Packing for Adventure

We were able to visit Machu Picchu on two days back to back. On our first day we went on a tour led by a wonderful Peruvian tour guide named Percy. We were in a group with people from all over the world. In our tour was the couple from California that we chatted with on the train from Ollantaytambo, but there was also a family from India and a couple from Finland among others. We took turns taking photos for each other.

Llamas were EVERYWHERE. They are allowed to do whatever they want – they had free access to every corner of the ruins. They have more privileges than the people! They were very tame and clearly used to posing for pictures.

This rock is believed to have been a ceremonial rock where sacrifices were done. It was carved to look like the mountain. Unfortunately for me, we were NOT allowed to climb on it for pictures, or even get close.

The terraces served two purposes – they helped with landslides in the rainy season and provided a flat surface for planting food.

The sun aligns through the window of the Sun Temple each June 21st, which was considered a holy day. We were not allowed to go inside. You can see a clear covering over a hole to the side where excavations were still being done.

This rock house shows a difference between how Incans dealt with problems vs how we do today. Today, when we want to build a house, we move anything that is in the way, including large rocks. Back then, they just built around it!

This whole area was off limits (except for llamas). They believe it was a marketplace.

This picture shows the notches found on some of the blocks, believed to have been there to support roof beams that are no longer there. Kind of like lego pieces.

Temple of the Three Windows

You can’t even fit a piece of paper in these smooth and tightly-fitting blocks!

Mama Llama at entrance to Huayna Picchu (means “Young Mountain” in Quechua, the old Incan language).

Every morning Machu Picchu workers bring cups of water to fill these basins designed to see the reflection of the sun and the moon. Unfortunately, most people never get the opportunity to see the reflection of the moon. They think the Incans used this as a way to communicate with the gods… or extraterrestrials.

Condor Rock – this was sacred to the Incans and is part of the “Incan Trilogy” which includes the Condor, the Puma, and the Snake. The Condor represents the Sky, where the rain falls from. The Puma represents the Land, which provides crops. The Snake represents the Urubamba River that flows through Machu Picchu. The three together represent Machu Picchu.

This rock has been suspended in the air for years. No one knows when it will fall. There is a room underneath that tourists used to be able to go under and explore and take pictures pretending you were holding up the rock (you know, like pictures of people holding up the Tower of Pisa). Tourists are no longer allowed to do this; not because they are afraid a tourist will get hurt, but because too many tourists left trash in the past. This was very upsetting to me – not only would I LOVE to explore under there, that’s like my thing! But it is infuriating that people would leave trash in such a treasured landmark.

This guy in this photo was in our tour group, and he ended up being in like 65% of our photos from the day. He is forever memorialized in our hearts haha!

From llamas ruling the ruins to stones carved with impossible precision, our first day at Machu Picchu left us in awe – despite the restrictions to climbing sacrificial rocks or strolling through the marketplace. The next day would be filled with our solo exploration of the ruins, including the hike to the top of the Old Mountain!

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