Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Conclusions on My Journey

I am now back in Miami where I am reflecting on the past six months. I spent these months in the countries of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. I biked most of Colombia and Ecuador. I bused mostly in Peru. I hit two bucket list items(Galapagos and Machu Picchu). I am in much better shape today than when I left. I am pretty happy that I did this trip, but I learned a lot that would cause me to do this differently in the future.  I also did not reach my original goal of biking to Ushuaia, Argentina.

What I learned about biking long distances?

  1. Colombia and Ecuador are very good for biking. In both countries, roads are good. In Ecuador, roads are very good; most of them being new with adequate shoulders for separating bicycles from cars. There are lodging options close enough that a biker will have options available. In Colombia, I struggled only one time with a distance that was too great. Similarly in Ecuador, I struggled on only one leg to reach a city due to the distance. Distances are greater in Ecuador between cities, but still reasonably close.
  2. Peru is not meant for bicycling in my opinion. Distances between towns are often too great to reach in one days biking. There is a lot of desert. Some of the mountain passes are at an elevations in excess of 4,500 meters. Roads often do not have adequate shoulder for biking along side Peruvian drivers. Finally, bicyclists have been robbed a number of times around the cities of northern Peru. In my opinion, Peru would be very good for motorcycling. A motorcycle could handle all of the issues above, plus there were a number of locations where it looked like you could just take off up the side of a mountain on a motorcycle.
  3. I cannot understate the importance of riding light. I carried too much stuff with me; even as I paired things down. I brought a full size computer thinking I would do some work on the road (I didn't). Even my last ride when I left many of my things in the hotel, I wished I was just a bit lighter on the bike.
  4. Travel/biking are sometimes competing goals. I believe I could have made it to Ushuaia, Argentina, if I had simply focused on the biking and cut out a number of tourist destinations. I am satisfied that I made good choices for me. I can think of a few places that I could have cut out or at least shortened, but not enough for me to have made up three countries in distance. Additionally, if I left these places out, I would have been left wondering if I made the right decision.

So, how will I bike in the future?

  1. I will pick shorter bike distances. I think it must be very difficult to find good bike routes across entire continents. Although, I did talk with one biker who went from Amsterdam to Rome. He said that there were pretty good routes the entire distance. So, I may need to do that ride sometime. So, I think future rides will be anywhere from two to six weeks.
  2. I will pick rides where the ride coincides almost directly with some places that I want to see from a tourist perspective; thus, I will not plan to do much beyond riding to destinations and visiting the destinations themselves.
  3. I will ride with a minimalist gear perspective. This includes not carrying spare gear and choosing equipment that can readily be replaced in the locale where I am biking. I will probably also use just a phone instead of carrying a larger device like a laptop or tablet.
  4. I will consider doing supported bike rides to further reduce the carrying weight on the bike.

So where will I bike?

  1. I still need to bike Bolivia, Southern Chile and Southern Argentina.
  2. I would like to do the Amsterdam to Rome ride.
  3. I have heard the Camino de Santiago from Spain to France is a great bike ride.
  4. I would like to check out southeast Europe; from Austria to Greece.
  5. Actually, there are a lot of other places I would like to ride; just need the time.

Monday, March 2, 2015

The Final Ride on this Journey: The Sacred Valley

Riding through the Sacred Valley
The time had come to bring this journey to an end. If I had continued on to Bolivia, I would likely have not stopped for another two months. I could not think of a more appropriate way to end this journey than with a ride through the Sacred Valley.

I started out from Cusco. I rode by the ruins of Q'enqo. I stopped for a few minutes, but it did not look like there was that much to Q'enqo besides some kind of ceremonial circle. Qénqo looked more like a quarry to me than anything else. I did not look real well though.

Qénqo


Pisac


I then rode on to Pisac. Based upon the timing, I decide to stay the night in Pisac. This turned out to be a good idea. I did not know how large the ruins of Pisac were. The owner of the hotel where I stayed said it was about 5 km from the beginning of the ruins near the city to the other side. It has quite a bit of elevation change as well. The hike took me about 3 hours.

Pisac seems like a functional city. It was described by one person as the city, whereas Machu Picchu is the summer home. It was extremely well set up for defense as it sat high on a mountain with limited entry routes . The majority of the site was terraces for agricultural production. There were dwellings for military as well as farmers. Finally, there were a set of buildings that were likely a temple area.

One of the entry points to Pisac; very easy to defend
The temple area at Pisac

One of the residential areas at Pisac

Looking up at one of the ruin sections at Pisac

Ride to Urubamba and on to Maras and Moray

The next morning I left at a good time. I rode through the Sacred Valley and arrived at Urubamba fairly early (before 11 am). I had planned to stop at Urubamba; but since it was so early, I decided to continue on. Leaving Urubamba it is a stiff climb all the way to Maras. Maras is the exit for Moray another archeological site and the salineras (pools used for salt production). One theory about Moray is that it was used by the Incas for agricultural experimentation. Given the bowl shape, each terrace level has a different temperature.


Rumor has it that the salineras have been used to produce salt since the Inca times. A spring of salt water flows out of the side of a mountain. The water is guided into pools. The pools then evaporate leaving the salt. The salineras do not produce salt during the rainy season as the pools never completely evaporate

Salineras evaporation pools

Salt water from the mountain. I tasted it; very salty.

My Legs Give Out


I continued from Maras towards Chinchero. Given the ride from the previous day, hiking Pisac, the current day's ride, the climb from Urubamba to Maras and the fact that I had not eaten lunch; my legs started getting real weak as I was approaching Chinchero. Then to top it off, the skies opened up with a tremendous, chilly thunderstorm. I was struggling.

I kept going. At one point while stopped, a tourist bus pulled over and asked if I needed help. I was tired, weak, cold and hungy. They were going to Cusco. The thought of a warm shower brought joy to my being. I gladly took that ride and so ended the last ride on my bicycle for this journey.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

More Ruins Near Cusco: Tipon, Piquillacta and Rumicolca

Tipon - Irrigation system / fountains still functioning

Tipon


Rumors have it that Tipon was built for the grandfather of Pachacuteq. Pachacuteq was the Inkan warrior that transformed the Inkan region to an empire. Tipon is consistent with some of the other archeological sites I have seen. Like most of the rest of the sites this one looks to have been built for dual purposes of defense and agriculture.

It has a number of terraces that would serve the dual purpose of agriculture and slowing an incoming invader. Above the terraces sit dwellings that would be a good location to attack an invading force. Finally, far above were points where lookouts could see an incoming force from a very long distance.

One thing about Tipon that was very interesting was that the irrigation system ran from very high down through the dwellings and on down to the terraces; serving as both a source for water to the residents as well as to the crops.

Another interesting thing is the mixed use of high quality and good quality stone work. This can be seen in the fountain picture above. You can see in the fountain itself and on the corners of the terraces very good quality work. The remainder is good, but not the same high quality work.

The terraces with irrigation

Looking down on the initial structures that would have been the first line of defense above the terraces.

Structures above the defense structures; This most likely was the residence of the grandfather of Pachacuteq

This residence had running water. Still does.

Piquillacta 

Piquillacta covers a wide area
Piquillacta lies just up the road from Tipon. It was most likely built in the years of 600 to 700 AD by the Huari people; about 800 years prior to the Inkas. These ruins were noticeably different than most of the ruins that I have seen in that the construction was adobe (earthen brick) and stone with adobe mortar. It is quite interesting that these adobe dwellings survive to this day given the fact that they are exposed to rain and wind. The most interesting part is the size; it was a small city. Additionally, although it had some defensive aspects, it was not nearly as defensive as many of the other sites I have seen.

Adobe construction with stone and mortar caps

Stone walls define city streets

Rumicolca 


Rumicolca - aquaduct and defensive wall

Rumicolca sits right next to Piquillacta and was most likely built at nearly the same time. Most likely, Rumicolca served as a primary defensive structure for Piquillacta as it served as block for the entire valley. Additionally, Rumicolca also served as an aqueduct as there is a canal for moving water across the top. Finally, the Inkas most likely reinforced the structure as the end cap stones were of much higher quality construction.

End cap stones of most likely Inka constructions and a view of the aqueduct at the top.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Machu Picchu: quite the amazing place

Me at Machu Picchu

Getting There

Hiking the train track from the hydroelectric power plant
I wanted to do some hiking, but I did not think that I wanted to something like the Inka trail where I would be hiking without shower for four days. After talking with a few people, I decided to get a ride to the hydroelectric power plant that sits about 12 km from Aguas Calientes (the base town for Machu Picchu). It was a fantastic hike that followed the train tracks along side the river. The entire hike was filled with the magnificent scenery of the mountains that were along the river. As I looked up, I could see ruins far atop some of the mountains that I later determined were in fact Machu Pichu.

The road to the hydroelectric; probably much like the death road

This river coming from the side of the mountain was quite a sight to see

Looking up river where I was hiking

Can you see the ruins atop these mountains?

River rapids. I did not see anyone rafting.

Arriving in Aguas Calientes

Hiking up to Machu Picchu

Crossing the bridge at the base of the mountain
I spent the night in Aguas Calientes and got an early start in the morning. I was going to take the bus up. We were waiting for 30 to 45 minutes to board the bus. I finally pinned down one of the employees. It seemed there was a problem with the road. So, I sold my bus ticket to someone and hiked up the mountain. I arrived at about the same time as some of the people I was waiting in line with. My only reason for taking the bus was that I thought it would arrive before sunrise. As it turned out, the sun rose behind the clouds anyway. So I preferred the hike over the bus ride.

As I hiked up, the clouds started breaking with peaks through to the neighboring mountains

Machu Picchu 

Machu Picchu upon arrival
As I arrived in Machu Picchu, the clouds opened enough to reveal an amazing place situated so high. The clouds would come and go throughout the day. Almost all pictures required panorama in order to appreciate the scene.









Looking down at where I hiked into Aquas Calientes

Me at the Inka Bridge





The Only Negative - I did not get to hike to Huayna Picchu

I bought a ticket to hike Huayna Picchu. When I was buying it, I did not have my phone and I did not know the date I was going. I did know I was going on Tuesday. I kept asking the ticket personnel "this is Tuesday correct?" They assured me it was. I trusted them, but the ticket they gave me was for Monday. When I got to Machu Picchu, they would not work with me in any manner. I offered to buy another ticket, but no. So to the management of Machu Picchu, I offer you my fully extended middle finger.


Sunday, February 22, 2015

Ruins Near Cusco: Saqsaywaman, Pukapukara, Tambomachay

At Saqsaywaman. Look at the size of that rock behind me. How did they move and place rocks this big?
I woke up feeling a little tired and groggy yesterday. I decided I would do a little hiking and jogging to overcome it. I first hiked up to Saqsaywaman. I then jogged to Pukapukara and Tambomachay about 5 km at a top of altitude of about 3,800 meters (12,500 feet). It turned out to be a great day. The weather cooperated completely. While running, I heard thunder and I could see rain in the distance. The rain held off until just when I got in the bus to return to Cusco.

Saqsaywaman

Saqsaywaman panorama

Saqsaywaman is a pretty large archeological site sitting atop a mountain that overlooks Cusco. It clearly was built with defense in mind. I can see no other purpose for building such high walls. An attacking army would either have to approach up a steep mountain from the far side or directly through narrow entrances. Scaling these walls against a prepared defender would most likely prove fatal. The most interesting thing to me are the size of the rocks. There are many very large rocks as pictured in the first picture. The other interesting thing is how well fitting these rocks are. The top contains a number of building foundations, possibly used as residentual or ceremonial purposes. 

Ceremonial or residential foundations atop Saqsaywaman

On the far side from the field pictured above, a large round exhibition area can be found along with what appears to be some of the quarries used to source the rocks.

Round exhibition area of some kind. Diameter was probably about 50 meters

Pictured below are rocks used as quarry. We came across these upside down stair cases. There are two large rocks here. Notice the cut lines are the same on both rocks. At first we speculated that the rocks somehow fell and rolled over while moving, but his would have been nearly impossible for the them to arrive in the same position; thus, it is obvious the stone was cut from these rocks. It is very interesting that you cannot see any tool markings on these cuts. To me, this means these stones were cut in one action very accurately and that there was no need to polish or alter the stones once cut. How? The best technologies today for cutting stone cannot do this.

.Rocks used as quarry for finished stones. Notice upside down staircase.

A natural rock slide; looked a little dangerous with the cracks in the stone.

Pukapukara

Pukapukara
Pukapuakara and Tambomachay sit a short distance from each other at what are crossroads from a mountain pass and a valley. I almost missed Pukapukara. When I first arrived, I went up on top and there was not that much to see. So, I decided to walk to Tambomachay. From Tambomachay, I looked back and then understood that I had missed the majority of the site.

Front of Pukapukara

Tambomachay

Tmabomachahy
The primary area of Tambomachay was probably an administrative check point. People passing through here probably had to declare their purpose and needed permission to pass through.  i hiked up beyond Tambomachay. I could see a serious of smaller ruins along the sides of the valley. I believe these would have served as lookout points to guard against surprise attacks.

The water is still running. That is pretty good engineering. The Inka guarantee:
"Your plumbing will last a millennium or your money back."

From this vantage point, you can see that any trespasser would take fire from both sides; nice defensive position.

A cave up above. From this cave you can see down to Tambomachay and up the valley.
This was also fortified and probably served as a lookout post.

Looking up the valley, more ruins can be seen; possibly lookout posts or messender resting spots.