Up at 5:30 am again. We got our backpacks together for the day’s events. I could not find my Gore-Tex rain jacket and couldn’t figure out where I might have left it. This will be a long, demanding day. We were given a choice. We could take the van to the train and go direct to Machu Picchu. The other option was to take the van further to Olantaytombo, tour that sight, and then catch the train to Machu Picchu. We opted to go to Olantaytombo first. I turned out to be a good choice. Olantaytombo is a ruin that is not as large as Machu Picchu but in some ways is more impressive. Our guide was a young man named Edouardo who claimed to be descended from a tribe in Peru known for its warriors. Yet, he had spent time in Saskatoon, SK. I didn’t get a chance to ask him how that happened.
The pre-Incas and the Incas were incredible engineers. They lived in the Andes Mountains which is the second youngest mountain ranch in the world to the Himalayas. The pre-Incas and Incas terraced these forbidding mountains for agriculture, security and to construct temples. They had an absolute work ethic and were amazing planners and engineers. To build Olantytombo they quarried and hauled rocks up to 25 tons down one side of the valley and up the other side. In order to do this they apparently built what would look like a wooded railroad. They were wooden ties spaced close together with wooden rails on top. Using poles as levers and the ties to prevent the poles from slipping they essentially invented the cog railroad. The rocks got inched along, 10 feet a day might be good progress.
The amazing thing is how precisely carved and polished these rocks are. They used no mortar. Each rock was cut and polished to fit precisely with the adjacent rock. This was not a matter of stacking rocks with right angles. Seams were not at precise distances and not all angles were straight. The gap between the rocks is maybe 1/16 of an inch whether straight or curved. The Incas make the Egyptians look like common bricklayers.
Our guide claimed that the Spanish muskets were no match for the Incan warriors. He had with him a sling that he demonstrated. It is a long woven cord with a thumbhole and a pouch for a stone. The Inca warrior could put a stone in it and sling it at 60 mph with accuracy. The Spanish musket was very inaccurate and took a long time to reload. When the guide snapped that thing it gave off the crack of a whip. It’s easy to see how Spanish soldiers could walk into an ambush for which they were totally unprepared.
Off to Machu Picchu. The train we took wasn’t the common train. It is a luxurious train named the Hiram Bingham (the first person to scientifically explore Machu Picchu). The train is operated by the company that operates the Orient Express. It was quite a luxury to ride this. The food and service were outstanding.
We arrived at Machu Picchu, gathered with our guides in small groups, and started the tour. The weather was perfect. Machu Picchu covers a large area. The mountain it is on and the mountains in it’s view are spectacular. When the peasants directed Hiram Bingham to the area it was totally overgrown with vegetation. All of the rock that makes it look so spectacular had to be uncovered. As we saw, workers are always busy getting rid of excess vegetation that wants to overgrow it. There are undoubtedly other areas that can be uncovered but that will have to happen in time.
Did I say the weather was perfect? Well, that didn’t last long. Out of nowhere it started raining. I figured on getting a little damp but didn’t begin to imagine that the rain wouldn’t let up for 3 hours. We got soaked. The area gets 70 inches of rain a year and we are in the rainy season. Thinking that it would let up there were times when I could see my shadow but it was still raining. My camera was put away in my backpack but that provided limited protection. I got some nice photo but I missed a lot because I didn’t want to risk the camera. Thankfully, it made it through.
We made it through the tour and went back to the restaurant for coffee. The 4 hour train ride back on the Hiram Bingham would have been great except we were wet and chilled. Getting back to the hotel we hung out our wet clothes. I thought I would hang up my wet jacket in the closet and there was my Gore-Tex jacket. I knew I hadn’t put anything in the closet and didn’t think to look there. The cleaning staff had hung it up. We took hot showers but that didn’t do a lot to alleviate the chill.
Overall, it was a wonderful but challenging day.
Eduardo with his sling.
An example of the precise rock cutting and fitting.
The interior of the Hiram Bingham.
The main area of Machu Picchu.