Just peeking around corners.....
This stone on the side was once a puma head.
There is a quarry on the site, where the Inka shaped the stones before moving them into place.
The terraces on the back side.
Complex of storerooms.
Some stones were not carved, but left as they were found. This one mirrors the mountains visible from this point, so it was placed in this location to note its sacredness and the sacredness of the site.
Yes, there are some llamas roaming the site.
Ah, so lovely.
This is the same wall, above and below. Isn't it great how much the photo changes with the position of the sun?
Same llama. He was blocking our path, and now I'm next to him. He's the "king" of this llama herd.
After the tour, I climbed -- very slowly! -- up to the guard house, because I wanted to leave an offering of tobacco from the museum, and my guide said that was the place to do it. Up, up, up I went. It felt like forever. My legs were fine -- it was the lungs. For us sea level people, these climbs are brutal! And it's not very comforting to see lots of people huffing and puffing, taking rest breaks, or just complaining about it, because it's just hard. But I did it. And when I did, I realized that I'd also climbed to the "money shot" point, as people call it.
Simply amazing.
But then, for my big money shot.... And now I can see that it has a sunspot! ARGH!!! Oh well. Some nice young British men took my photo up here, and not only are they not good shots, they have sunspots too. Bother.
Eventually I climbed back down, and it was remarkable how short it seemed! Didn't take nearly as long either, even though I tend to be a slow and cautious descender because of my knee. But I had to start heading out, as I knew I would need some time to take the bus back to the town and make my way to the train station. And, by this point, I was regretting not taking a food break before now and knew that I needed to refuel.
The trip back was nice. The train is assigned seating, and as a single traveler, you never quite know how that's going to turn out. The train on the way up that morning wasn't full, so people could move around. I was seated next to another American. His name was Kevin, and he was a martial arts instructor from Iowa on a spirit quest. He was traveling with friends, so went to join them after a bit. On the way back, I was seated next to another American. Eric was from New York City. He was a programmer, had been traveling with friends, but was on his own now. He was getting ready to return to school for a second career in quantum physics, so we talked about Feynman and travel for the whole train ride, and then opted to ride the bus together back to Quito too. It was a nice end to a long day of solo travel.
It was great to be on my own in some ways, and difficult in others. I do wonder what it would have been like to go with the group on the Saturday -- I wouldn't have known anyone but R at the start, but it would have made other meetings during the week easier, and probably built even stronger relationships, as I really liked everyone when I met them later in the week. It would have been in Spanish, which means I might have missed a few things, but I would have been pushed and would have enjoyed that aspect more. But as the only coastal dweller, I might have held them all back too, as they billy-goated up the terraces! Who's to say? On the other hand, I had an incredible experience, with time to reflect and think and soak it all in. I know how lucky I was to get that ticket and make the trip. I know I'm a better person for the experience. I so appreciate the opportunity. And that's what matters in the end.
So cute! The hotel staff left me a different animal every day with my towels.
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