Photos:  The City of the Mist: Machu Picchu

Our morning began early in the town of Aguas Calientes, the closest point of access to Macchu Picchu.  We travelled by bus to the entrance gates a bit before first light.

Slowly the incredible steep mountains below Machu Picchu emerged from the morning clouds.   The site was selected by the Incas because of its position relative to sacred landscape features such as its mountains that are purported to be in alignment with key astronomical events.

As it often does in Machu Picchu, it was raining lightly, but we were prepared.  Me with rain jacket and rain pants.

In the early morning, much of Machu Picchu was playing peek-a-boo with us... clouds would move aside to grant us a brief vista..then return.  This is my photo approaching the watchman's cottage that offers a view of the entire city below

By 9 AM the rain stopped and the great extent of the city emerged. 

The Incas built the city around 1450, but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. 

The site is roughly divided into an urban sector and an agricultural sector, as well as the upper town and the lower town. The temples are part of the upper town, the warehouses the lower

The city lay lost and forgotten until an American historian - Hiram Bingham made a number of forays  into the mountains and jungles and followed leads until he found it in 1911. The image of Indiana Jones was based on Bingham

By 10:30 the warm bright sun came out a allow us to experience yet another face of Machu Picchu

Unfortunately at about the same time, tour buses connecting with the day trippers from Cusco started arriving  - and we had to share our mystical Machu Picchu with a lot of other folks...

Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls.

Trazoidal stone doors

What feet, what loads have passed up and down these steps...

Each stone was done perfectly that no gaps - not even room for a playing card to be pushed between - and the work was done with the aid of no mortar!

One of the resident llamas who tends the grass

 Machu Picchu is a model of city planning - function and beauty integrated, systems for urban agriculture, movement of people, and water and waste management all considered in the city design.

Some houses have been rethatched to show how they would have appeared in Inca times

Vast systems of terraces permitted food products to be produced close to the community.  Not only the terrace walls but also the soil had to be imported.  Rain water was plentiful

The Intihuatana stone is one of many ritual stones in South America. These stones are arranged to point directly at the sun during the winter solstice.

In the late afternoon - the mist was returning to claim the city again

PHOTOS: HEIFER INTERNATIONAL - EQUADOR

Heifer International works world wide to improve the lives of people and their communities, making the best use of the limited resources available.  While Heifer continues to  train and gift individual families with cows, pigs, goats, chickens, etc., the organization is also developing new programs to help groups of people to organize their resources, using seed money provided by Heifer,  to create systems that benefit the entire community.  Interest paid for low cost loans serves as the new form of "passing on the gift" making more resources available to others.  

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On our Heifer study trip to Ecuador we saw several projects in action.

1.  A fishing town on the Pacific coast:   Traditionally any development had to pass through the intermediate loan agents who charge high rates and kept individuals on a short leash.

Fishermen, with the help of Heifer,  can use seed money to build common loading docks, buy equipment in bulk for resale to members, and combine their catch to improve their marketing position for better sales.  Most important, their new sense of community allows the families to develop more financial independence, better health care, and better education possibilities for the children.

New loading dock: 

We went out with fishermen to experience their daily work, (2 or 3 of us in a boat with each fisherman)  It's hard work laying out long nets, then going back to pull them in by hand, and collecting the fish that are to be sold.

The fish caught in 2 cycles of net out and net back in. The fishermen continue this all day... every day the weather permits.

For lunch we tied to a clump of mangrove trees - a charcoal fire was started on a steel plate - fish (really fresh!)  and green bananas were fried for us - and a tomato/onion salad was made by the fisherman... delicious!

The fishermen and families "hanging out" in the evening in front of their houses.  Life here is communal!

2.  Organic banana and chocolate farmers can also learn how to be  better prepared to deal with the world economy, it's limits, and it's demand...   The answers are more training, well managed seed money ( Heifer), and assistance to establish coops.  The banana farm we visited was only accessible after trekking up a long muddy foot path that crossed this stream.

Cacao - chocolate pods hanging on the trunk of the tree - each pod is about 8- 9 inches long, containing the seeds used to produce chocolate

Judy's boots after the long walk up the hill... We all looked like this...

Bananas must be carefully inspected  for ripeness before shipping... if too ripe they must be rejected because they would not be suitable for sale if they arrive overripe. Sample bananas must be cut open to check the color, which indicates if it is OK to ship.

The village coop is also developing a cottage industry of drying, roasting, and preparing chocolate from cacao beans, to make chocolate bars for the local market... It has superb flavor ! ...and what an aroma as it is cooking!

3.  Enroute we drove up above the 14,000 ft. level on  Cotopaxi volcano.   (To the point where climbers start their assent. )  Read more here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotopaxi

4.  Small independent farmers: can increase their yield if they learn to use organic farming methods, new crop rotation patterns, and develop coop marketing plans. Alone they are subject to the whims of the market. Together with training paid for with "Heifer seed money" they can greatly improve their lives and resources. 

 Our host and local Heifer staff person on one farm we visited:

New methods involve planting different varieties in the same field.  Companion planting minimizes insect damage, removing the need for chemical pesticides, allows the soil to be covered with vegetation all the time - minimizing water loss by wind passing over. Plant communities are also mutusally beneficial with each variety adding and removing different products from the soil.  Constant planting and harvesting are required year around in the gardens.   This is on the equator so there is no "cold" season...only a rainy and a dry season.

Many farmers also maintain livestock; Cows. goats, chickens, sheep... and here guinea pigs ( cui) ... small vegeterian animals that are a traditional protein source for the local people.  They fit well into an organic garden plan.  Manure is returned to the soil.

Here I am relishing a nice portion of well roasted guinea pig, prepared by our hostess.  It reminded me of rabbit.

5.  Trout farm coop... It takes seed money to build cement tanks that can collect the cold clear spring water coming out of the mountainside... But a group of families can build and maintain the tanks and produce an effective trout farm that supplies all the fish sold by a local restaurant and also for sale in the farmers market.  The low cost loan is paid back with interest - and the money is available to support other projects.

Here is one of the entrepreneurs who developed the fish farm

6.  Farmers markets like this are one of the main marketing strategies for local organic farmers and producers of livestock and fish...Local people are drawn by the quality and freshness of these products over those grown with chemicals and fertilizers.  It is evident that the organic market was attracting more customers that the "chemical" growers.

"Social capital" is a term used to describes the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively.  For example a healthy church group or community association that effectively grows and develops must get buy in and participation from many in the community to be effective.    A goal of Heifer International is to provide the knowledge and start up money to permit people to develop their social capital in a manner which will be self maintaining and self expanding. 

Galapagos Islands: A few photos

Galapagos Islands

What is so special about the Galapagos as a laboratory of evolution... is that while the islands are recently formed ( geologically speaking ), the life found there, while in many ways similar to the life in Ecuador, is different and adapted for the conditions on each different island.

Dawn showing on a volcanic cylinder 

Our worthy boat - the "Frigata" ... this was our home for a week...

We made frequent excursions to locations onthe various islands to hike, hunt out interesting organisms, snorkel , and once to visit a local town.

Most life forms have, through natural selection, adapted to fit the color of their environment.  The " Sally Light Foot" crab depends on her tough shell and the lack of predators. The color has a mating function.

Frigate birds - famous for long flights over the open ocean - here they come to raise their young. All the life forms here appears to be totally unafraid of humans.  It is remarkable that it is possible to approach within a few feet of most organisms.   We were required to travel in groups, and the number of visitors each day is tightly controlled.

A red footed booby ( the color has a mating function )

On a different island, developing with different influences, is a blue footed booby.

A chief predator on one island is the short eared owl

Unique species of mocking birds are found here on some islands.

A male frigate bird with his throat  pouch which can be inflated to attract a mate... ( very "sexy" !)

Sea iguanas - live by eating seaweed that they collect from the seafloor

Land iguanas vary by island - but they eat the specific form of cactus that is unique for each island

A gathering of sea iguanas - note their perfect protective coloring to match the rocks

Tree Cactus on one island - the iguanas have to wait until a cactus "pad" falls to the ground before they can feed... limits the population...

Albatross birds engaged in a squabble

One of the famous land tortoises ... there are also sea turtles visible while snorkeling.  The land tortoises are each well adapted to their particular island.

Judy's birthday cake baked aboard the boat - an Ecuadorian "Tres Leches" cake... muy delicioso!

Note that we were almost smack dab on the equator... only 18.64 minutes of a degree from the line itself! 

Do you remember that Darwin was enthusiastic about the many varieties of Finches that he found.  They are alive and thriving - each adapted to its location and to its food sources...

A different species of finch

Finches are open to new food sources too...

I did not have a camera capable of underwater photos -so I can not show you the sea turtles, the sea lions, the wild array of fish, the coral, the sharks, and the swimming iguanas... pretty awesome!