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CHAQUICOCHA - PHUYUPATAMARCA - WINAYWAYNA
Today was the easiest but also the most beautiful day. We got up at 5am, again gently woken up byt the coca tea delivered by the porters. The breakfats consisted of an organic, of course, liquid chocolate, banana and caramel pancakes, bread with butter and jam, hot pinapple in mint sauce (delicious!)...
The views along the walk were beautiful: canyons, valleys, high jungle, snow capped mountain peaks, one of them Salcantay at 6271m a.s.l. [Andes are the second highest mountain range after Himalayas, where peaks usually reach over 6000m]. Along the path Sabino was stopping us from time to time to point out a begonia, an orchid, edible blueberry, a bird or just a very soft moss :)). The hours passed on talking to the trek mates and listening to Sabino...
Todays the Inca archeological complexes were the best so far. First called Phuyupatamarca ("in the clouds"), named after it being almost the whole time covered by the clouds. As all Inca sites it was situated to face East and consisted of buildings and terraces for growing plants. It had smaller enclosed "rooms" where water canals lead to and inside there were square recesses for the water to gather. The "rooms" were located on levels and the water could cascade down from one to another. The water was being worshipped on this site.
The second Inca archeological complex was called Intipata (Inti means Sun), hence the Sun was worshipped here. We could see this complex from the first site but it took about 2 hours to reach it. It was also located to face East, of course, and on a very steep mountain. All consisted of 60 steep terraces with encredibly steep stairs cutting through them top to bottom and a few storage buildings. Terraces as I mentioned before were used for growing crop. In this area of Peru the climate changes very rapidly with altitude and the Incas were aware of that treating terraces as living laboratories for testing crop where each level had a slightly different temperature and humidity conditions. Genious! [However later I have found out that the pre Incas were already working to these principles and testing plants in different conditions and also developing drainage and watering canals... so I can´t attribute it all to Incas I am afraid].
Also the construction of the terraces was smart - with rock, stones and sand at the bottom layers underneath the soil so the water could drain to the next level of the terraces and plants.
The view of the Sacred Valley from one of the terraces was just breathtaking. We lingered here for a moment, nearly falling asleep and risking getting burnt by the sun. We could see the campsite from here and descended for lunch and a short siesta. Our dinner? Starter: tuna with onion and beautifully carved out of a cucumber slice butterfly. Chicken soup with egg white. Main dish: lama meat in peppery sauce, chicken meat in herbs and mushrooms, white potatoes sauce, pasta, veg: cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, cubbed beetroot, potatoes... Napkins were folded into a flower :) Our porters and the cook are the best!!!
After the siesta we set off to see the last archeological site before the big day tomorrow. This site was called Winaywayna (meaning "forever young", named after a flower that grows here and never dies) and was only two minute walk from the camp. Once again we were the first people there. This is something that Alpaca Expeditions paid much attention to over the whole tour - they made sure that we were the only people at the sites if possible. We always set off early to avoid the crowds and by this to appreciate the sites more. Winaywayna was one of, if not the most beautiful site so far. Cascading tarraces in a less than a half circle. Family of lamas (llamas) casually walking through the ruins and on the tarraces eagerly lawnmoving grass from the ground but also from the Inca stone walls :)). I touched and fed a llama with grass and it was soooo nice :)))))!!!
The complex also, just as the other ones we have seen, has been used for living, growing crop and stopping on the way to Machu Picchu. A system of water canals was distributing water from the mountin streams and directing it around the city to the set of enclosed fountains that were also located cascading down same way as tarraces.
The entrance to the city was indicated by a door with a double reveal symbolising duality: man and woman, day and night, sun and moon... This door had a mechanism both sides within the reveals enabling opening the two leaf timber door that were there in the past. The doors were open or must have had leather curtains.
Top of the building gables had granite 60% and quartz 40% cantelivered circular stones that were used for securiting a roof, basically tying it down, or to hang down flowers for decoration.
Main open areas within the complex also had drainage channels or holes at the bottom of the walls to get rid of the rainwater.
After the sightseeing we sat down for our usual afternoon chats. As we were mostly from different countries we could exchange different information, ideas and compare.
The biggest surprise came just before the evening dinner - when we got to the main tent our porters decorated the tent with girlands and baloons congratulating us on getting that far. Tomorrow will be an "easy day" - visitng Machu Picchu! There were coctails of pisco sour with lime, that is Peruvian brandy, and again amazing food with cake being first!
This was a good time to say good bye to the porters as it was their last night with us. Tomorrow morning they will rush packing down the tents and will be getting a train back, whereas we and Sabino will be heading towards Machu Picchu. Before the dinner we collected our tips for the porters, cook and the cook´s assistant and I handed it to them as a big thank you from us. [Tipping guides and porters is a standard thing here and what is more it is very much expected if you are happy with theirt services. They really work hard to make the treks special, and also for a very small wage and the tips are an extremely important way of saying thank you. If you are planning a trip to Peru budget for it as it may come to a considerable number].
Off to bed. Very early start tomorrow: 3:30am. BIG DAY: MACHU PICCHU!!!
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