Empire of the Sun

The age-old salt pools of Salineras.
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The great conquerors of the world, who were they?  The Persians?  The Romans?  The French?  For most of us and our knowledge of history, the answers lie in Europe, Asia Minor, and Asia proper.  But here in South America, a different answer exists.  After the 16th century, the Spanish are included on the list, but long before steel and horsepower entered the continent's history, indigenous people had other troublemakers to worry about.  A race ingenious in astronomy, agriculture, and architecture.  People who could not only capture and claim but also create.  They controlled an empire the size of continental Europe without the wheel or written word.  They were, of course, the Inka.

Our Elevensies spot on day two before the push to the top of the 4200-m Dead Woman's Pass.
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So far, I've spent just ten days in Perú, all of them in the Sacred Valley.  Regrettably, the once mighty capital of Cusco has long since lost the majority of its Inkan identity.  It is the continent's longest continually inhabited city, but many of the current inhabitants are Europeans or other western expats cashing in on the city's newest title - "Gringo Capital of the South".  However, thanks to the wealth of sites within half a day or less, Cusco is deserving of its other working title, the archaeological center of the Americas.  The city itself may be plastered with credit card stickers and hum with languages from around the globe, but with a patient shovel and keen instinct, old Cusco can still be uncovered.  For example, the in-city site of Q'oricancha remains alive, but has new purpose as the foundation of the Iglesia de Santo Domingo.  Removing oneself from the travel agencies and souvenir shops is to find Quechua, the language of the Inkas, very much alive.  And with an open mind and confident wand, the throngs of visitors are erased and colonial Cusco comes to life in the Plazas San Blas, San Francisco, and Armas.

Each day of the trek my excitement gained more and more inertia.

Campsite number one just outside the small village of Wayllabamba.
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Piece by piece, I reconstructed the heart of the Inkan empire.  Within 7km of Cusco are four worthwhile archaeological sites.  Tambomachay is a functioning ceremonial bath still visited by worshipping pilgrims of the old beliefs.  Pukapukara is believed to have sheltered the ninth Inka, Pachakutec, and his close counsel during their frequent hunting trips to the area.  Q'enqo, meaning "zig-zag", is so named for the paths carved into the limestone monolith.  The largest of which delves deeply into the great rock to reveal a llama-sized sacrificial altar carved in relief.  The smallest zig-zags comprise a chaotic network of channels through which blood was poured to fortell the future.

At the top of the 4200m Warmiwañuska, aka "Dead Woman's Pass".
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The most impressive and accessible site from Cusco is Saqsayhuaman.  The dignified and true know its name means "satisfied falcon", yet far more visitors remember its phonetic similarity to "sexy woman".  The Inkas built their cities in the shapes of revered animals.  Cusco's strentgh was exemplified in its puma configuration, and Saqsayhuaman was its head.  After defeating the Inkas in one of the final and most bitter battles, the Spanish removed 80% of the site's stones for use in their own homes.  Yet, the 20% that remains is sufficient to appreciate the skill of Inkan construction and feel the bite of the puma's teeth.

Amazing to think that the majority of these stones were laid by the Incas and have not needed repair.
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By any means other than foot, more than half-a-dozen sites await the Inka-eager traveler.  The four I chose were Pisaq, Moray, Salineras, and Ollantaytambo.  Pisaq and Moray, like many other sites, are characterized by their numerous terraces.  Some terraces were constructed solely for structural support, but those at Pisaq and Moray were built for agricultural development.  At two to three meters in height, each terrace creates its own microclimate and enabled Inkan farmers to develop many new crops.  To this day, these crops remain the most practical contribution to modern Peruvian society.  Of the 4000 types of potato and 800 types of corn the Inkans developed, 2000 and 200, respectively, continue to be grown.

One of the two Andean orchid species we saw along the trail.
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The site of Salineras is typified by its first three letters, S-A-L.  No massive stone blocks nor elaborated carvings will be found here, just lots of salt.  Deep from within the mountain, a highly saline stream flows.  More than a century past, locals created an intricate network of channels and pools to harvest the precious spice.  But it was the Inkas who first discovered it and its incredible flavor-enhancing properties.

Ollantaytambo is my favorite of all Sacred Valley sites.  Impressive is its multi-storey height and expansive width, but more so is it multi-functioned purpose.  As with Pisaq or Moray, its terraces were used as experimental greenhouses.  Unlike its neighbors, Ollantaytambo was also an astronomical observatory.  From atop the highest terrace, Inkan astronomers studied the Milky Way, conveniently aligned with the Sacred Valley in a southeast-northwest orientation, and the dark (absence of stars) constellations within.  It was here they spotted the shapes of the condor, puma, and serpent and deemed the animals as sacred.  It was here they labored to deliver the six massive (40-65 tons) Temple of the Sun blocks from the neighboring mountain.  And it is here on every summer solstice the sun rises from behind the Face of the Inka to commence the still-celebrated festival of the sun, Inti Raymi.

A short walk from Cusco is Saqsayhuaman, one of the most impressive examples of Incan architecture.
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In April of this year, I knew I'd be in Cusco on July 29th.  It was the day I'd reserved to commence one of the world's most sought after treks, the four-day journey on the Camino Inka to Machu Picchu.  Normally, when someone sleeps on the ground and forgoes bathing for a few days, it is seen as budget traveling, but then again, this is no ordinary hiking trip.  However, the long waiting list and expensive costs are justified every day when history is reborn thanks to some of the most intact archaeological sites on the planet.  These were the farms they worked, the rooms where they slept, and the temples in which the Inkas worshipped.  Even the path itself were the stones they laid and walked upon to reach one the empire's greatest cities.

Even more impressive is to realize this is the 20% the Spanish did NOT destroy.
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Each day began early and finished late.  We sixteen would struggle with weight on our backs and lack of air in our lungs as we pushed through the 4000-meter-high passes.  Likewise, we'd relish the breaks at Inkan ruins while our guide, Marcelo, brought them to life or our cook, Eddy, prepared one of his amazing meals.  The days were tiring and long, and yet too short.  I'd dreamt of this experience before my journey ever began and am pleased to say it was living up to its lofty expectation.  Each step was one closer to the famed Lost City.  Each Inkan site employed stones more sacred than the last or channeled a more revered source of water.  Even Pachamama (mother earth) herself grew holier, with a few of us asking for her blessing with offerings of coca leaves.  Like the days prior to a wedding or birthday, the trek was the gradual acceleration of inertial excitement hoping to conclude in an unforgettable main event.

Nearby is the Cristo Blanco, a gift from the Palestinian community.
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The fourth and final morning began at 4am, but it mattered not to someone who had hardly slept.  Today was the Sun Gate.  Today was Waynapicchu.  Today was one of the reasons I had come to South America.  Unfortunately, Pachamama was lazier than I getting out of bed.  On the day we most needed her clear skies, she blanketed the valley in a soupy fog.  We could hardly see 20 meters from the Puerta del Sol, much less the renowned first view of our four-day toil.  Luckily, by the time we descended to the city's border, Pachamama began to bestow upon us her good graces.  Like the unveiling of a newly discovered treasure, the clouds thinned and there she was in all her sunlit glory - Wonder of the World number six, the Lost Inkan City of Machu Picchu.

Amongst the incisors.
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Overcome with glee, I began hopping down terraces and navigating the legions of tourists.  In my euphoric blindness, I lost my tour group.  I spent nearly an hour "searching" for them (read: happily exploring the grounds alone), but would not have cared had it been two.  I was in Machu Picchu with a rapidly ticking clock and could not be bothered with trifling instructions like "stay with your group" or "deposit your bag in storage".  I did find them again, or rather they found me, and together we watched as once again Marcelo was able to take the simple stones of the Hitching Point, Temple of the Sun, or Homes of the Royals and inject them full of life.  On the grass of the Plaza Principal, he cut us loose.  Beat and poised in a delicious sun, most of my group was content to stay put, but not me.  With the time remaining before our final rendezvous in Aguas Calientes, I was determined to see it all, including what I had missed that morning.  I charged back up the hill to the Sun Gate for the view I would not be denied.  I raced back down again and through the less trodden paths of the national park, surprised that even in this most visited of attractions, private places fit for reflection still existed.

A good view of Saqsayhuaman's pointy teeth.
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And then, with weighty reluctance, I walked out.  I looked back several times wondering if I ought to stay until closing time, thus abandoning my group and my train ticket back to Cusco.  But I realized added time would begin that disappointing transition from spectacular to commonplace.  Any wonder, any setting one can grow accustomed to, and I did not wish that for my Machu Picchu.  My time had finished in lieu of another's (perhaps yours, reader), but it will be remembered and revisited through the words of my journal and the visions in my photographs.  I hope I've recorded enough of each.