Von Machu Picchu nach Cusco

24.8.2013

Although we had a ticket for a second day to visit Machu Picchu, this turned out literally to be a washout. We sat out five hours of torrential downpour in the bus shelter, after which we decided it wasn't worth it and returned to the village.  The entrance to Machu Picchu was a sea of colourful "plásticos", ponchos of many colours sold by locals to the desperate tourists, wondering whether or not to try their luck.
2.Tag Machu Picchu: Regen, Regen, Regen. Wir haben fünf Stunden auf Wetterbesserung gewartet. Nachdem wir schon am Vortag unser alles besichtigt haben sind wir nach Aguas Calientes zurück gefahren.

Die Peruaner haben auf die Wetterlage rasch reagiert und mit Regenschutz gutes Geschäft gemacht.

 

Village square, Aguas Calientes, alias "Machu Picchu Village"

Hauptplatz Aguas Calientes

 

The railway goes through the middle of the village

Der Zug fährt mitten durch den Ort

 

 

 Inside of restaurant, with railway instead of road outside

Beim Verlassen des Lokals links und rechts schauen

 

 Restaurants don't always have windows or doors in Peru.  View from the back balcony (open)

Ausblick aus Restaurant (kein Fenster bei ca 12°)

 

 The path to the railway platform had to be negotiated through a gigantic bazaar

Der Bahnhof ist nur durch einen Basar erreichbar.

En route to Cusco by rail

Bilder von der Zugfahrt durchs Urumbamatal nach Cusco

 

 

 

Arrival at hotel in Cusco

Endlich unser Hotel in Cusco

Machu Picchu

23.8.2013

The great outing to Machu Picchu, by train from Ollanaytambo

 Ollanaytambo Bahnhof- warten auf den Zug nach Aguas Calientes

 

 Peru Rail train arriving in the station

pünktlich unser  Zug

 

Journey to Aguas Calientes through the Urubamba valley

durchs Urubambatal

 

Arrival at Machu Picchu

mit den Bus nach Machu Picchu

 There now follow endless photos of Machu Picchu - not for the faint-hearted or easil bored...

dann erster Blick

 

 

In centre of picture - the entrance door to the town

Eingangstor in die Stadt

 

 We made it!

 

Arriving at the entrance door

Eingang in die Stadt

 

 im Hintergrund landwirtschaftlicher Teil von Machu Picchu

 

View of Wayna Picchu

 

 Inside the Temple of the Three Windows

Tempel der drei Fenster

 

 

 

The astromonical observatory - Intihuatana: "Sun Stone or Dial"

Intihuatana= Sonnenstein (vielleicht ein astronomischer Kalender)

 Der Stein im Vordergrund ist wie das Bergrelief im Hintergrund gestaltet ( durch Wolken nicht genau erkennbar).

 

Endless flights of steep steps

Stiegen, Stiegen, Stiegen,....

 

Temple of the Sun 

Sonnentempel-die zwei Wasserspiegel dienten zur Himmelsbeobachtung

 

Temple of the Condor - sacrificial stone

Tempel des Condors- Opferstätte -das Blut floss nach links hinten in eine Felsspalte.

Sculptured  stairs beneath the Temple of the Sun

Königsgrab(?)

 

 Interior of house for the Inca

Haus für den "Inca" (entspricht König)

 

 IHis toilet

sein Klo

View from our hotel window in Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Village)

Blick aus unserem Hotelzimmer (keine unbedingte Ruhelage)

Moray/Maras

22.8.2013

Am 22.8. traf mich die "Rache der Anden" - Ann fuhr daher ohne mich nach Moray/Moras.
Die Bilder zeigen von den Inkas angelegte Versuchsgärten- Salzgewinnung aus salzhaltiger Quelle-und eine Wollspinnerei.

While photographer-in-chief lay in bed wrestling with Montezuma, the co-photographer set out alone, armed only with a simple camera, on an outing to Moray/Moras.

Hotel garden in Ollantaytambo - early morning lawn movers

 

Urubamba - town in the sacred valley of the Incas, named after the Urubamba river

 

Terraces at Moray - here the Incas experimented with the effects which different micro-climates had on the growth of crops - a sophisticated 15th century environmental laboratory.

 

Photo shows where restoration work is in progress on the site.

 

Viewed from above: the saline terraces at Maras, started by the Incas and still used to produce salt in the region today,

 

 

Once you get down to walking there, you realise how steep the terraced salt basins are laid out.

 

The spring from which the salt water flows; source of salt unknown but according to theory the water first flows through a saline environment inside the mountain.

 

To walk, you have to balance along the narrow salt ridges which separate the steep basins.

Visit to a handicraft co-operative to see demonstrations of dyeing and weaving by Andean women. On the way in - stop to see who's on the menu today. As mentioned earlier, the guinea pig is the absolute delicatessen in Peruvian cuisine (but talking from experience, I can say it's nothing more than a mouthful of bones,)

 

 Dyeing the wool

 

Animal bone used as tool in weaving

 

 

Weaving loom

 

 

 Mother and child