Deservedly one of the seven wonders of the world

A dawning, foggy Machu Picchu ...













Very Minas Tirith in Gondor from The Lord of the Rings ...















Jungle-adventure Jez having reached the top of Wayna Picchu to get this incredible view ... look at this image when standing on your head to try and appreciate the condor shape!















And our topper Inkan-sized guide, Augustin, got in on the photogrpahic action ...












See ... I really was there despite the lack of recent photographs ...












Day 76 - Thursday 27 March 2008 ... sort of!

Wowwwwwwwwww!

It's remarkable, eerie, atmospheric, wonderful, awe inspiring, beautiful and rightly, if a bit sadly, rammed with people ... it's Machu Picchu and I loved every second of it!

The experience of visiting MP from the village of Aguas Calientes is a bit like a ski resort 'cos we were up at 0430 to a jam packed breakfast room to go and stand in line before dawn to be whisked up a mountain in a bus

It's all well worth it mind you because by 0630 we were stood just down from the Guard Tower in MP learning our first facts about this amazing site from our exceptional guide, Augustin, who left us shortly after 0900! A great inside experience that really brought the place to life and is a must if you pack your rucksack, head off and give it a go

We had the most amazing day of weather where we saw Pacha Mama, the Inka's Mother Earth, at her moodiest by delivering thick jungle fog at first, clearing to hot jungle sun and finally steamy jungle thundery rain

I grabbed a quiet 30 minutes on my own away from the crowds at the bottom of the agricultural sector and soaked up that Andean thunder bouncing around off it's highest peaks! The noise seems to go on forever and that experience was unforgettable!

The early morning fog meant that we could only see about 3 metres in front of us for the first hour or so and those who were trekking the Inka Trail could see nothing from the legendary Sun Gate sadly

But looking back it just added to the magic and one of human kinds most incredible creations slowly unfolded before us

Because the Inka's didn't write anything down and they just used symbology and a strange method of knots to pass messages called quipus the theories abound about MP's use and status

Because the overall site when viewed from above takes on the form of a condor it's thought MP was a place of peace where people would come to visit in a sacred pilgrimage and priests/scientists would come to study - this is because the condor's role was to carry souls on their journey to the next phase of life after death

To appreciate this symbology you have to climb Huayna or Wayna Picchu which is a nearby mountain overlooking MP - and when I say climb I mean climb! That bad boy was steep, dense with undergrowth and pretty scary in places - it's also full of too many day trippers not prepared to get too sweaty or too dirty - I was both by the time I reached the overlook for MP and all I was missing was the Hiram Bingham hat - he was the USA explorer who brought MP to the eyes of the world - I don't think you can say he found it - the local Quechans knew it was there forever! - but the climb was all well worth it and how the Inka's managed to see and design the site to take on this shape is astounding

And that's not the only symbology at the site - I went back to the Guard Tower when the fog had lifted and got some great photos of the puma image adorning Wayna Picchu and the condor, again, of the smaller mountain that kind of bridges Machu and Wayna Picchu - and even the layout of all the buildings takes on the form of a cayman climbing out of the Urubamba River far below - I'll show you them all in my awesome book when I'm back or do a bit of Googling if you care!

The archaeological highlight of the site for me was the Temple of the Condor - a crazy piece of building work that created a temple for sacrifices to this sacred animal with a condor's beak carved in stone that collected the blood and drained it to Pacha Mama - I think that was the meaning of it and it was pretty gruesome and ace! The stonework was also some of the finest at the site because it was a temple - the close fitting stones perfectly shaped and fitted - you know the deal!

And before I knew it my 7 hours at MP were up and it was time to head back through the Sacred Valley of the Inkas to Cuzco buzzing from the thrill of seeing this place ... for about 3 days!

For the record Dad I took 161 photos at MP and have become renowned in our Intrepid group for taking the most and holding others up ... I'm proud to call you my Dad and have your trait rub off on me!!!

They'll appear here when I can understand Windows in Spanish ... I'm trying kids so be patient!