Machupicchu, Peru - day 1

On Tuesday, December 17th, Gene began a 4-day overland tour to the lost city of the Incas, Machupicchu.  Jan was scheduled to go but after suffering fractured ribs in Argentina wisely elected to remain on the ship.  The excursion began with a 6:00 AM flight from Lima, Peru to Cusco, Peru, high in the Andes at an altitude of 11,152 feet.  

Cusco, today a city of nearly half-million residents, was once the capital of the Incan Empire.  Though the Empire only lasted about 100 years (during the 15th century), it dominated much of the west coast of South America and controlled a population of nearly 10-million persons.  

To help our bodies acclimatize to the high altitude, we began exploring Cusco immediately upon arrival.  Our first stop was at the Convent of Santo Domingo.  After the Spanish defeated the Incas, they systematically dismantled every Inca temple and ceremonial center and built a Catholic Church upon the temple's foundation.  The Convent of Santo Domingo is constructed over what once was the Incan Temple of Coricancha (The Golden Temple), the most important temple of the Incan Empire.    

The courtyard of the Convent has all of the appearances of a 15th century Spanish structure.  

Along one side of the Convent are original stone walls from the Incan temple Coricancha.  This wall was constructed of polished stone blocks so accurately cut that no mortar was needed, yet it is impossible to insert a needle between them.  The walls originally were covered with sheets of gold which by one Spanish account stated were "fabulous beyond belief!" 

The organizing principle of the Incan Empire was known as the Ceque System.  It consisted of 328 ritual pathways leading from the Coricancha Temple to the borders of the Incan Empire. Each pathway contained nodes that indicated ceremonial sites or places of religious significance.

From the Convent we traveled to Sucsayhuamán, an Incan citadel on the outskirts of Cusco.  It is located above 12,000 feet on a steep hill overlooking the city. 

Constructed of huge stones cut to fit without mortar it is difficult to believe it was built in less than 100 years by a civilization that did not utilize the wheel or beasts of burden.

In addition to the walls, the fortress once consisted of two, tall towers and a series of buildings.  After the Spanish captured Cusco, they used Sucsayhuamán as a source of stone for building Spanish Cusco.   Today the only remaining stones here are those that were too large to be easily removed.

Continued -- see day two.