A STRONG LEGGED AND SURE FOOTED PEOPLE

August 20th, 2011

On Saturday morning we checked out of the Pirwa Hostel in Agua Calientes, but left our overnight bags in their storage room for the day. We found a Mexican restaurant that was open for breakfast, and then went to purchase bus tickets for our second trek up to Machu Picchu. The Doctor bought the tickets, and - even with a major company that sells bus tickets all day long - he again ran into trouble with the currency. The didn't want to break whatever denomination bill he had, and not having any coins himself, he asked me for some. After the incident over the coins earlier in the week, I just kind of rolled my eyes, but I really couldn't help as I had no coins either, and I told him so. He asked me again, and I was beginning to wonder exactly what his issue was; What Part Of I DON'T Have ANY Coins Was He Not Understanding??? I had to explain to him a couple times that I had NO change. Finally the woman at the counter found some change somewhere, and we were able to complete the transaction.

Even when we got on the bus, The Doctor still seemed unclear about my change situation. I was really beginning to think he had some sort of Peruvian coin fixation. He seemed certain that I must have some change, as I had paid for breakfast at the Mexican restaurant, and was certain the woman there had given me coins with my change. I told him I had left those as a tip, but he still seemed skeptical, so I reached in my pocket to prove my point . . . and there was a s/5.00 coin . . . which was all we had needed at the bus station. I was very tempted to just keep my mouth shut, but I could not bring myself to be deceitful with The Doctor, so I pulled it out and showed it to him. He broke out into a hysterical fit of laughter, which I tried to sit through with as much dignity as I could muster. I guess he felt vindicated because I had been so adamant about not having any change, so I let him enjoy his moment.

The ride up the mountain was just as "exhilarating" as the previous day. Lots of narrow curves and sharp drop-offs. We survived though, and made it to the top in once piece. (Below: This view from Machu Picchu looks down on the road the bus travels, and gives you an idea of its many sharp turns.) 

After going through the entrance gate, we stamped our passports again, even though we had already done it the previous day.

Our visit to Machu Picchu the day before had been under clear and sunny skies. On our second day there was a very low cloud cover, but the ruins were no less beautiful because of it. In fact, they took on a whole new look, with blankets of fog sweeping in and swirling around the mountains.

Terraces and buildings would be visable one minute, and then completely obscured the next by the swift moving clouds.

Occasionally there was a very light rain, more of a mist really, and it was a bit cooler than the previous day, but we actaully felt lucky to be able to experience Machu Picchu on two days that were so very different from each other. Of course this meant taking a lot of pictures of the same things we had photographed the day before, because they looked so very different with the low clouds. We were glad that we had spent a good part of the previous day on higher parts of Machu Picchu, as those views looking down would not have been so good on the second day.

We spent a few hours exploring the main parts of the complex. In retrospect, it would have been wise to have hired one of the guides at the main entrance to show us around, or to at least have picked up a detailed map of the ruins. There are few signs or markers, so for the most part we only had a vague idea of what we were actually looking at. Generally it was easy to differentiate between a dwelling, and say, a temple, but I am sure additional information would have been helpful, and made it far more interesting. I think we both kind of wanted to experience it on our own. In a way, we were like Hiram Bingham, trying to figure things out for ourselves - though I know of course he would have more of a foundation of knowledge about the Incas upon which to base his conclusions. We were pretty much just winging it. Some things seemed fairly obvious - at least to us. Several times we would round a series of 3 or 4 corners ending in a very small room with a drainage hole in the wall near the floor.. We assumed these were bathrooms, which would indicate they had some sort of indoor plumbing, even perhaps a primitive type of "toilet". Whether we were correct or not I have no idea.

On that note, it is hard for me to understand how anyone can actually "know" anything about Machu Picchu.  In my opinion everything is pretty much just a theory anyway. No one even seems certain as to what Machu Piccu was in the first place - I've heard theories saying it was an agricultural community, some type of ceremonial grounds, or even just a "vacation resort". If we don't even know it's purpose, how can we know what the specific buildings were used for?

One case in point was the structure known as The Temple Of The Condor. From above, the shape of the building does resemble the large bird, which was sacred in their culture.

Much of the interior is divided up into very small chambers; at least one was little more than a cave which was accessible only through a low and narrow crawl space.

I overheard one guide lecturing to his group about the Temple, and saying how when Bingham first saw it, he decided it was a prison. The guide went on to say "But why would they have kept prisoners in the Temple of The Condor". My question would be, how do you know for certain it was in fact a temple? Both are just theories, and for my money I tend to lean more towards Bingham's prison theory. The guide also argued that the bones of both llamas and guinea pigs had been found in the small cave like room, proving it had been a chamber for offering sacrifices to the Condor. Why couldn't those have been the remains of meals given to prisoners in solitary confinement. I am sure the belief is that since the building was shaped like a Condor, it must have been built to honor their sacred bird; but who says they couldn't have designed it that way so the prisoners would always be under the watchful eye of the Condor? My knowledge of the Incan culture is close to non-existent, and I am sure the archeologists who have studied their culture and the ruins at Machu Piche have a lot to base their theories on, but at the end of the day they are still just that - theories! (Below:  The Doctor exploring The Temple Of The Condor . . . or is it a prison???)

I am reminded of David Macaulay's "Motel Of The Mysteries". Written from the point of view of hundreds of years in the future, the book chronicles the archeological discovery of a mysterious ancient temple complex. The explanations for the items inside the temple seem to make perfect sense, but the accompanying illustrations reveal to the reader that it is actually the ruins of a cheap motel. The altar is a television set, the burial chamber is a bathtub, the ceremonial headdress a toilet seat lid. It is intended to be humorous of course, but I think it is also an interesting commentary on how much of what we "know" about ancient cultures is probably little more than guesswork.

We climbed up to the ritual stone known as Intiuatana, or "The Hitching Post Of The Sun". Twice a year the sun sits directly above the stone, casting no shadow at all, and researchers believe it was some sort of astronomic calendar or clock. The stone itself was roped off, but was quite popular, with people crowding around to get their picture taken in front of it. Many held their hands a few inches from the surface, as if trying to absorb some sort of energy from it.

The Doctor of course wanted a picture of his Pyramid Of Doom sitting on it, but there were just too many people around. We sat and waited for a few minutes, in the foolish hope there might be a lull in the steady stream of tourists circling around it, but it did not appear this would happen any time soon. There was a guard nearby, and he seemed to be trying to keep people moving, and he soon approached and motioned for us to be on our way.

As we started to descend I noticed a guide standing rather nonchalantly on the very edge of the stair wall of the steps going down. He was waiting for his group, but his perch was quite precarious and looked very dangerous. After he had moved on, I decided that if he could do it, so could I, and I stood in the same spot and had The Doctor take my picture. It was pretty nerve racking. The fall might not have killed me, but I might have wished it had . . .

After I was done I offered to take The Doctor's picture on the same spot. He started to get into position, but in a near panic I called him away from the edge, and made him take the small pack off his back. It didn't weigh much, but I didn't want any added weight, no matter how light, that might pull him backwards over the edge. After removing the pack, he got back into position and I quickly snapped the picture. I can honestly say I felt much more fearful with him on the ledge than when I was on it myself. I would never have forgiven myself if he had taken a tumble.

Such risky behavior might not have been advisable. Just a few minutes before this we had seen emergency personal with a stretcher tending to someone, though it wasn't clear if they had fallen or were having breathing or heart problems.

We had also seen someone when we first arrived at Machu Picchu that day who looked in pretty bad shape due to exertion, and I expect they had to be carried out on a stretcher as well.

The Doctor had expressed a desire to find some place to just sit for awhile and absorb his surroundings and meditate. After walking around inside the complex for a couple hours, he found a wall over looking the valley beneath us and the surrounding mountains.

I left him with his thoughts and retreated a few yards away, where - being a less reflective soul than he - I simply sat and wrote post cards.

After The Doctor had sufficiently contemplated the meaning of life, we continued on exploring the ruins. One thing we had begun to realize was that the ancient inhabitants of Machu Picchu must surely have been a strong legged and sure footed people. Everywhere we turned there were more stairs, and these were usually very narrow and steep.

I joked at one point that the Incas had not abandoned the city, they had all merely fallen to their deaths. Though lower than we had been at Lake Titicaca, we were still at a high altitude. The climbing would have been an effort under normal circumstances, but with the thin air it was even more exhausting. Still we did quite a bit of it, as we wanted to see all we possibly could and leave no stone unturned . . . or unphotographed for that matter.

When it appeared we had seen most everything (and I know we probably didn't even come close) The Doctor asked me if there was anything specific I wanted to do before we left. I told him about all I could think of was to find and spend time with some Llamas, as we hadn't seen any close up that day. It didn't take long before we spied a group a ways up (of course they would be UP!) form us. It took us awhile to get to them as we attempted going up one way only to encounter some walled off terrace or an area that was off limits, and had to go back and look for another route. Of course they were always moving, and in the end I think we ended up finding others than the ones we had initially started out trying to reach. But I didn't care which ones they were, I just wanted to mingle with them again before leaving.

We wanted to eat and do a little more shopping before catching the train back to Cusco that evening, so after some time with the llamas, we slowly made our way down from Machu Picchu. It had truly been everything we had hoped for and more. I had been strangely captivated by Peru, even some of its less attractive areas (like Juliaca for instance) and Lake Titicaca had left me spellbound. From early on I had known I would not mind coming back to Peru again some day, perhaps when we had more time, and with a little better planning - now that we knew what to expect. I had hinted at this a couple times, but the Doctor seemed less enthusiastic about such a plan than I. But after seeing Machu Picchu and being overwhelmed with its beauty and mystery, even he was warming up more and more to the idea. As interesting as I found many aspects of the trip, there was no doubt in either of our minds that Machu Picchu was the highlight.

Another spine chilling bus ride brought us back down the mountain. As we drove along the river rapids after entering Agua Calientes, I saw a few people gathered along the riverbank. They appeared to be trying to pull something out of the water. The bus was moving kind of fast, so I didn't get a good look, but it appeared to be a llama. Whatever it was, I got the impression it was dead, but perhaps it was just injured or trapped in the rapids.

After we got off the bus we walked around for a little bit looking for a place to eat. We went to check out a place called Toto's House; we ended up not eating there, but right in front of the restaurant was a little dog napping dangerously close to the rail road tracks.

Other than the buses that go up to Machu Picchu and back there are no cars in Agua Calientes, but the train goes right through the town. No sooner had we crossed the track ourselves than I saw a train was coming in our direction. The dog continued to lay there, his nose just inches away from the rail. I began calling to him softly, and finally managed to coax him away from the oncoming train. I suspect the dog was used to the train, and perhaps even had some sort of relationship with it, for as it reached us he turned and began barking at it and chased it as it went by. He may not have ever been in any danger from it,  maybe had just been waiting for his nemesis to pass by, probably something he does every day.


We ate lunch at an outside table at a cute little restaurant not far from our hostel. I ordered a pizza; my cheese intake had been minimal up to this point, but here I finally broke my "Don't Eat The Cheese" rule big time. The menu described my pizza as being made with "Nestle Milk and Tropical Fruit". I was curious about the "Nestle Milk" part (none of the other pizzas seemed to mention it as an ingredient), and I am still not sure exactly what it referred to. Maybe the cheese was made from it, maybe it was in the crust. In any case it was very delicious, and was topped with pineapples, bananas and mangos.

While we ate a cat came down the sidewalk, and passed under our table, barely stopping to say hi before continuing on his way.

We returned to the hostel, picked up our overnight bags and headed to the train station. We had allowed enough time to spend a little while at the large vendor market right outside the depot, and did some shopping there.

When making the train reservations, I was unable to book our return all the way to Poroy; all that was available was a train to the town of Ollantaytambo (which was such a mouthful we simply called it "The Big O"), about an hour from our destination of Cusco. And this was only available on the "Vista Dome" class train, which was more expensive than the "Expedition" class train we had taken on the way. The Vista Dome was supposed to have larger overhead windows for a better view of the mountains, but I didn't think they were big enough to justify the extra price. Plus, most of our trip would be after dark so there was really no view anyway. And I was even more unhappy when we discovered that The Doctor and I had somehow ended up in separate seats. He had a window seat, and I had an aisle seat across from him and one row up.

Shortly after the train started they brought us a light snack consisting of a small pasta salad, a little piece of cake, and some Coca Tea. A bit later there was a pre-recorded message playing over the train's PA system giving the cultural background of a traditional dance, some kind of "Dance Of The Devil". I wasn't paying much attention, as I assumed they were leading up to a sales pitch for a DVD or something along that line. Suddenly, I heard screams coming from the back of the train. I turned around to see a man in a mask and colorful costume gyrating wildly up the aisle, doing the "Dance Of The Devil". He went up and down the aisle a few times, and pulled a couple women up to dance with him.

This was followed by a little Peruvian Fashion Show, featuring a male and female member of the train crew. The "Devil" and another crew member helped with their quick clothing changes in the back of the train.

The female model was greeted with appropriate applause, but every time the male model came down the aisle he received a great deal of cheering and cat calls, (mostly - but not entirely - from the women) to his considerable embarrassment.

  It was all quite entertaining, and I felt a little better about having paid more for the Vista Dome train, considering a "show" was included. Of course, after they were done modeling, the two models made they way down the aisle trying to sell the fashions they had been wearing, but I don't think they had many customers.

When we arrived at "The Big O" we disembarked the train and made our way up the main road. We didn't have a definite plan on how we were getting back to Cusco from there, but knew there was a bus service that cost about s/10.00 per person, or if the bus were full (as the guidebook had said it might be) we could hire a taxi for around s/40.00. We passed several taxi drivers offering rides to Cusco, but we kept walking until we reached the "bus station", which was little more than a small booth and a parking lot full of large vans. We were hustled into one of the vans; we were the only ones in that van, and we waited for several minutes while other full vans pulled out and left. Finally, they pulled us off our van and put us in another van that was full except for two seats.

It was only about an hour's drive, but it seemed a lot longer than that. We finally reached Cusco, and were dropped off near the Plaza de Armas. We walked back to the hostel, got our luggage out of the storage room and got settled back into the same room we had had two nights before. We then went back out and walked around for awhile. The Doctor needed more decongestants, so we went back to the same pharmacy where he had purchased some before and stocked up. Shortly after this we heard a lot of commotion, and soon saw a small army of protestors marching down the street. They were organized and relatively peaceful, and were followed by a police car. They carried a couple banners, but they were in Spanish, so we had no idea what was going on.

We looked around for some place to eat, but nothing seemed to grab our attention. Neither of us were terribly hungry, so we finally decided to go back to the Fallen Angel and just get some dessert. As we approached the restaurant I noticed an unmarked car sitting right outside the door with two uniformed police officers sitting in it, their seats slightly reclined. They seemed to be keeping their eye on a little plaza near the restaurant, which as near as I could see was deserted. Being that the Fallen Angel was the closest thing Cusco has to a gay club, and as it was a Sat. night, I wondered if the area was known for gay cruising, and if they police were monitoring for that behavior.

We both got some very delicious desserts, and then headed back to hostel and went to bed.