FANTASTICO TRIP TO CUSCO AND MACHU PICCHU!

     We had an awesome 10 days with the Standings and the Fitzgeralds on a trip to Cusco, Machu Picchu, and the Sacred Valley.  This area is rich in Inca history and ruins and we were blessed with outstanding guides who shared their wealth of knowledge with us.  We also attended a zone conference in the Cusco Mission and taught a health class and saw many missionaries needing medical advice.  We had a nice lunch with President and Sister Calderon and their office elders over looking the main square in Cusco.  Steve, also, met several doctors for lunch, the following day, to discuss the clinics where the missionaries go.
     Hope you enjoy seeing the beauty, the grandeur, and the magnificence of this part of the world!

 The Standings and Fitzgeralds arrived to Lima late on Thursday and stayed at the Marriott Hotel in Miraflores.  The following day we met them and enjoyed a visit to the Inca Markets by Parke Kennedy!  That evening we had a great dinner together and talked about the plans for the next week! 

 The food was fabulous and it was so great to have our friends visit us in Lima and travel with us for a whole week!

 When we arrived in Cusco the following day we were greeted by this sweet girl dressed in native costume!  Cusco is at 11,000 feet and so we all took altitude pills to help us adjust to the thin air!

We stayed at the Eco Inn in Cusco across from a lovely fountain and Peruvian market!  

Peruvian market had more than a hundred shops!

Eco Inn and fountain below.

The hotel was bright with colorful flowers and pottery!

After checking in, we took a tour of the city and started at Coricanch, the Inca sun temple and was once covered with thick plates of solid gold.  After sacking it, the Spaniards built a Dominican church over its seamless walls.  The doors were immense and very unusual.

We were greeted by many women and children in native costumes!

Don't you love the brilliant colors in their clothing?  I love being one of the taller women!

Elizabeth is the tallest hermana!

I got to hold this darling lamb and enjoyed talking to this sweet little woman.

This was the main courtyard of the Sun Temple.

 This was an example of how the Inca stones were laid without mortar!

Hilda was our Peruvian guide and was very knowledgable and proud of her culture and heritage.

A gold leaf representation of the universe!

Look at the square solid Inca walls that hold up the Spanish built church.

You can see where these stones had handles to be used for movement and then chipped off to make a smooth surface.

Another great doorway!

Love these unique doors and doorways!

We headed out of Cusco into the hills to Tambomachay.  It is the ceremonial center for the Incan water rituals.

 Elizabeth stopped to pet the alpacas!

It was great to see this herd of alpacas on the hills!

The Inca took a natural spring and painstakingly channeled the water through three waterfalls, which continues to work perfectly together today.  The Inca worshipped water as a vital life element!

This was the lookout tower to protect the spring!

By the spring, many artisans sold their creations!

We watched this friendly woman spinning the alpaca hair and feed them some grass!

On the way back to Cusco we waited while a herd of sheep crossed the road!

  This is a typical mud home that you find in the mountain region and if you look closely you will see two small ceramic bulls in the middle of the roof that protect the home!  I loved the donkey!

Our last stop, on Saturday, was the Sacsayhuaman Inca ruins which showed huge bolders and rock structures just one mile outside of Cusco!  We were also greeted by many families dressed in their native clothes, hoping to get pictures with us to earn some dinero!

How could the Incas move these stone blocks?  They must have been very clever!

This was our guide Hilda telling us about the history of this area!

On Sunday morning, we attended the Tullumayu Stake Center for church.  We were pleased to see some of our missionaries from the CCM.

This was a group of young single adults!

This is Javier and his family who traveled with us to Ollanta train station.

Another picture of some young single adults in front of the newly remodeled stake center!  Most of our buildings are the most beautiful buildings in the cities.

After church we returned to our hotel to check out and headed up to the main town Plaza De Armas.

The 17th-century Iglesia de la Compania.  Jesuits built this church on top of a solid Inca palace.  Below is a different view of this ornate structure.

This beautiful fountain is in the center of the plaza.

The flowers were especially lovely and this is the most beautiful Plaza De Armas we have seen!

This is Cusco's baroque Cathedral took more than a century to build, but earthquakes and damp weather has taken a serious toll on this church.  It was not built like the Inca buildings.

All were enjoying the plaza that day!

 The Spanish architecture is everywhere and adds must charm to Cusco!

We traveled by van to the city of Ollantaytambo to take the train to Aguas Calientes.  Barb and Jim, Dean and Elizabeth, and this other young couple joined us.  Come to find out, this young man had known Trevor and actually hired him to work for Adobe.  What a small world we live in!

It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed the sights and good company!

Look for the donkey in the picture!

This was the terrain between Cusco and Ollantaytambo, a small city by the Urubamba River.   We boarded a small train there, because the tracks had been damaged between Cusco and this city.   This was the PERURAIL! 

We traveled for 1 1/2 hours along the Urubamba River and by the time we arrived to Aguas Calientes, it was dark!  It was great to have a porter haul our bags to our FANTASTICO hotel, the Inca Terra!

There were three beds to choose from, so we chose the middle one!

We loved the rustic design and the bright weavings and colors!  We could have stayed here for a long time!

 Cool bathroom!

 We could have jumped across all three beds, but we restrained ourselves, because people were staying below us!

Wait til you see this place in the daylight!

Look at this awesome ceiling!

We arrived just in time to get some dinner and enjoyed these great desserts and the ambiance of this Peruvian lodge!

This was our favorite wall in the dining room.

Part of the entrance to the dining room.

Part of the lobby of Inca Terra

After a great night's sleep, we awoke early and could now see the jungle-like beauty of this hotel complex.  

In the morning we could finally see the terrain, trees, flora and fauna!

This was our casa!

It was breath-taking to see the terrain in daylight!

This was the registration lobby!

There were paths and bungalos in all directions.

Lots of waterfalls and amazing variety of plants, trees, and flowers!

After breakfast, we walked down these stairs to catch the bus to Machu Picchu.

We walked past the train tracks and down through town to board the bus.

The men were walking ahead of us.

We stopped to take this picture of ducks and one was stuck in a pot!

The Urubamba River snaked its way past the side of Aguas Calientes

After a spectacular fifteen-minute ride up the slope to Machu Picchu, the bus dropped us off in the parking lot in front of the Sanctuary Lodge (5 star hotel, but we liked ours better!)

We've arrived at the entrance!

We walked around the first bend and read the dedications, mentioning Hiram Bingham, an American explorer who led an expedition into the Urubamba Valley, looking for a "lost city of the Incas".  Instead, he found Machu Picchu!

As we rounded the path the fog was still lifting and we could only see part of the ruins!

We walked thru this passage way and could see most of the vista!  And below is what we first saw!!!   The ruins of one of the "seven wonders of the world"!  The fog continued to lift to expose the full view!

The first thing you notice are the amazing terraces made to stabilize the terrain and for growing crops and pastures for animals.

 We had a great guide, named Willington, who shared a wealth of history and information with us!  The great Inca ruler Pachacuti built this royal retreat for his family and lived here during the fifteenth century.  They left this beautiful place in the 1930's when the Spaniards conquered the Inca Empire.  There is no evidence that the Spanish conquerers ever discovered Machu Picchu, because it was untouched when Hiram Bingham found it covered in jungle vines and growth.

We had two amazing professional photographers, named Jim and Elizabeth, and I was the junior novice, so hope you enjoy my meager attempt to capture this FANTASTICO site!

The adventure begins!

When the fog lifted, this is what we saw!  Machu Picchu is built on a narrow ridge between Machu Picchu Mountain and Huayna Picchu Mountain (the cone shaped mountain) at an elevation of 8,040 feet.  The ridge drops off steeply on both sides to the Urubamba River 1,500 feet below, which circles the site on three sides!  In Inca times, you would have traveled a week on the Inca Trail from Cusco to Machu Piccchu.  Hope you enjoy the mystical beauty of this fabulous Inca city!

Part of the irrigation system that still works today!

Isn't this incredible and beautiful!

 At the top you can see the Guardhouse, which has a thatched roof, and overlooks this entire area!

Machu Picchu is highly structured.  There is the Agricultural Sector that is separated from the Urban Sector by the city walls.  Each sector is divided into classes of living spaces, according to the status of the people.  So, there are small living areas, as well as, larger and more spacious dwellings.

 Note the traditional Inca windows and storage polygonal shapes.

This home had two levels made by wood poles serving as the second floor.

 The doors and windows would have been covered by woven coverings!

This was the bed space, which would have been filled with dried grasses and bedding.

A great view of the Inca polygonal shaped windows.  Below the square blocks used denote an upper class house!

We had an amazing experience exploring these sectors and passage ways!

Look at the cylinder-shaped rocks that were used to tie down the thatched roofs!

Every section of stairs gave us a new view!

This was one of the many cooking sheds to feed all the people.  No one cooked in their own homes.

Every section had its own texture and beauty!

This green pasture was used for games and large gatherings.  It was surrounded by these large terraces, that served as a protection and sound system!  You could hear echoes and other people talking at the top.

Everywhere we looked, we were surrounded by the Andes Mountains.  This was the entrance to the Sacred Plaza.  I looked back and Steve and Jim are having a quiet discussion against the backdrop of the quarry.

This is the East wall of the Principle Temple.  Because of inadequate preparation of the foundation, you can see the wall to the right has fallen, which was not visible in any other area.  The Inca building and superb foundations are world-known.

Against the back wall you can see a large alter.  This temple was never completed, because the Incas moved South to avoid the invading Spaniards.

The Temple of the Three Windows with enormous polygonal stone windows!  All the temple areas are built with perfect smooth and tight fitting construction.

The backside of the urban section with the terraces to the right, where we entered!

 This is a great look at the quarry and the small Guardhouse at the top!

This is the main urban section!  Try to imagine these dwellings covered with thatched roofs!

Another great view of Huayna Picchu Mountain.  There is a 2 hour hike to the top, but we missed the signups for tickets.  We'll try to do this hike in October, when we return for the Mission President's Conference held in Cusco!

Steve got several calls on the mountain for medical advice!

A mystical sight!

 We were There!!!

More breathtaking views of Machu Picchu!

The view from the Guardhouse!

 These are additional terraces to the south of the Principal Temple and overlooks the playfield.

You can see the rounded rocks where they would attach their thatched roofs!

Jim Fitzgerald was like a "kid in a candy store" and must have taken close to 1,000 pictures!

We had so much fun exploring together!

This was one of the bigger two-level homes.

FANTASTICO!!!

Look at all the switch backs we took to get to the top!  That was a bit scary!

Another view of the Guardhouse!

We met up with Trevors' friends, again.

This is the Temple of the Condor.  The large, flat, carved condor rock and the natural "rock wings" behind!  Can you see the "wings" below?

A two level home!

Willington was a great guide and was very knowledgable and patient with all the photo stops!

 I can't decide which photo I like the best of Machu Picchu!

Jim had no fear getting close to the edge.  He must really trust the Inca builders!  You can see the Urubamba River far below!

We hiked along these massive rock walls to get close to the Inca Bridge below!

There is a metal rope attached to the rocks and we used it!

 Jim gets a close photo of the Inca Bridge made of logs, which is closed to hikers

This was the trail coming back from the Inca Bridge.   I would NOT bring my grandkids on this trail!

A perfect photo of the backside of the ruins!  We just returned from hiking to the Inca Bridge!

We all enjoyed these Peruvian flute players during our buffet lunch at the Sanctuary Restaurant.  Then the girls decided to head back to town and the boys wanted to hike an hour to the Gate of the Sun.  This was an important checkpoint along the Inca Trail for traffic control.  This is the famous Inca Trail that leads to Cusco!  Some friendly alpacas and llamas greeted them!

Jim got some close up photos and looks calm with his new friend!

The stone path is the Inca Trail!

You can see the stone path they walked up and the Urubamba River below!

Now you can see the switch backs we traveled to get to the top.

This was the Gateway to the Sun that connects to the Inca Trail!

Steve took a picture of these Andean mountain flowers!

This is a carved stone shrine at a check station and was halfway to the Gate of the Sun.

As the sun was setting, Steve, Jim, and Dean returned back to Aguas Calientes to join us girls for our last evening at Inca Terra.  What an amazing experience we all shared at Machu Picchu!!!

 

We feel very blessed to be able to travel around to see the many beautiful treasures here in Peru!  Machu Picchu is Peru's greatest archeological treasure and we will always remember the beauty of this part of the Lord's vineyard!