Peru - Machu Picchu 5 years later

A friend joined me for a couple weeks of travel in Cuzco, Peru.  Although I've been here before (5 years ago), I was happy to return as it really is a spectacular place.  For the first few nights, we stayed in the Sacred Valley at an excellent bed-and-breakfast that I would absolutely recommend to anyone (www.greenhouseperu.com).  Here's a shot from the back yard, to give you sense of the amazing scenery:

As a budget traveler (aka cheapskate), I normally don't stay in places like this.  But my friend had suggested this place because it ranked as the 6th best bed and breakfast in the world by travellors on Trip Advisor.  Surprisingly, it was only $75/night for a double room, with breakfast included!  Plus one of the owners took great pleasure in creating one-of-a-kind gourmet dinners every night, while the other owner led mediation classes in the morning.  Although it was hard to leave the comforts of this hotel, we did manage to get out and see some of the sites in Sacred Valley.

Las Salinas de Maras is a salt "mine", where highly-salinated spring water emerging from the mountainside is corralled in a haphazard set of terraces where it is evaporated to leave the salt for harvesting.

We also visited the Moray agricultural terraces.  It is hypothesized that the Incas located these agricultural terraces in favorable microclimates in tiny valleys - as opposed to the wind-swept, semi-arid landscape in the surrounding region - in order to develop better crop varieties.  In other words, it was an ancient experimental farm.

I also spent one day rambling over the mountains (up to 4500 meters) and through the country-side around our hotel, and was rewarded with some outstanding views of the Sacred Valley.  Many of the highest mountains have permanent glaciers above 5000 meters, although they are melting fast with global warming.

Of course we also went to Maccu Picchu.  When we first arrived in the heavy early morning fog, it was slightly disconcerting to see a guide holding a large photo of Machu Picchu in front of a blank fog wall for his clients, in lieu of the actual view.

Thankfully, for us (and for his clients), the fog lifted later in the day.  I'm not a history or anthropology buff, but Macchu Picchu is one of those places that everyone would enjoy, even with the hoards of gawking tourists.  Deep in jungle-clad, mist-shrouded mountains, the site is an absolute wonder.  Built around 1450, and abandoned 100 years later, it was unknown to the world until 1911.  It is also one of the few ancient cities untouched by Spanish conquistadors in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.

I hiked up thousands of precarious Incan stone steps to the top of Montana Machu Picchu, which looms over the ancient ruins.

From the peak, you get a strong sense of how isolated this ancient village was, situated amongst sheer, fog-shrouded mountains and deep valleys bisected by raging rivers.

Up close, you get a better sense of how well developed this ancient city was, and how painstaking it must have been to shape the stone by hand to fit so tightly together.

We spent the last few days relaxing in the ancient city of Cuzco.  Like most Peruvian cities, Cuzco is mostly drab and crowded with polluting vehicles, although as the capital of the Incan empire and an important colonial city, it has tremendous historical significance and consequently a number of good museums, archeological sites and old churches.  We were there for Semana Santa (Easter Week), and were able to join the throng following the Holy Procession as it wound through the historical center of the city.

We were also treated to a typical Peruvian meal prepared by Mama Zeta and her son, Martin, the owners of the apartment we rented. She took us on an early morning trip to the local market to purchase the ingredients.  It was quite a sensory experience: raw carcasses hanging next to overflowing sacs of colorful produce - with the correspondent odors - and of course the cacaphony of voices bargaining.

After a couple hours of preparation, we sat down to a delicious meal of stuffed hot peppers, roasted sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, and crispy-fried pork.  I think I look slightly stunned in this picture because I was starving after watching Mama Zeta cook this wonderful meal.