Jan 17 Machu Picchu
One of the first questions we asked in our group discussion was to engage the day in terms of our individual expectations of Machu Picchu before the trip and direct experiences in the actual site. What followed included a wide range of comments from historical references to personal recommendations. In the spirit of that initial question, we decided to reflect on the day’s activity in our own voices.
Fang + Makeba
Fang’s Take:
Gathering at 5:30 am in the hotel lobby and suffering from the effects of the altitude difference, the day began with unusual silence. Boarding at 6:30 with anxious people walking haltingly into the PERURAIL, which are one of the two ways to visit Machu Picchu (the other way is hiking for eight days from Cusco to Machu Picchu).
This was almost a four-hour trip. We were going from high altitude Cusco to lower altitude Machu Picchu and experiencing the natural scenery that shifted with the changing altitude. Once on board, most of us sank into the comfortable chair and fell into a deep sleep. When we woke up, breakfast was on the train.
The breakfast included breads (whole wheat bread, kiwicha bread and “coca” bread), Edam cheese, farmer’s cheese from Cusco, a cold cut platter, butter, “pineapple jam,” a banana muffin and an assortment of drinks (coffee, black tea, “coca” tea, etc.). The journey began with a series of switchbacks, known appropriately as the ‘zig-zag’, up the hill out of Cusco, before a brief stop at the village of Poroy. The train then descended from the highest point of the journey into the Sacred Valley to the foothills of the Andes. Before reaching Machu Picchu, the train traveled along the Urubamba River with awe-inspiring views of the dramatic canyon. The railroad originally functioned as transportation for the resources and residents between surrounding villages of Cusco. However, with the increasing number of tourists, the PERURAIL started to provide services for tourists, just like the other railroad travel trains in Europe.
We got off the train around 10:00 and received the ticket from our professional tour guide Julian (Julian has 20 years experiences as tour guide and is originally from Cusco) to embark on our next mode of transportation—a 40-seat tour bus. Climbing up from the train station down to Machu Picchu, the bus driver cruised smoothly through the zig-zag mountain road and drove us to the entrance of Machu Picchu. Then most of us spent one sol. for using the public bathroom and five sols. for checking our bag or jacket. In order to get into Machu Picchu, we also had to pass the “gate” to check our ticket and bag. After we got into Machu Picchu, the uncomfortable feeling from altitude sickness, an involved travel schedule and lack of sleep vanished. Following our tour guide and his detailed explanations, we walked into Macchu Picchu with well-prepared cameras. There are no words to describe the beauty of Macchu Picchu.
As our tour guide said, “everything in Machu Picchu was designed for a different function and hierarchy.” There were structures reserved solely for storage, living, worshiping, astronomical study, security and so on. Moreover, the different arrangement of the gigantic stones illustrated the unique function of each building. Julian nearly described every detail and story of the Inca city, but there were still so many things that were inexplicable in fully understanding Macchu Picchu.
We were surrounding by the mystery of the site and the ancient people responsible for building it. In addition to the breathtaking views, we were inundated with the tones and dialects of the different languages that were spoken by the other tour guides and tourists from all over the world. Excitingly, we also met the iconic animal of Peru- the llama, which was brought to the site for us to photograph. YES! We love them.
After almost three hours in Macchu Picchu, we had lunch at the all-you-can-eat buffet located directly outside the gate to Macchu Picchu with the other tourist groups. At 3:30, we all jumped on PERURAIL back to Cusco to follow the same route we began in the morning to the Sacred Valley.
Makeba’s Take:
Like the sacred pyramids in Egypt, Machu Picchu’s brilliance cannot be fully acknowledged without seeing it firsthand. All the images and articles that were uploaded and read to prepare for the visit failed to adequately capture the beauty and sheer greatness of the architecture and its surrounding location. With each step we took towards the Inca ruins, it became increasingly impossible to picture a visit to the country without seeing them. We were able to witness snow-capped mountains and roaring streams exist in conversation with the area’s architecture—a dizzying mix of indigenous, colonial and contemporary influences woven into single structures.
It was only after I viewed the experience in terms of inclusion—looking in conversation with what I saw previously—was I able to begin thinking of today’s visit as an arts administrator and not only as an awestruck tursita. Beginning with my thoughts on the area’s relationship with nature and commercial production, I inserted our class readings in this internal discussion. The Machu Picchu readings focused on patrimony and the presentation (and subsequent negotiation) of culture. The readings grapple with the tangled, problematic, but also ethically ambiguous issues surrounding the relationship between Yale University and the Peruvian government and scared sites and tourism. Visiting Machu Pichu on the second leg of the trip allowed for me to not only see the day in relation to the readings, but also personally. We were able to participate in dialogue with our previous site visits in Lima and Mexico City and individual interactions with the residents and their neighborhoods.
One of the speakers last week described the area as a collision of several cultures. This phrase began to inform the way I engaged Machu Pichu and the supporting readings. The question of origin as the guiding principal rather than history as a tool for charting narratives became less of a dynamic question here. The numerous factors involved illuminated the nonsensical conversation that develops when attempting to tackle issues of representation, power and bureaucratic cultural policies in absolutes. As Rachel said over lunch later that day, there are no obvious “good or bad guys” in this discussion. In addition to her sentiments, this inclusive thinking strategy became the common thread for which I would begin processing the trip as a whole when I return.
