Posts from — September 2008

We know the cliché: History is written by winners.

The Spanish vanquished the Incas, stole their gold and destroyed all records of their civilization, leaving this remarkable culture shrouded in mystery.

But they never found Machu Picchu. Today this remarkable site is a testament to the Inca’s mastery of many subjects – from town planning to construction, astronomy to philosophy.

Recently named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, archeologists cannot agree on when or why Machu Picchu was built.

Even its “re-discovery” was an accident.

In 1911, 36-year-old Yale archeologist Hiram Bingham left an academic conference in Chile and traveled to Peru to spend a few weeks searching for Vilcabamba, the legendary lost city of the Incas.

For centuries, adventurers, explorers and academics believed the Incas hid all their remaining gold in Vilcabamba when they made their final retreat from the Spanish. No one ever found the city – or the gold.

Bingham arrived in Cusco and began his search by walking down a newly built road along the Rio Urubamba (now the rail line), asking locals if they knew of any ruins along the way.

After several days walk a local Quechua man led Bingham to a vine-covered site, high in the Peruvian cloud forest.

Four centuries after it was built, Machu Picchu retained its essential structural integrity: Its terraces held firm, its sophisticated drainage system still worked, and remarkably, so did its source of fresh water.

Bingham – who went on to become a Governor, U.S. Senator and the inspiration for the the character Indiana Jones – was convinced until the day he died that he had found the lost city of the Incas.

But he had not. Historians now believe Machu Picchu was not the lost city of the Incas – that site (and Inca gold) is still waiting to be discovered by a 21st century Dr. Jones.

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Sally, a 67 year old grandmother from Michigan, arrived a few minutes after us.

Soon there were a dozen more people in the SAS Travel office, ready to join the Sacred Valley tour before heading on to Machu Picchu. Dani and I had more than two decades on most of our fellow travelers – but Sally had two decades on us.

“I’m doing the Sacred Valley tour today, but tomorrow I’m off on the four day trek along the Inca trail to Machu Picchu,” she told us.  “It’s one of the things on my bucket list.”

And so here she was, in Cusco, preparing for a difficult four day hike that has challenged people a third her age.

Later that day, as we hiked to the ruins at Pisac, Sally told us more:  “I’m a traveler.  If I want to go somewhere or do something and I can’t find a friend to come along, I just go.  I’ve got my list, and I’m checking things off.”

We came to a fork in the path.  To the left, the path rose at a steady grade to the parking area.  To the right, the path remained level until the final fifty yards, then it rose steeply.

We chose the path to the right and continued on.

As we walked, Sally asked about our family, our travels.  Dani told her our basic story.  “I would have loved to have done a round the world trip with my kids,” she said.

Soon we reached the steep incline to the parking area.  As we made the difficult climb Dani said, “I’m not sure we chose the right path.”

Thinking Dani was still talking about our travels, Sally said, “Honey, all you can do in life is make your choices and keep moving forward.

Later that afternoon, I was walking behind Sally as we roamed over the ruins at Ollyantambo.   I saw her stumble over the rough stone path.

“Oh no, I heard a crack,” she said.

Her ankle began to swell almost immediately.  I helped her down dozens of steps, and she limped back to the tour bus.

She asked no one in particular: “What if it’s broken?  How will I do the Inca trail?”

It was time for Dani, the kids and me to catch the train to Machu Picchu.  We said a rushed goodbye and wished Sally good luck.  The tour bus was set to take her to Cusco, and then, most likely, she’d be off to the hospital.

As we went our separate ways, I thought about Sally’s bucket list and what she had said earlier that day:  “You make your choices and you keep moving forward.”

According to legend, some time around A.D. 1100 Manco Capac and Mama Ocllao, children of the son and the moon, arose from the waters of Lake Titicaca and searched for the perfect place to found their kingdom.

Divine signs led them to a fertile valley more than 200 hundred miles to the north.  Here they founded Q’osqo, the “belly-button of the world.”

Cusco may no longer be the impressive sight it once was when Francisco Pizarro’s soldiers found a city literally covered in gold, but it retains its strong attraction for seekers of all sorts.  Fortunately the advance of tourism hasn’t diminished the city’s charms.

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Everyone working in the tourist industry in Ecuador and Peru should take note:  Americans do not enjoy hearing hits from the 1970s performed on the pan flute.

Not “Feelings“.  Not “Yesterday“.  And most definitely not “Hotel California“.

If I have to hear “Hotel California” on the pan flute one more time I think I’ll scream.