Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Machu Picchu

A thousand photographs, ten thousand words cannot explain this citadel in the majestic Andes mountains.  All I can write about is our/my experience...



Our experience was overwhelming.  We saw it in all it´s moods, bright sunshine, mist, clouds and even a thunderstorm.  Each change in the weather brought it´s own unique quality to the ruins and the mountains. We walked, we sat and pondered, we marvelled and wondered, we watched hundreds of people queue to enter at 5.30am and thousands arrive during the day and spread to all corners,  yet there were times when you found yourself completely isolated and alone.  Those times of solitude and peace allowed your mind to attempt to absorb what your senses were conveying... impossible really.

I am so glad we went there for a couple of days.  The first day you are gob-smacked, and we had a wonderful tour from Luz, our guide.  She told the stories and revealed some of the knowledge of this lost empire.  The second day we could wander and discover at our liesure.

What was amazing to me is that everyone reacted in very similar ways - people from all over the world, all ages, photographing first, talking next and then a quietness overtook them as they finally realised where they were and the power of the mountains and what had been accomplished by the Inca´s began to soak in.

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