Rose on Toes meets Machu Picchu

My first view of Machu Picchu.

Meeting Machu Picchu was the only thing I could think about my entire trip. Since my arrival day one in Lima I just wanted to be there. I wanted to see and intimately get to know the Pachamama.

The Inca’s are an illustrious bunch. It constantly amazes me how intelligent they are and were during the time when Machu Picchu was thriving. Considering the time period in which they built Machu Picchu which took place during the early 1500’s they seemed to know an awful lot more than I or many people today could ever hope to even try to understand. From their knowledge in the sciences such as Astronomy to their ridiculously intuitive engineering skills the Inca’s architecture today is still amazing to the worlds historians, scientists and archeologists.

Me in front of Machu Picchu.

Looking around Machu Picchu I couldn’t help but wonder why? WHY WOULD THEY LEAVE? Why after so much work and life taking place there would they just up and leave such a beautiful place that seemed virtually untouchable and a place they called home. Well though there have been many conspiracy theories according to our tour guide it was due to their concern of being attacked by the spanish conquistadors. They got wind that they were chasing some other Inca’s and the Inca’s at Machu Picchu were concerned they would be found and killed so they left. Ultimately their decision to leave was what brought them their demise. Had they stayed at Machu Picchu they may have never been discovered but I suppose we will never know. 

The Inca’s were a peaceful people according to our guide. They did not want to fight. They simply wanted to live and be free just as every human deserves to be. They were not prepared for the cruelty that the spanish brought with them which led to their vanquishment and what I view as slaughter. 

About to start hiking the mountain up to Machu Picchu

Though the end of the Inca Empire was a very sad one they left a beautiful history behind with ruins all throughout the Andes Mountains. Seeing Machu Picchu was by far my favorite part of the trip. Especially because instead of riding a bus up the mountain I hiked even after the serious discouragement of our tour guide. It was AMAZING and so worth it.

At pretty much a straight incline all the way up the mountain and in already way higher altitude than I am used to I feel so grateful that I was physically able to attempt and complete that journey. It was very meaningful to take a path that thousands, millions have taken before me in order to reach Machu Picchu and maybe even enlightenment. A woman hiked right along side us much of the way with what seemed to be her grandson. He said to us “ella es ochenta.” I translated in my head She was 80 years old! Hearing this made me feel so fucking pathetic for ever complaining about how hot, sweaty, dizzy or tired I was. This woman was so strong and empowered I felt her energy as she hiked up the mountain in her thick, fluffy pink dress. I felt strong now too. Though as I have stated before, I don’t consider myself a religious person, I can’t deny the magic of Machu Picchu. 

 

 

Lima surfer beach party…yeah

“What should we do today?” I asked pondering the options in front of me. I was getting sick of walking back and forth down the same streets. Things were starting to feel familiar, which felt really bizarre. “Well we haven’t gone down to the water yet?”

So it began.

The ocean peaking through as we are coming around the corner.

We made the descent down the side of the cliffs separating us from the rest of the city and separating the rest of Lima from the beach and the Pacific Ocean. We began walking down at a slight decline slowly going around a gradual turn. Once we reached the ark on the other side sat the ocean vast in size and absolutely beautiful. It was calling to me. “This was a really good idea,” Delaney said to me as we approached closer. I heard the click clicks of her camera behind me over and over again.

There were so many flights of stairs and some of them were really steep.

So many stairs. This was going to hurt on the way back up again. But I didn’t care. The ocean was whispering to me to come closer. It said to get away from the obnoxious noise of the city car alarms, honks, cat-calls and listen to the welcoming ocean breeze and waves of the tide rolling in and out, drawing me in and out.

I neared closer breathing in what felt like much fresher air. My hair blew around in my face as I cleared it away from my eyes so I could see that yes, this was real. I was here in front of this massive body of water so infinite in possibilities that we know less about it’s contents than outer space.

Finally crossing a bridge over a highway to get to the beach.

Finally we reached the beach. I went and sat and started filming the surfers and the instructors. One of them walked up to me and started talking to me about who I was and where I was from. I explained everything to him and he was very friendly. He even offered me a free surfing lesson!

Surfers and instructors preparing to go out into the ocean.

After hanging out with the instructor and his friends for a little while talking to them about studying journalism amongst other things Delaney and I decided to travel onward until l looked up and saw people flying.

FLYING!

They were paragliding. I needed to do this right now. So Delaney and I ventured back up the cliffside and I was right. The stairs did suck. There were so many of them! By the time we reached the top the para gliders were closing up shop. But I definitely intend on trying again tomorrow morning before my trip to Barranco.

Regardless I got to see great views and meet great people.

Convento de San Francisco’s beautiful secrets

We rode in taxis from Miraflores to downtown and were dropped of at the Lima Convento de San Francisco. A beautiful old church, which we explored the inside of and underneath. Underneath the church rests over 25,000 human remains of the catholic community from that time before the first public cemetery was built.

Beautiful, old cathedral enveloped my first view.

Not only was the church very beautiful but the peruvian people surrounding it. Children would run around chasing the pigeons away only for them to fly right back again for the children to chase them some more.

This adorable little girl was chasing and feeding the pigeons.

The cathedral was very beautiful but held many secrets inside that we were not allowed to photograph. Upon entering we were told, “no photos, no video, no exceptions.” But I was able to sneak a few, though not very good photos they at least give you a glimpse of the inside!

The beautiful courtyard in the middle of the cathedral. (Shh it’s a secret!)

The cathedral was filled with hidden rooms, beautiful hand painted tiles that took 19 years to do, an old library with hundreds of years old books, high and intricate ceilings. Everything was done with such detail and care.

Intricately done ceiling in the secret cathedral.

The catacombs were beautifully disturbing. I didn’t feel that it was appropriate to photograph down there though I was very moved. The ceilings were low and you were surrounded by walls of dirt. Everywhere you looked there were bones to be seen. It felt partially wrong for us to be observing people in their final resting place. All that was left to see was bones but they were everywhere and of all different parts of the body. It’s like when you know that you shouldn’t look because it’s wrong, but you can’t stop watching.

Once we left the catacombs we entered the church part of the tour. Here we were finally allowed to photograph.

The beautiful ceiling inside of the church.

Overall the tour was both beautiful and slightly disturbing. I immediately washed my face after leaving the catacombs feeling like I had taken some of those people that were down there with me. The peruvian people tend to leave me slightly stunned by the beauty.

A local woman sitting outside in front of the church.

Floor view of the front of the church.