Inca Trail - Part Two

We are actually back in the states and finally starting to recover from the flight back. It seems that the more I travel the more I've really begun to hate flying. There is something about any flight that just drains you. We actually found a website which ranks every seat on every plane and gives you the best places to sit in the airplane itself. Take a look:

www.seatguru.com

In anycase, from where we left off in the last posting, we had just arrived at our campsite that overlooked the mountains surrounding Machu Picchu. In the picture below one can see the mountains starting to get smaller as one looks east. We are on the edge of the Andes here. The mountains will soon be replaced with the Amazon rain forest and part of the reason some of our pictures are hazy is from the controlled burns the farmers of Amazonia use to cultivate the land.

We slept in a massive rain storm that night. Luckily by the morning it had past - but what a view when the Sun came up! The rain had cleared a good portion of the haze.
We continued along and began to descend into the cloud forest. Near our campsite was the ruins of Phuyupatamarca. This literally means the city of the clouds. It has an impressive assortments of circular towers and water channels. The latter being a strong hallmark of any ruin. Despite being at approx 11k feet and having to wear a light jacket, I was surprised to see so many Mosquitos. They are tiny little buggers - hard to see but pack a hell of sting. As Juan, our guide, would say - they even make the Puma cry.

From here the vegetation got progressive more dense. Every turn were a multitude of trees covered with an assortment of epiphytes. Orchids seemed to line the path and Juan went so far as to point out the ones that were used as hallucinogens during the time of the Inca and even to this day.

The path itself became quite interesting as there literally is a drop of hundreds of feet if one is to fall off. Not only would one die, they would likely never find your body again. That said, the views were outstanding when one can find an opening in the bush.

A few hours down the path we came to our last major ruin prior to Machu Picchu itself - Winay Wayna. The name means "forever young" and is named after an Orchid that grows through out the ruin. This was one of my favorite sites. The farming terraces were concave to help preserve heat and allowed the Inca to grow a multitude of crops. The upper portion of the ruin holds a fascinating temple - like structure and the living quarters are large enough to feel like you are getting lost. However, making your way deep into the structure itself you arrive at the royal quarters. At the far end is a rounded room with classical trapezoidal windows that over look the valley below. From here you can see the waterfall that thunders down the mountain side. I highly recommend bringing a small lunch and just sitting here and taking in the grandeur.

Take some time here. The site itself is worth exploring from top to bottom. Once you leave you get back on the Inca trail and its only a few more hours of hiking to Intipunku - the Sun Gate of Machu Picchu.

The final leg of the journey becomes a bit easier as you have descended about 2-3k feet from your starting point. The oxygen is a bit richer and I felt like I had a lot more energy. By the late afternoon we had made our way to Intipunku. It was here in 1911 - a hundred years ago - that American explorer, Hiram Bingham, first got a glimpse of the famed "Lost City of the Inca." It was here that I had an important question for Maria . . .