I'd like to see you try and stop me

With Cusco continuing to serve as a home base, a journey to Machu Picchu is definitely necessary. The best and quickest journey there, at least for those who don't have time to undertake the four-day hike along the "Inca trail”, is via train between Cusco and the appropriately-named nearby town of Aguas Calientes. The old train meanders slowly, wobbles often on the thin gauge, and breakdowns are common, as we discovered on the return journey. Nevertheless, the views are quite spectacular, aided by a glass roof. At Aguas Calientes, we checked into the pleasant and stylish Hatun Inti hotel and prepared ourselves for an early morning shuttle bus to Machu Picchu. This is, without doubt, the best to time to go. Not only does it avoid the increasing number of tourists that make this journey, but it is also an appropriate time to give recognition to Inti, the sun god and chief god of the Incas.

Machu Picchu itself is quite an extraordinary complex of buildings with characteristic dry-stone, and is rightly considered on modern lists as a "Wonder of the World", and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located on an Andean mountain ridge at a height of roughly 2,5K metres, it was probably an emperor's estate, with an average population of around 750, with goods and services coming in from all directions supplementing agriculture "andenes" (constructed terraces). At the time of the Spanish conquest, the site was abandoned, and knowledge of its existence remained lost to the outside world (locals knew of it, of course) for centuries until the rediscovery in the early 20th century by Peruvian explorer Agustín Lizárraga. For myself, I have had a quiet fascination and interest in Machu Picchu specifically and pre-Columbian civilisations of the Americas more generally; the Pueblo, the Iroquois, the Olmec, the Teotihuacan, the Mayans, the Toltecs, the Cañari, the Aztecs, the Incas and many more. This is certainly something I share with my good friend Justin A., whom I visited before leaving Melbourne and with whom I discussed his far more extensive and in-depth journeys from some decades in the past.

I feel like writing more extensively about the Incas now, having some direct experience and extensive conversations with our Quechua guide. However one matter I wish to address the notion of the Inca Empire as being "mysterious" which, of course, leads to all sorts of wild speculations. What we do know is that they were an early Bronze Age civilisation that was the largest in South America. They did not have a fully-developed writing system, but used quipu a sort of rope-based tally system which allowed for complex calculations. They had advanced drywall masonry, extensive agricultural systems, including freeze-drying. They had no currency but used barter and corvée labour for taxes. They did not develop the wheel, but used rollers and stones when required. Their emperor was seen as semi-divine, "the son of the Sun god," and they had a hierarchical and polytheistic religion. They practised trepanation, cranial deformation, and child sacrifice. In summary, they were not so mysterious, but as a result of their geography, they developed a unique society that has a lasting interest.

After Lima, the next part of the tour was the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Cusco (Qusqu) city, former capital of the Incan Empire, "navel of the world", and recognised as "capital histórica" in the Peruvian constitution. Although conquered by the Spanish and subject to many centuries of colonialism, the permanent population of the city is of Quechuan background and uses this indigenous language. The old city, designed in the shape of a puma, the sacred terrestial power, has structures that date back from the Incan times, whilst the majority of the cobblestone roads, churches, and residental-commercial establishmentes are from the colonial period or the more contemporary Republican period up to mid-20th century styles where, after a major earthquake, much of the city required restoration. With numerous Incan and colonial sites of note, it is the major attraction for tourists and colourful locals who are all too willing to dress in colourful traditional clothes as they parade their alpacas about.

Our initial stay was at the Hotel Costa Del Sol, whose simple entrance belies a pleasing interior. Well-located, it was a short walk to two major parks, the Plaza Mayor and the Plaza Regocijo, the former home to the imposing churches, the "Catedral del Cuzco" and the "Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús", the latter especially rich in Baroque design. Both of these feature grand Gothic ceilings and are full of gilt items and late traditional religious art. Keeping to the theme, nearby is the "El Convento y la Iglesia de Santo Domingo" and the Incan "Templo del Sol Coricancha". The integration of the Incan masonry into the Spanish church is quite impressive here, as is the artwork, museum information, and gardens. A short distance, and overlooking the old city is the Incan fortress and vast grounds of Sacsayhuamán, the underground shrine of Qenko, and nearby Tambomachay, a collection of terraced aqueducts, canals and waterfalls.

Travelling further afield in the following days, we ventured into the Sacred Valley, whose rich soils provided for much of the old Incan Empire and which had been inhabited since the Chanapata civilisation almost three thousand years ago. The Inca complex at Písac provides a very fine example of the terraced agricultural techniques of the area, as well as an impressive collection of old buildings. Also of special note in the Sacred Valley is Ollantaytambo, a grand example of terracing and irrigation, storehouses, and a massive temple. Just before entering the Ollantaytambo, I also experienced a slight accident - there was a bump in the road, and I managed to donk the top of my head on the ceiling of the bus quite convincingly, taking out a chunk of my epidermis and requiring first aid attention. The next few days would be spent with the now-bald wounded area receiving regular treatment of disinfectant cream, covered by a makeup-removing pad (rather like a small yarmulke), and then by a rapidly purchased brimmed alpaca-felt hat. It was far from a serious wound, but the possibility of infection due to dust was significant, so multiple layers of precaution were taken - all in time for the journey to Machu Picchu, one of the greatest wonders of the world.

The next leg of this tour was Lima, capital of Peru, and named after the pre-Incan civilisation that inhabited the place from 100 to 650CE. A desert and coastal city of some 11 million people, it is understandably the political, financial, and historical centre of the country, but is also notable for its urban segregation between wealthy barrios and poor suburbs. We ended up at the Hotel Jose Antonio Lima in the Miraflores District, which certainly sits in the former category, bustling with commercial energy and entertainment, whilst also relaxed with plenty of pleasant coastal parklands. Two particular locations in Miraflores are especially worth mentioning. One is the Park Kennedy, named after JFK, which is better known as "Cat Park" after the dozens of collectively-domesticated cats present, and is everything like it sounds. The other is Huaca Pucllana, an extraordinary 1500-year-old adobe pyramid and grounds designed for managing water resources and religious ceremonies. By pure chance, we also stumbled on an exhibition for two great Peruvian artists, Fernando de Szyszlo Valdemor and David Herskovitz, both broadly belonging to the neo-expressionist school. I especially liked the former's representations from "Don Quixote de la Mancha".

Another significant cultural area of Lima is, of course, the "Centro Historico de Lima", a UNESCO World Heritage site and for good reason. Here is a very fine collection of colonial and Republican-era buildings from the Plaza de Armas and surrounds, including the Government Palace, the Cathedral of Lima, the Archbishop’s Palace of Lima, the Municipal Palace and the Palace of the Union. A visit to the "Museo Convento San Francisco y Catacumbas" was absolutely necessary. Dating from the 17th century, it includes the remains of some 70,000 people. There is also the El Convento de Santo Domingo, which has a very impressive old library. Nearby is the "Basílica Catedral de Lima", which houses the tomb of the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, who conquered Peru for the crown of Castille (awkwardly, the church proclaimed the wrong body as Pizarro's until the real one was discovered in 1977). With superior technology, he led an ambush at the the Battle of Cajamarca where less than 200 Spaniards defeated and massacred several thousand Incan imperial guards and thousands of attendants. The military acumen is impressive, utter lust for blood and treasure despicable. Appropriately, the next stop in the journey is Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Incan Empire.

Kate R and I have boarded the big silver bird to travel to South America and Antarctica, the first stop being Santiago de Chile. The flight was twelve hours, and due to the peculiarities of time zones, we arrived two hours before we left. Our stay was in the CBD, NH Collection Plaza, quite upmarket with nice features and next to the World Trade Centre. The afternoon arrival provided the opportunity for a walk through the local "Parque de las Esculturas", then a hike up the famous Cerro San Cristóbal parkland to catch the sunset and return - a round trip of about five hours. It was sufficiently impressive that we returned the following day and took the ascent via teleferico (with the oversized statue of Mary that looks over the city) and descended by funicular to viist the nearby "Casa Museo La Chascona", home of the Nobel Prize winning poet, politician, and diplomat, Pablo Neruda, a person who was certainly not without significant flaws as well as greateness.

This would be the start of en epic walking trip through Santiago that would be measured at 45km for the day (yes really), which would include a visit to the beautiful Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, the Catedral Metropolitana with it's overwhelming baroque features, past the ridiculous over-sized flag at the Palacio de La Moneda, then to the Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende and, on return, to the remarkable collection in the El Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino and the "Horizonte Antártico" exhibit at La Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional. El Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos, which was high on the agenda, was unfortunately closed for renovations.

Whilst far from the most visually spectacular part of the trip, the Salvador Allende museum was definitely the most emotionally significant location for me. The Allende events were utterly critical in the formation of my own political opinions when I became aware of them in my early teens. Helped by the film, "Missing", I became a voracious reader of the history. For those who don't know, the summary is that a socialist president was elected supported by a left-wing alliance and implemented a programme of nationalisation of resource industries, land redistribution, significant health and education welfare improvements, and the remarkable economic and logistics computer system, Project Cybersyn. Allende was dedicated to the idea that socialism could be achieved through parliamentary democracy; but ultimately the military disagreed (unsurprisingly supported by the United States) disagreed. A coup and the installation of the Pinochet regime resulted in years of torture and deaths of thousands of democratic activists. The Allende events is tragic and utopian, providing insights on the nature of the capitalist State, and has a lasting impact on history.