Peru, Bolivia, Brazil Thurs 11 Sept 08

Peru, Bolivia, Brazil Thurs 11 Sept 08
Official tour of Machu Picchu with Claudia. Bussed up the switchback hill, half an hour, and in through the ticket office. There are thousands of tourists here but Claudia does an excellent job.
We are 2,432 meters above sea level on the side of a granite mountain in semi-tropical highland jungle. The rocks are mostly light grey in colour with a high content of quartz, mica and minerals which was used by the andean masons to construct a magnificent complex of buildings here.

It is believed that Machu Picchu was occupied by an elite section of the Incas, and its existance was not known about by the various non-inca tribes that had been subjugated by the Incas. Hence when the spanish came, and the non-incas told them all they wanted to know about the hated Inca empire, Machu Picchu remained undiscovered by the invaders. For some unknown reason, the Incas later abandoned Machu Picchu. Maybe a combination of disease, inability to trade sufficienly and greater opportunities in the spanish society.

In 1911, after some years searching for the fabled lost Inca city, Professor Hiram Bingham, an american, found the heavily overgrown ruins with the help of Melchor, a farmer, not our porter of course, it was a long time ago. With a young child as a guide provided by Melchor, Bingham discovered the Royal Tomb, the Principle Temple and the Temple of the three windows. Bingham removed tonnes of artyfacts and transported them to the USA with the promise that they would be studied and returned. Peru is still waiting, and its government is trying to get the USA University that has them to honour Binghams promise.

The name Machu Picchu comes from the mountain which had been given that name by the local people for many centuries.

Over the years since 1911 and still ongoing, the Peruvian authorities are uncovering and restoring this Inca city. They believe that up to 100,000 people lived here. It has a township area, terraces for agriculture, storage buildings, Royal enclosures, temples and towers, a guardhouse, gates, pathways and steps, and an astrological observatory. The sun was especially important to the Incas and they used the observarory to determine what time of year it was for sowing seeds, planting crops and harvesting.

The whole thing is a remarkable feat of stone masonry and building. Whilst it follows the contours of the mountan according to Incan custom, it was clearly a complete city providing all the requirements of the sophisticated and complex society that the Incas clearly sustained and continued to develop.

Am now in the little modern town at the bottom of the mountain, leaving at 3.30 by bus for Cusco where we have a "free" day tomorrow so no update planned for a couple of days.

Saturday we´re off the Lake Tittyhaha I think.

All the Best,
John