Condor lives at Andes mountains. There, the Inca empire had prospered for a
few hundred years until Spanish conquered in 16c. Their cultural level was
very high, but unfortunately they did not have writing. We can only guess
their culture from the documents conquistador Spanish wrote. The short
travel started from an ancient city, Cusco with my curious father.
The view of Cusco city (alt. 3400m). Cusco was the capital of Inca empire
until about 400 years before.
A street in Cusco. The Inca architecture was made of precisely polished
stones. There is no gaps between the stones.
Sacsayhuaman remains which were used for a fortress locate on top of the
hill near Cusco. They are registered in the world heritage list.
Pisaq locates in Ulbamba valley which is usually called "holly valley".
People sell a lot of vegetables, fruits, and souvenirs. Andes region is
known as the original country of corns, potatoes, tomatoes, green peppers
and so on. The tastes are pretty good.
At Pisaq remains.
At Ulbamba valley. The left most man in the picture is Mr. Hanada, our
guide. He is introduced in the Japanese famous travel guidebook.
Machupicchu remains (alt. 2400m) are well introduced in TV programs and
elsewhere. They had been forgotten away from people before a western
archaeologist found in early 20c. They locate on top of a steep
mountain. Most Travelers take a bus from a train station to Machupicchu by
way of a heavily winding road. Of course, we can go there on foot, only if
you are tough.
The railway that links between Cusco and Machupicchu. It takes about 3
hours. Inside of the train, oxygen taps are equipped for mountain sickness.
The train often breaks down. We suffered break tube troubles.
At lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca locates at an altitude of more than 3800m.
Uros islands, which are floating on the lake, are made of a kind of reed.
We can find that they are really floating when we land on the island.
A typical house of Indios. Most of Indios would not show their house except
their friend. Fortunately the family was our guide, Mr. Aquise's friend.
The family showed us all of their house. Also, I had just a boild potato for
their breakfast. Cooking was so simple but the taste was much better
compared with having in other countries.
At Sillustani remains. Sullustani built on pre-Inca period and was used for
a grave.
Nasca is well known for big drawings on the surface of Nasca desert. We
looked at the drawings from a light airplane. The contrast of the drawings
is not good, it is difficult to take pictures clearly. The contrast of the
picture shown here is slightly changed by an image editing tool for well
recognition.
At a restaurant in New York. Bon appeti! On the way back to Japan, we
stopped at New York. The bridge behind me is Brooklyn Bridge, one of the
most beautiful bridge in New York. The short travel concluded at a modern
city, New York.