Life in Lima

Life goes on as we still try to get used to living in the city. The work at the Centro International de la Papa is going well and the project is on target. Cath has started Salsa dancing classes which are turning into the highlight of her week - she really loves it. David has started to try and learn some Peruvian / Latin American  folk songs on the guitar. As yet we have not sample a Pena evening of music in Barranco but we hope to do this shortly. The problem for us is that they start at about 11 in the evening and they go on till 5 the next morning! What with trying to learn some Spanish there never seems to be enough time.

Cusco and Machu Picchu

31 May - 2 June

Out treat for May was a long weekend in Cusco in order to go and see the most famous site in Peru, the citadel of Machu Picchu. It is only possible to fly to Cusco during daylight hours so we left Lima in the late afternoon to take the short 1 hour flight to Cusco. The programme for the trip was to spend one night in Cusco then get up early for the train to the little village nestled below Machu Picchu called Aguas Calientes. Staying overnight in Aguas Calientes then allowed us to spend an afternoon and a morning at Machu Picchu in order to witness the sunrise. The train then returned us to Cusco with a day to start to exploring this city before returning to Lima

Cusco was once the foremost city of the Inca Empire and the undisputed archaeological capital of the Americas. Massive Inca built walls line the city's streets and form the foundations of colonial and modern buildings.

Legend tells that in the 12 Century, the first Inca, Manco Capac, the son of the sun, was charged by the Inti, the sun god, to find the navel of the earth  - a spot where a golden rod could be plunged into the ground until it disappeared. When Manco discovered the spot he founded the city and it became the thriving city of Inca Empire until conquered by Francisco Pizarro on November 8 1533. 

The heart of the city is the Plaza de Armas while nearby Avendida Sol is the main business thoroughfare.   

After resting the night in Cusco in order to try and get used to the altitude we set out on the four hour train journey to Aguas Calientes. The train winds it way slowly up the slopes above Cusco with a series of switchbacks then onto a high plateau. The valley leading to village was framed by soaring white peaks of up to 6500m height and the village itself is enclosed by towering walls of stone and cloud forest.

After booking into the hotel and getting a bite to eat we purchased our tickets for the site and then boarded the bus to Machu Picchu. Finally near the top of the steep climb Machu Picchu came into view with its spectacular and awe-inspiring location.

Machu Picchu was not mentioned in any of the chronicles of the Spanish conquistadors and archaeologists today are forced to rely heavily on speculation and guesswork for its function. Apart from a few indigenous Quechuas, nobody knew of its existence until American historian Howard Bingham stumbled upon it in 1911. Machu Picchu remains a mysterious site virtually forgotten until the early part of the 20th Century.

There are many suggestions as to the purpose of Machu Picchu. A recent suggestion holds that the site was a royal retreat or country palace that was abandoned when the Spanish invasion took hold of Cusco. The exceptionally high quality stonework and the abundance of ornamental works shows that Machu Picchu must once have been an important ceremonial centre.

We spent the afternoon exploring the mazelike collection of passages and taking photographs from the classic view point above the site. Later in the day the site emptied of most of the visitors and it was then possible to really sense an air of tranquillity and peace. Our most memorable moment was spending time at the major shrine of Machu Picchu, the Intihuatana alone with a site warden just before we left.

We started the next day early, getting the first bus to the site. We waited with anticipation for the sun to rise across the site eventually seeing the sun come up near the Intihuatan sundial stone. It was an amazing experience to see the rays of light hit the top of the stone and the shadow cast down to the floor where there was a notch carved in the rock.

After seeing the sun rise we climbed to the top of the mountain behind Machu Picchu, Huayna Picchu. The view from the top was well worth the effort of getting up there and Cath spent some time drawing the site from above.

The bus and train journey back to Cusco was uneventful but helped along by a fashion show put on by the train staff to show off the latest fashions in Alpaca wool.

After the exertions of getting to and from Machu Picchu an easy day was spent exploring the city centre and the Inca walls.