Maccu Picchu, Peru. One of the Wonders of the World, perhaps the heart of magnificence.
It was an adventure we greatly anticipated, crossing our fingers and holding for the moment of arrival. We have always heard of it. It was a city of the royals, of religion, and not even the wrath of time could tear it down. Once upon a time, the buildings built miraculously from the materials of a nearby stone quarry were covered with thatched rooves and occupied by priests and princesses. Can you imagine if the jungle hadn't hidden this beauty from the destructive Spaniards?
We boarded the train from the center of Cusco and rode through the golden countryside to the base of Machu Picchcu.
From there we began our seven-hour hike on the Inka Trail. It was not easy. With the high altitude and intense heat, we were definitely having to push ourselves. Poor Rachel was probably so annoyed with me for making her carry the backpack longer, and I felt like a wimp, but for whatever reason while my lungs struggled she was doing absolutely fine.
The trail wasn't created moderly for the sake of tourists. In fact, it was made by the Incans and constructed so thin that that we were forced to walk single file unless we wanted to fall to our deaths! That way, were the city to be threatened by invaders, their progress would be so slow that hopefully the Incans could have time to hear and build a defense.
Being from the desert, I found the nature to be esquisitely beautiful. The flower above is called the Forever Young Orchid. We were in the middle of a misty jungle and even stopped a few times to pop some tiny rainforest strawberries in our mouths.
We were so excited to reach some ruins. Built in the 1400's, the stone buildings remained as a ghost to faintly echo the lives of many royal families.
The huge terraces carved so perfectly into the mountainside must have spent years to build.
And then halfway there we had an encounter with one of these lovely things. I suddenly became quite grateful for what I didn't even realize were luxuries back home.
After seven hours of endless treking, we were thrilled to arrive at the Sun Gate. From there we had a fabulous view of the ancient city. And can you see the face in the mountain? I can't. But supposedly you can see a god's profile just behind the ruins.
Ironically, it began to rain and hail right the minute we were finished with our hike. We found a crevice in the rock to shield our heads and laughed in happy accomplishment.
To put the cherry on top, there was a gorgeous double rainbow painted across the sky, streaking over the sight of the great mountains.
After that we went home by bus, and came back up again by bus the next morning to explore. They play a lot of American music in Peru, and Justin Bieber's As Long as You Love Me came on as the giant vehicle clung to the tiny switchback road. Back-forth-back-forth while the clouds darkened the sky and the rain was probably making the road very slick. I don't have an issue with heights, but I remember thinking my mom would have had a heart attack if she could see the giant plummet just a few few away.
So this stone was carved so perfectly that the four corners aligned perfectly north, south, east, and west, and for only forty seconds of seven days a year, it would form a shadow that aligned exactly with three stars {and the number three is important because of the classifications of the sun, moon, and stars, or the Inka, nobles, and peasants} and represented the Quechua kingdom and religion. These people were brilliant! But a few years ago, a beer company wanted to film a comercial and illegally brought up a thousand-pound crane. Well, something happened and the crane managed to knock off a huge chunk of the holy rock. Are you kidding me? This is history we are talking about! Destroyed!
While on the trail, we stumbled upon an alter built for llama sacrifice. Now, their descendents roam freely, grazing nonchalantly as if it's no big deal that they have the most spectacular home ever.
This is the type of stones the Quechua people built this city with.
