Nasca

The next stage of our journey has taken us to Nasca. Famous  for the glyphs that cover the nearby plains.
Sadly we leave behind a wonderful family we stayed with for 21 days.

Here is Carmen and Rodolfo with 2  of their grandchildren.

We travelled by bus overnight and arrived after  14 hours.
We had a cafe breakfast and headed to a dune buggy adventure.

On this trip we looked at water aqueducts, desert  grave yards, adobe pyramids and did some dune boarding.

The next day went on another tour.

In the desert similar to the previous day we went and looked at intact mummies. This site has been preserved and looked after. These mummies date back before Christmas and are of various people's that inhabited the Nasca region.

The day before we observed a cemetery that had been robbed and all the bones scattered around. I was told that robbers were looking for gold and precious gems.

Following this we had a detailed look at the Nasca aqueducts systems.

On Friday we booked a flight over the Nasca lines. This was for 30 minutes in a small plane carrying 8 people. Being in the air you can really appreciate how massive the place is. 

The lines pictures are better seen on Google rather than my pics.

Many thanks to Roy for having us in Nasca. We found it relaxing and laid back. 

Really enjoyed the beers.

Actually we met our first kiwi tourist at Roy's place. Burton from Tauranga arrived on a 125cc Yamaha bike fully kitted out.

Last post from Cusco region

The last few days has seen us using the last of our Cusco tourist tickets.
We visited Puka Pukara, Tambomachay and Amaru Machay.
Below are some photos. Amaru Machay is not visited by many tourists as it is not on the tourist trail. It would be difficult for Academia to explain as some of the rock work is simply incredible.

Here is Linda in the gateway into Puka Pukara.

Here is the Puka Pukara fortress.

 View of Tambo Machay with its megalithic stone work and water engineering. 

Linda looking at the lime stone cut water channels. 

Some of the rock cuttings at Amaru Machay. All over this rock are precise cuts. We are scratching our heads to understand how and why they would do this. All over the region are direct rock cuttings. It's almost like a play park they created for fun.

Another example of their handiwork. They refers to an unknown civilisation.

The stay at Cusco has been really relaxing. We have stayed with locals about 15 km out of the centre. We bussed in everyday to a new adventure. Bus ride into town is NZD 30 cents.

Food has been excellent and reasonably priced considering the throngs of tourists that go through this place. Where we are we see no tourists...only locals.

The next blog will come from Nasca.

Pikillaqta Ruins

Pikillaqta is a site built by the Wari civilisation between 500 and 1000 AD. This site has been determined to be an administrative site.
The site is divided  by the main road into Cusco. The south end site does not appear to be Wari construction but shows megalithic block work and Inca stone work.
Below is an example of a dwelling

Below is a 1.5km long roadway fortified by stone walls either side.

This is the south end construction which is at odds with the original site. My guess is the historians labelled it as Pikillaqta due to simplicity.

Here is a scene of locals washing their laundry from a stream that runs from a lake below the Pikillaqta site.

Here is another short video.

Tipon and Pukara Ruins

Tipon is supposedly an Inca ruin. Above Tipon is the ruin of Pukara which shows classical blocks of stone unlikely  placed by the Inca.

Water feature shown in the second their on photo below.

                                        Overview of the Tipon site.

Below is the water channel built to supply 2 sites and the surrounding crop land. Linda and I followed this channel up the hill, over another then over another. What a climb.

Here is a link to a small video showing the water chanel.

https://youtu.be/8kBOFMuQIfU

Machu Picchu

We had a beautiful day for our visit.
Our little casio camera did the trick.
So many people wandering around.
The stone terraces are incredible when you consider the effort required to build and maintain them. The megalithic block work is something else

Here is another video.

Sacsayhuaman complex

Hi all
Here is a picture showing direct carving of limestone rock. Limestone is not super hard rock but the way this is carved would Have Been difficult.
Going to Machu Picchu tomorrow and returning the next day. Yet much to see here around Cusco. Nice weather With some evening thunder and rain. Days are warm. Getting used to the thin air so that's a bonus. People are great here in Cusco ... very friendly. Nz costs 50 cents to travel on a bus for 30 mins.

Bye for now

Sam

Here is a video of the rock as I Climbed over it.

Sacsayhuaman Limestone Rock

Cusco sights

Hi all
Arrived in Cusco Tuesday afternoon and yesterday took a tourist bus around to get our bearings. Booked the Machu Picchu trip for next Monday.
Cusco is the cultural centre of Peru and of the former Inca empire.
The photo is from near the site of Sacsayhuaman and shows the Llama tethered  and grazing on grass with the megalithic structure in the background. Also seen is the new Cusco city.  Very progressive place and very tourist orientated.
Not five minutes goes by when there is someone selling stuff. In Puno we purchased 2 genuine....authentic...signed paintings for our feeble art collection. The following day another artist tried to sell us the same paintings with  his signature. We decided to laugh it of as we were clearly scammed. Lovely alpaca garments for a song. I wish we had a container to take home.
Have a great day

Sam