On the 6th day of our trip to Peru was the day we'd been waiting for--Machu Picchu!!!
We were up early and took the tour bus to the Machu Picchu train station.
The train was very comfortable, with big windows so we could see out.
Once we were at the bottom of Machu Picchu,we took another bus up to the entrance, which is pictured above. It was super crowded, but I think it pretty much always is!
This sign tells that it's believed that Machu Picchu was built and occupied between the years 1450 and 1540.
Hiram Bingham was the American who first discovered Machu Picchu in 1911.
This was one of our first views of the site. We were disappointed because of the clouds.
The clouds would float by and there would be brief glimpses of the ruins.
There was a herd of llamas up on the mountain, probably for the touristos.
Still cloudy, but a pretty good view of the ruins.
We had climbed pretty high to get this overall view. You can see how small the ruins looked, and how there was a break in the clouds.
We were down lower when this picture was taken. No clouds!!
Some close up views of the stone work ruins.
I was surprised that to me, Machu Picchu resembled the ruins of a European castle or fortress. I learned that it was built around the same time as Europeans were building castles, so that was interesting.
The above picture is about the best one of Kent and me, so I think it'll go on our Christmas card this year.
The above photo shows some of the incredible Inca stone work, which we saw throughout the country.
More of the stonework--
We spent about four hours walking amongst the ruins. Our tour guide pointed out some things to us and gave us some information about Machu Picchu.
and more of the terraces that were popular with the Incans.
A view point to show how high up we were in the Andes Mountains!
Just for the last half an hour we were there it started to sprinkle. We'd brought rain jackets, because before we went our tour guide told us that it rained at Machu Picchu almost every day.
This was as we were leaving, our last views of Machu Picchu.
On the train trip back from Machu Picchu there was some entertainment. Not too sure what this guy is supposed to be, but Kent was a good sport and was in a picture with him.
At our hotel in Cusco the hospitality girl dressed us up and let us take a picture with her.
This was a mural outside of our hotel in Cusco.
Across the street was a large souvenir market, where we bought most of our souvenirs.
We had a city tour of Cusco. Above is a church that was built on top of an Incan place of worship.
This is what the inside of the Incan part of the structure looked like.
Above is an example of the stonework that the Spanish built on top of the Incan stonework. Our tour guide liked pointing out the vastly superior workmanship of the Incans!!
A long wall built by the Incans in the city on our way to the main town square.
Another closeup of their amazing workmanship. How did they even get the stones cut out so perfectly?
A souvenir area in the city, which was pretty typical of everywhere we went.
The Spanish-style main square and Catholic Cathedral in the heart of Cusco.
Looks like it would have been right at home in many European countries.
Also like in Europe, a fountain in the center of the plaza.
However, the statue at the top was NOT European, but an Incan leader.
A side view of the outside of the Cathedral. The inside was incredible, but unfortunately no photos were allowed. It was one of the most gilded and ornate Cathedrals I've ever seen, and I've seen dozens! Our tour guide explained that it was built to awe the local population into thinking the new religion was better than their pagan religion.
As we were leaving the square I saw this large group playing near the fountain, which I thought added some local flavor.
Our last tourist stop for the day was on the outskirts of Cusco, at what is believed to be the ruins of a fortress.
I put in the picture above to give a perspective of how large the stones are, because otherwise it's hard to tell.
A view from a hill across the field.
More examples of Incan stonework (and a photo bomb by Kent's ear.)
A different side of the ruins. It was amazing to see the extensive stone work.
That night a buffet dinner was included in the tour. It was a busy place, but I wasn't impressed with the food. The entertainment was good, with a four man band and some ladies in traditional clothes dancing.
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