

Peru, Part 11 – Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo was my favorite town on the entire Peru trip. I could easily picture myself living to a ripe old age here, starting my mornings with a coffee and empanada at La Esquina before getting the day’s provisions at the market. Then I would spend the afternoon and evening working on my art, stopping only to make a delicious dinner of local foods and spices, or perhaps to take a walk in the glorious afternoon glow of the sun.

It’s a lovely little town on the Urubamba River, nestled in a basin surrounded by majestic mountains. It was originally founded in the mid-1500s by the Inca Pachacutec, one of the most important and powerful emperors of the Inca Empire, and then fortified and used as a stronghold against the Spanish by the Manco Inca, leader of the native resistance. Many of the original buildings are still inhabited today, although changed somewhat, with the original thatched roofs having been replaced with tejas shingles. A network of the original irrigation channels filled with rushing water flow throughout the town beside the cobblestone streets, and pedestrians are constantly stepping over them as they navigate the busy sidewalks.

We stayed at the Ollantaytambo Lodge Hotel – not fancy, but comfortable and charming. I suspect it only gets a 2-star rating because of the fact that you only have a 2-hour window each afternoon in which there is enough water to take a shower – despite the fact that there’s an enormous amount of water flowing throughout the streets 24 hours a day.

This little guy apparently lived at the lodge, and whenever we ventured outside the gate, he would accompany us for a couple of blocks or sometimes all the way to the center of town.

There are many very good restaurants here, as well as a large market for fresh fruit and vegetables and other food, plus the usual shops for souvenirs and the like. The town square was always bustling with activity. We were there in time to see a motorcycle cab race as well as groups of local schoolchildren practicing traditional dances in the main square.

We took one short excursion for the purpose of experiencing chicha beer, a traditional, slightly alcoholic drink made from germinated maize first boiled in a big pot over a wood fire, then fermented in a large earthenware pot.

After meeting the proprietress and hearing about the process, we were ready to try a sample. But wait – you cannot take a taste until you have made the proper acknowledgment by saying “Pachamama, santa tierra” (Earth mother, holy ground) as you pour a couple of drops of your chicha on the ground. For me, one small taste was enough. I’m sticking with microbrews after this.

Also at the Descanso establishment, we got a chance to play a round of juego de sapo, the frog game, in which you toss a large brass coin at the board and try to earn points by getting your piece to land in one of the holes or spinners, with the ultimate goal of getting it into the frog’s mouth. Susan is the reigning champion of our group.