July 30th - Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu - the lost city of the Incas - here we come! Ring-ring! The hotel 4:00 AM wake up call was actually a welcoming sound since this was the once in a lifetime experience we have all been anticipating. Isn't this one of the main reasons we applied for the Fulbright? After an early breakfast, our bus took us up, down and around many mountains until we finally arrived to catch our 6:40 train ride to Machu Picchu. It was on time but we started to panic when one of our participants who had stopped off to you know what (no, not shop!) had not arrived. Luckily, she found us at the last minute!

The train ride on the Peru Rail snaked along the Ollantaytamvo River with its white-water and huge boulders. It was off-set by the beautiful snow-covered jagged mountains that were on both sides. When we arrived, there were lots of tourists waiting in line for a bus to the top. It was a harrowing bus ride with the hairpin turns all the way up often nearly colliding with an oncoming bus causing the bus drivers to have to back up on a very narrow road. The driver claimed there are never any accidents but we weren't convinced! The upward journey just got more and more beautiful as the sheer mountains loomed all around us at 9,040 feet.

Machu Picchu is totally invisible from below but just before arriving I got a glimpse of the ruins on one of the hairpin turns and knew it was going to be magical. It was set among the clouds and it looked like it was going to be a rainy day afterall. Our tour guide, Eddie (short for Edilberto), provided us with lots of info about "his people" as helped us discover one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Years ago, I remember reading in a National Geographic that the ruins of Machu Picchu were discovered in 1911 by a Yale archaeologist named Hiram Bingham. Evidently, Hiram had to pay some farm boy to show him the way to the ruins which were grown over with vegetation. Just think what a jungle of vegetation must have covered the buildings after 500 years of growth.

The Inca Empire lasted from 1430-1534, only about 100 years. The Inca people built the city of Machu Picchu by erecting hundreds of stone structures (234 to be exact). Machu Picchu (meaning "Old Peak" in Quechua language) was considered a sacred place evidently by those who came even before the Inca and was built with the help of the Incan Emperor Pachucutec. It must have taken thousands of workers over many years! Eddie stated that the Inca paid their tax to the Emperor through human energy or what we call hard labour.

We got a full tour of the palaces, baths, temples, storage rooms, workshops, terraces, and houses for the nobility. The buildings were carved from gray granite the Inca took from the mountain top. The climb up the steep narrow steps to some of the buildings was a struggle for some and as one of our English friends put it, "Machu Picchu is not for the weak of heart." The architectural feat is mind boggling since the building blocks used weigh some 50 tons or more yet are so precisely scupted that you can't even get a piece of paper between the joints. How did they work so precisely? I actually entertained the idea of the Inca being extraterrestial as some people believe?

There are many theories about the purpose or function of Machu Picchu - afterall, it's all speculation. What do you think? Was it an astronomical observatory, sacred ceremonial city for priests, a king's palace, place for coca leaf production, large guinea pig farm? No one can say for sure. What we do know is that the Spaniards never found Machu Picchu even though they had suspicions of its existence. We can all be thankful for that!

Machu Picchu definitely felt sacred or spiritual despite the overload of tourists. The Inca worshipped Mother Earth, the Sun, the Moon, Rain, Lightning, and Rainbows. They were extremely connected to the Earth and had ways to determine the two equinoxes and other celestial occurrences. The ancient Inca energy was omnipresent and with the people from every part of the globe, there was truly a "universal energy" present and flowing.

For future reference, if you plan to hike the Wayna Picchu make sure you get to the site by 7:00 AM since there is a limit of 400 people who can do the trail. Or you can be persist and return around lunchtime as three of our Fulbrighters did and made it up to the top in 45 minutes!

Today was truly a magical once in a lifetime experience (not for 3rd timer Brenda!) that we will always remember, thanks to the ancient Inca!

Posted by Lianne, Madison, WI