Machu Picchu

Canadian Toilet High Five: This is the nickname we gave to another hiker we met on the last day. He's from Canada and he gave Bean a high five when they realized that when they used the restrooms they would be able to actually sit on a seat instead of squat. He literally high fived him in the restroom. Gross.

After that experience, Hernan brought us over to some benches and gave us an education on Machu Picchu. Since it's taken me months to get these posts done, I don't remember much about what he said but here's what I do remember based around the pictures I took. He gave us a quick overview and then we walked the grounds and looked at specific things. If you are interested in the history / theory around the city, just do a Google search on it, I'm sure you will find plenty of information.

This is my favorite tree. There's a legend that at one point someone was going to rip it out and when they started digging, they found jewelry- rings/bracelets buried around the roots. They decided it was some kind of sign and decided to leave it there. It caught my eye several times during the day from different areas of the city.

 

The condor rock formation. The beak is at the bottom on the ground and the wings are the large swooping stones in the background. A little hard to visualize, but it's a spiritual thing for the Inca.

 

 

Check out that huge stone. They built on top of and underneath it. The area underneath is a tomb area for important people- royalty or leaders.

 

I'm in love with the precise fit of the rocks. Here's my favorite example:

Another fun fact: there are 3 styles of architecture in the city.

 

On the left, where they look rough, that style designates areas meant for 'regular' people: workers, etc. On the right, where they are fitted more precisely, the faces of the rock are either left rough (for leaders/upper class) or ground down smooth for royalty. On the wall above, it actually changes from rough faces to smooth part of the way down. That's how you know you are in the King's quarters.

 

Here's the King's bathroom. He sat on the rock near the bottom, and his excrement would fall down behind and then be washed out the hole at the other end. Pretty fancy!

 And another beautiful view.

 

 

Hernan jokingly told Bean that we were going down these stairs next. He almost tried to go down them!! So scary.

 

 

This gigantic rock looks kinda boring, but it's anything but! It was carved to mimic the shape of the mountain range behind it. Remember, the Inca revered the mountains and the Earth so it was like a huge offfering. After we said goodbye to Hernan, he told us the rock is known to have energy and you can touch it. I was skeptical, but I went over to the left side, and placed both of my hands on the side of the stone and closed my eyes. It felt like lightning bolts shooting through my arms and down through my legs, grounding me in that spot! I felt extremely calm and relaxed, but with small vibrations in my hands. Very cool.

 

After that we had a couple of hours to explore on our own before we had to meet Hernan back in town to pick up our gear. Mainly we just took lots of pictures. Here's my favorite:

 

After awhile we started getting pretty tired, plus we were really sore from the hike so we went back to town a little earlier than we originally planned and walked around. Eventually we made our way back to the pizza place that Hernan told us about to meet him to pick up our gear. We sat with him for about an hour and talked about the funny people he's met leading the hikes, about his girlfriend and when they might get married, and all split a beer and a snack. We laughed a lot!

 

We ran into Jersey, who kept me going uphill on Day 2, and Canadian Toilet High Five around town. Most places had happy hour specials: 4 for 1! Obviously they are geared toward tourists more than Cusco. We also ran into Elsy and Matt who happened to be on the same train as us, just in a different area. We were all so ready to be back, have a real shower, and relax.

 

Unfortunately, the train ride was anything but relaxing. It was 3 hours long, bumpy, and irritating. There was a guy near us from Brazil who was very loud and animated (funny to listen to!) and kept saying things that didn't make sense. But at some point, I was ready to be off the train and back at the hotel. When the train stopped, we found the driver set up for us and (somewhat frantically for me!) searched the crowd for Elsy and Matt just to say goodbye one more time. It was really sad to see our new friends leave, first with Hans, then Hernan, and now them. It meant that our adventure really was coming to an end. It's something I wanted to stretch out as long as possible.

 

My heart was just so happy the whole time we were there. I think traveling and meeting people is one of my passions. Nothing compares to learning a new place and learning about new people.

 

Back at our hotel, we took wonderful showers and ordered room service. Another re-packing of our bags, and we were ready to travel home. We were so tired we each fell asleep on our own bed!