Agua Calientes – A Divided Town

We overnighted in Agua Calientes so we could do 2 trips up to Machu Picchu.  Altho the main focus of our stay here wasn’t the town, I did manage to capture some images that highlighted the town –

  Bridges in Agua Calientes

A couple of things ran right thru the town of Agua Calientes.  One of them is the Urubamba River.  Consequently, there are several bridges in town, so one can get from the train and some shops to the rest of the town.

Street Scene – Agua Calientes Sketch

The other thing that runs thru town is the train tracks.  Here’s a view of this part of town, with shops on either side of the tracks.

Town Square – Agua Calientes – Stylized

The other side of town (where our hotel was) had this lovely town square.  I converted the image I took to a sketch because this had the feel of a travel journal sketching.

Birdbath

The town square also had a fountain that a number of birds used as a top of the line birdbath!  Here’s an image of one of the users.  He would practically do a head-first dive into the fountain!

Enjoy!



Ollantaytambo to Agua Calientes – Views from the Train

Machu Picchu is rather difficult to get to, and there are only 2 ways to get to it – hike for 4 days from Ollantaytambo or take a train from Ollantaytambo to Agua Calientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu.  As you can tell from the title of this posting, we opted for the train!

Viney Blooms – Crayon

The train traveled thru some very scenic areas and at times, stopped so that I was able to capture some images of flower blooms.  Both of these (above & below) just begged to be photo sketches, so I obliged!

Blooms on the Train Ride – Impressionist

 



In the Footsteps

While on the train, we passed the area where those who chose the 4-day hike would cross the Urubamba River and start following in the steps of Hiram Bingham, the man who is credited with discovering Machu Picchu. I tip my hat to these hardy adventurers!

 

Bridge over the Urubamba River

I can’t recall if the hikers would cross this bridge, but we found it interesting for a different reason.  Check out the right side of the bridge – the white area is actually sandbags piled upon each other to hold up that side of the bridge foundation!  This would not give me a lot of comfort if I were to cross it, as the speed of the rushing river doesn’t really encourage survival.

Follow the River

 

The train tracks followed very closely the bend of the river on this part of our 1 ½ hour journey.  We are heading around a slight bend, so that if you look closely, you can see the train engine on the right side of the image.

Waterfall Along the Way

We did see a lovely waterfall along the way – part of what I like about this image is the blurred vegetation surrounding the waterfall.  It gives you a real sense of our movement on the train.

Rushing Creek

Altho not a waterfall, I liked this image of a small tributary to the Urubamba River – it speeds along as fast as the river, much faster than the train, it seemed!

Fern Close Up

The train made fairly frequent stops along the way for reasons unknown to us at times.  On one of these stops, I was able to capture this image – I love the texture of the leaves!

The Blue Door

I was rather amazed at the very small, run-down shelters (I hesitate to even call them cabins) we saw along the way.  There are no roads along here, and one has to wonder at how the people who once lived here managed on a day-to-day basis.  And, somehow, they managed to get some bright blue paint for their door!

Enjoy!

 



Flowers in the Garden in Ollantaytambo

We stayed overnight in Ollantaytambo, and then were to catch a train to take us to Agua Calientes (the town at the base of Machu Picchu).  In the morning, before we left for the train station, I wandered around the hotel garden and enjoyed the blooms……

Hydrangea

Bright Pink Blooms

Bright Blooms

Orange

Apricot Petals

Enjoy!

Sketches in Ollantaytambo

Walking in the old incredibly narrow streets of what I think of as “old” Ollantaytambo resulted in some wonderful scenes that made great photo sketches.  Take a look –

Colorful Signs – Oil

When I say the streets in the old part of town were narrow, this hopefully gives you an idea of exactly how narrow they are!  They are basically the width of a sidewalk in the city.  One interesting thing this sketch illustrates is the small canal under the colorful sign on the left side of the image.  Almost every street in this part of town had one of these on one side and water flowed down these canals, both now and back in the day.  It wasn’t water that one would drink – I think it was water that had been used for washing dishes, clothes and for bathing.

Patient Puppy in Oil

 

When I saw this pup, I knew I had to capture him in a photo and sketch!  He was so patient, just sitting and then laying outside the little shop waiting for his human to emerge.  I just loved the little café type sign and the people walking in the background.  Charming.

Basket of Corn

This isn’t a sketch, but seemed to fit in with the theme of this post.  This basket of corn was sitting in front of the private home that we visited in Ollantaytambo.  I love the vibrant colors of the various types of corn.

Typical Street in Oil

 

Here’s another street scene from the ancient part of Ollantaytambo.  I really love the colors and textures, from the roofs, the building walls, and the cobblestone walks/streets.

The Blue Door

I will leave you with this image of the brightest colored door I saw in Ollantaytambo – electric blue!  Such a good balance of the bright blue against the more neutral brickwork of the building and the street.

 

Enjoy! 

 

Tempo del Agua Ruins

The ruins of this temple are around the town of Ollantaytambo.  Its focus is on water, which is apparent from its name.

Tempo del Agua Ruins in Ollantaytambo

One of the things that struck me about this image was the line of the roof of what I think were supply sheds back in ancient times.  You could walk up there today, but this was at the end of a long day up at altitude, so we all felt just fine viewing them from a distance!

Tempo del Agua Ruins

 

I like this image because the growing plants really seem to accentuate the steepness of the hills/mountains in which the town sits.

Window and Water at Tempo del Agua

Here’s an image I really like of a view thru a window in some ruins at our level.  You can see another building and more mountains thru it, and if you check below the window, you can see a small opening in the rock where water ran.  This was inside of the remains of a structure, so I’m imagining this was the ancient Inca’s version of a building with running water!

Enjoy!



Views of Ollantaytambo

We stopped for the night at a town called Ollantaytambo (pronounced O’Leon-tye-TAM-bo).  This was an interesting place with lots to see.  This post will give you a view of some of the scenery around and within the walls of this very old city.

Farm Life in the Andes

Just outside of Ollantaytambo, I saw this view of what seems to me to be a fairly typical depiction of farm life in the Andes.  I think it really helps to show you why terracing is so important in this area.  I can’t see any other way to plant their crops!

Face in the Rock

 

As we stood on one of the small “streets” (I use the term lightly) in town, we could look up and see this incredible carving.  Yes, it’s a face in the rock.  However, the most amazing thing about this (and something we did not unfortunately get to see) was that when the ancient Incan people carved this face, they positioned it so that on the solstice (June 21 or 22), the shadows created by the sun makes it appear that he is blinking.  Ok, so it’s one slow blink, but the fact they carved this AND positioned it so this would happen is almost unbelievable!

Shrines in a Home

We also were allowed inside one family’s private living quarters.  In this sort of gathering room, there were a few shrines.  In case you are wondering, the small animal on the left side of the image is an aborted alpaca fetus.  I almost didn’t include this image in the blog, but it is something that is part of life there.  I can’t recall the exact reason why they do this, but I believe it’s some sort of appeal to the gods.

Skulls in Shrine in Private Home

 

Here’s another shrine in the same home and in the same gathering room.  For some reason, seeing skulls didn’t affect me as much as the baby alpaca.  Again, a tribute of some sort.  It seemed rather morbid to me, but then, in New Mexico, there is the Day of the Dead and there are skulls all over the place for that, so who am I to judge?

Stove Inside Private Home

 

This is the last photo from inside this home.  This is a stove that they use to cook on.  Makes our camping look quite progressive, even if done in a tent and we cook outdoors!  After all, we’re only doing that for a few days, not every day.

Kitty and Cactus

I thought this would be a good image to lighten the mood a bit!  Loved this kitty perched on a wall right next to some prickly pear cactus.  I have to admit, we saw this cactus around all over the place…..and we were in a rain forest up fairly high in the Andes.  I always thought of cactus as being in the desert, but I guess this falls under learning something new every day!

Growing on the Roof

I really love all the colors and texture going on in this image!  The roof is some sort of clay or slate tiles and the building is made of stone.  Add to that the texture of the plants growing out of the roof, and it’s great!  I don’t know if anyone lived in that building, tho.

Ollantaytambo Church Bells

I really liked the simplicity and simple lines of this image.  I don’t know if the bells actually are still rung.  More to come in the next blog – views of the ruins around the town!

Enjoy!



Lunch in a Garden

On the way from Pisac to our next stop, we had lunch in a lovely little resort inn that hadn’t quite opened yet for business.  However, their restaurant was open, and after lunch, I wandered thru the gardens they had there.  I don’t know the names of any of these flowers, so I’ll just post the images and let you take a virtual walk with me…

Hanging Beauty

Happy Colors

Pink and Purple

Brilliant Yellow

Luscious Red

 

 Enjoy!