10/07/04- 15/07/04 Cusco

The picture postcard shot


Yes, standard Machu Picchu picture. I have little time for the Incas I am afraid- this 'ancient' site is 500 years old. The Incas couldn't write and were slaughtered before they could tell anyone why they bothered to build this pile in the middle of nowhere. Very expensive and stacked full of tourists (as expected) as it is a must-do in Peru but to be honest, aside from the scenery the site is pretty pathetic. There were very daft people in our tour group- questions such as 'did the Incas use acid to make the stones smooth?' I ask you. It took them years (more than 100) to get this place to this stage (actually, most of that shown above is rebuilt) and they still hadn't finished it. Perhaps if they started it elsewhere it might have had a better chance. Great place for the Inca elders to hide away. Archaeologists have no idea why the site was abandoned before it was finished with only a few bodies tucked away- a mystery I can solve by saying that they were incapable of living somewhere sensible and having to rely on slaves who probably died somewhere on route to feeding them. Idiots. 2/10