The day started quite early for us, which began by eating breakfast at 4:30am, then going to the bus at 5, then arriving at the entrance of the site around 6/ 6:30. Once we showed the entrance our passports and tickets, we were allowed to enter the site.
The site at first was just a glimpse of what was yet to come, with the view's vast, lush forests and high peaks, and the site's demanding stairways:
The main site, however, was breathtaking. Just like the image on the Study Abroad poster, as well as the multitude of pictures online (https://www.google.com.pe/search?gs_rn=17&gs_ri=psy-ab&tok=NfFozXw38t3MLXZSQnjphA&suggest=p&cp=11&gs_id=6x&xhr=t&q=machu+picchu&safe=off&biw=1525&bih=683&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.48293060,d.dmQ&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=5bvEUZ3nKu_H0AH23YGoDg),
the site was constructed from Inca stones on hill next to Machupicchu mountain, with some of the site overtaken by flora, while the rest of the site was littered with these ancient constructions and symbols, some even gaining more significance during the solstice.
Since the group split up to observe different occurrences, I decided to go the "Three Doorways," which consisted of three different areas that each had a square type structure, some trapezoidal "windows," and had an opening that was appropriate for it's position (the middle area's opening was in the middle out of the three possible trapezoidal shapes, the one to the left of it (looking at the site) had the leftmost trapezoid by the opening, and the one to the right of it had the rightmost trapezoid as the opening). Though nothing truly significant happened once the sun had risen, it was still very cool to see how the sun reflected upon the site.
After examining the "Three Doorways," I met up with most of the group, and we did a general examination of the site. We saw some of the typical Inca design, from the imperial design of stones fitting together like puzzle pieces, to the irrigation systems that ran along stairs, to the lesser design of stones and some cohesive for lesser buildings. The site itself, however, was gorgeous, and offered a completely new view of the Inca architecture I've witnessed over the pass few weeks; it also offered a few new architectural surprises.
One of the new aspects of Inca architecture involved symbolism. In some areas, particularly the Temple of the Condor, supposedly randomly placed rocks and stone actually represented a condor. In the photo below, the small stone actually represents the condor's head, the larger gray stone represents the body, the white stones (not pictured, unfortunately) represent water or some type of crop in the condor's mouth, and the large jagged stones above represent the wings. The other picture is somewhat simpler, with the leftmost stone being the condor's head (with a beak and eye), and the horizontal stone is the wing. It was really cool to notice this imagery and symbolism within some "random" rocks.
The other new aspect were even more random rocks that actually represented mountainsides located behind (at a certain angle) the crafted stone. You can notice that the stone in the picture is quite reminiscent to the mountain behind it. Reason why? Well, considering some observation from Dr. Brown and a few others, the rocks may have been there prior to the walls of Machu Picchu; the "random" rocks may have been a rock garden, an altar for worshiping said mountain, or some other religious or architectural reason. Noticing that these stone carvings weren't just random or unfinished is a
very important proposition in understanding how the Inca first developed Machu Picchu.
There is so much to write, yet only so many words to describe the experience. I will say that Machu Picchu has been probably one of my favorite places so far, if not my favorite. It was amazing to watch the solstice, as well as analyze the architecture, symbolism, and possible reasons for this amazing site. Machu Picchu was a once in a life time experience, and I'm glad I was able to experience it at such a young age.
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