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| At Machu Pichu |
Something hidden...go and find it.
Go and look behind the Ranges--
Something lost behind the Ranges...
Lost and waiting for you. Go!
The Explorer, Rudyard Kipling
I just couldn't quite fathom being this close to a place that has long been on my bucket list and not experience it. The opportunity finally arrived when I joined up with Bridgett & Dave Cammack from Fairbanks, AK. We met in Spanish class! Dave is a retired doctor who actually delivered my 24-year-old roommate, Carly! Wonders never cease! They were fabulous traveling companions!
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Dave, Bridgett & I--touristas de Peru!
Our base was Cuzco ("navel of the world") and we were here during Holy Week which meant lots of people lining the streets to receive blessings both Incan and Catholic. The next day we headed to the Sacred Valley of the Incas and explored Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Chincherro--all filled with the mysteries of the Incan Civilization, founded in the 1200's, expanded in the 1400's, and invaded in the 16th century by the Spanish conquistadors. |
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| The beautiful town square in Cuzco |
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Pisac terracing
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| They walk in beauty... |
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Ollantaytambo
The following day we drove two hours to catch the PeruRail which followed the rushing Urubamba River for two hours to the Machu Pichu base town of Aguas Calientes. From there we could bus or climb 17,000 rock stairs to Machu Pichu, the lost city of the Incas...a hike was in order of course! |
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| Aguas Calientes |
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| Stairs to Machu Pichu |
Hiram Bingham was a Yale University history lecturer who happened to be passing through Cusco in 1909 when he learned of a 400-year old unsolved mystery. When the Spanish conquistadors had invaded in the 16th century, a group of Incas withdrew to a hidden city high in Peru's impenetrable cloud forest, carrying with them the sacred treasures of their empire. This city and its inhabitants had vanished so long ago that as far as most serious scholars were concerned, legends of its existence were about as credible as tales of Atlantis...he stumbled across Machu Picchu in 1911. (from Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams)
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We spent hours wandering, speculating, lost in awe and wonder.
"...stonework, temples, terraces that cling to the slope like baby monkeys." |
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| Captivating tree of life in the center of it all! |
Of course I have another zillion photos of "rock piles", but suffice it to say, Machu Pichu is sublime. Mystical...yes...but I also felt "the train of His robe filling the temple" in a powerful way. I worked to take it all in, and in the end felt Him close declaring "I am He who rules heaven and earth...the same yesterday, today and forever..." Ah yes, a postcard panorama journey that I recommend to all!
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