9/1-Afternoon
Following the train journey from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes, we were on our way to Machu Picchu (from the Quechuan Machu Pikchu, "machu" literally meaning old, old person and "pikchu" meaning pyramid or similarly shaped mountain), the highlight of the week. But first, we had to walk across town and board another bus for the 30 minute drive up a seemingly endless series of switchbacks to Machu Picchu, yet another UNESCO WH Site.
We've traveled to many parts of the world and seen many amazing places, but Machu Picchu was truly incredible: the location (perched atop mountains 2,000 feet above the swirling Urubamba River); the size (houses, temples, palaces, plazas, stairways, and over 700 terraces, once home to an estimated 25,000 Inca); the construction techniques (huge cut stones fit together without mortar so tightly that cracks still cannot be penetrated by knife blades even though the Inca had no iron, steel, or wheels); the alignment (both the entire complex and several of the individual structures situated in harmony with astronomical events such as solstice sunsets). Having no written language, the Inca left no record of the purpose of building the Machu Picchu complex, and scholars are still striving to uncover clues to the site's mysteries. The pictures try to capture the sense of the place, but I'm afraid we've done no justice to Machu Picchu.
Coming down the mountain, we were treated to a spectacular double rainbow, a suitable conclusion to our remarkable adventures.