After a bumpy 7 hour bus ride from Puno, crossing a high Andes pass at 4300m and passing through 'Kusipata' town ( much to Suvi's amusement ), we found ourselves in the ancient Inka capital of Cusco.....a great place be and perfect base for exploring ancient Inka settlements in nearby Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.
Cusipata - Finnish 'Kusipata' - English 'Pisspot' :-)
On the lash - trying to find Carter Table at the Cross Keys bar in the Plaza De Armas, but failing.
Storm clouds gathering!
Suvi with the wine menu!
Mucking about in Plaza de Armas with Georgina and Eddie.
Here comes the rain again...
...we headed for a nearby bar for happy hour! Also to celebrate Georgina's birthday.
One of the less aesthetically pleasing areas of Cusco near the bus station...raw sewage flowing under here!
2 Soles for a great view of Suvi in the park below!
Outskirts of Cusco from my lofty perch.
Massive Inka hill fortress above Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley.
Further down the Sacred Valley - another high Andes pass on our bone rattling route towards Aguas Calientes, gateway to Machu Picchu.
Enjoying the train....the last part of the journey to Aguas Calientes, nestled in a deep valley below Machu Picchu.
Alighting Aguas Calientes amongst restaurants, bars, rail workers and tourists.
This strange creature landed next to Suvi's leg during happy hour that evening :-)
The main event! Next morning and our first sighting of the Lost City....just how we imagined Machu Picchu to be - shrouded in dawn mists.
Neighbouring peaks appeared and then disappeared in the early morning gloom.
Great view!
Terracing, Inka style.
View of the valley floor through the cloud.
Example of high quality Inka stonework. No wonder M.P took 70 years to complete. On the left, fathers perfect blockwork, on the right, his son's. Perhaps his son got impatient during the last years of construction?.....a little 'slap dash'.
Suvi at the Temple of the Sun. No amount of worshiping was gonna make the sun shine today though.
Machu Picchu Central Plaza which divides the ceremonial sector from the residential and industial sectors. In 1977 the King of Spain landed here in his helicopter but not before a large 550 year old monolith (ceremonial rock) was removed to aid safe landing! Can't believe that!
On the edge - Suvi getting nervous! I thought it was perfectly safe though.
In the valley below - Railbridge we crossed yesterday en route to Aguas Calientes.
Climbing Huayna Picchu - the mountain behing M.P - just before the heavens opened.
Praying to the Inka gods for sunshine - it just rained even more heavily.....this the moment when the clouds parted giving us this view of M.P from Huayna Picchu.
Amazing!
The final ascent of Huayna Picchu. I cannot describe how dangerous this climb was in the wet. We saw nothing but cloud from the slippery summit :-(
Back on safer ground - Soggy Suvi on the Inka terraces with friendly Lama. Still it rained!
Stop - Fashion police! Suvi's Vientnamese rain mack still going strong, although the arm's fell off!
The money shot - Machu Picchu in the foreground. Huayna Picchu mountain in the background shrouded in cloud.
These flowers littered the valley floor around Aguas Calientes so they make the blog :-)
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
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