After visiting Cathedrals and experiencing the big city it was in a complete change of pace that I found the most connection.
An essential part of Incan Spirituality is honoring the land. The land itself is seen as a Temple, which is why the buildings were built to compliment the mountains or to use the pros and cons of any given location and make the most of it.
I was not able to do the Inca trail proper, but with my guide Rebi we did our own version of the trail. A more modern version where the railroad and the river were our guides to Aguas Calientes. The journey to Machu Picchu was religiously siginifigant for the Inca. It was a pilgrimage where at the end and arriving there you were supposed to find yourself and connect to the spirits. This would be my version of this.
Along the way we would pass tons of Inca Sites and at least one Holy Site where we would take lunch. First, I shall start at the beginning though.
After taking a bus for an hour we got off in a small village and began our trek along the railroad. To our left was the river and many times donkeys and horses sitting idly by watching us. After about an hour we reached the first site which was an Inca Fort along the river. We explored this place for a bit before continuing onward.
Our next stop was into the desert. It was here Rebi pointed out the different things that were used for coloring the Alpaca and sheeps wool. It had a rugged beauty to it and reminded me a lot of exploring Zion or Arches National Park in Utah. We also ran into an Inca Barracks and Noblemen's house while all along the way passing cows and farms. We also passed Inca farming terraces on the other side of the river that were probably used for feeding the armies that were posted here.
Next we arrived in a tiny village where there were sections of an Inca Wall that was almost completely invisible because of the overgrowth. It was after passing here that we arrived at an Inca Holy site, which was the halfway mark.
The Inca Holy site was an altar and a giant black stone. The stone had been carved to have a puma, condor and serpent on its snake to represent the 3 worlds the Inca honored. It was here we talked and took lunch. Before us was the rainforest and a complete change in landscape.
The forest was beautiful. We saw a snake at one point and tons of birds. The one disadvantage was it soon got dark as we passed out of the forest into the Jungle. It was here that trust key. Rebi's light through his phone was the one thing keeping the path clear. Time was lost in the dark and with it understandable fear. I was going somewhere I had never been to before and we'd passed a few places that were covered with big steel gates. I had no idea what Aguas Calientes looked like or if we would have to go through a gate and passed security to get there too.
Thankfully that was not the case and the arrival was one of the best experiences I can describe. There is nothing like earning the right to go to a place by physically walking there, and this was one of those times. I can see why it was seen as religious. Its a lot of work to go over the mountains to get to where you want to go. Not to mention physical excretion is a great way to clear the mind.
After arriving we talked family, the past and treated one another to drinks and disco. It was the end to a great journey. We had finally arrived and the next day would be a place covered in Holy Sites. The city of Machu Picchu.
