Cuzco on the way to Machu Picchu

Cuzco was the capital center of one of the biggest pre-colonial empires this side of the world--the Incas. Though there were many Andean peoples and empires before them it was the Incas who seemed to have mastered the difficult landscape enough to make a lasting impact--with the remains of beautiful stone structures that boggle the mind.

It is located in the middle of marvelous and gigantic mountains in the Andes mountains in Eastern Peru. Every time I turn around I see landscapes that previously only existed in my dreams. Mountains that tower above everything. Small towns with ancient churches and cobblestoned streets. Rivers that cut through valleys as if they are still creating them. Ancients ruins that are built so masterfully that it seems impossible for a people with no knowledge of iron or steel.

I stare out the windows on the bus rides and when I am in the town center my eyes constantly wander to the snow peaks so many thousands of feet above. We went to Pisac, a site near Cuzco and did a 2 hour climb/hike up the mountainside to view the ancient ruins. My mind kept wandering to this point: It is no wonder these people worshipped Mother Earth and Father Sun, they were surrounded by absolute beauty. Besides the magnificent landscapes there were plenty of ancient ruins to see. The ruins made up religious and cultural centers but I´m not sure what else...Anyways, the building were made of gigantic stones that fit together like a puzzle. With no iron or steel to shape the stones and no mechanized equipment to drag the stones up the mountainside it seems miraculous that they even exist. And what craftsmanship! I stared and stared at their beauty...

Well that was Pisac. Tomorrow (wednesday) we leave for a 5 day/4 night hiking and camping trip throughout the valley on our way to view the splendors of one of the newest 7 wonders of the world--Machu Picchu. We are going in a group of 6 and we hear the trip is quite difficult. But it is an extraordinary opportunity to be hiking along the same trail the Incas used, seeing the same beautiful landscapes that captured their minds so many years ago. On the 5th day we leave our camping site at 4 in the morning so that we might catch a glimpse of the first rays of the sun as it peaks over the tall mountains and into the bowl-shaped home of the ruins...Check my facebook profile for pictures in the next couple of weeks.

love