Monday, May 11, 2015

Time to Play 'Spot The Famous Archeological Site'

Pictured here is a world-famous historical point of interest.
 
Take a close look and try to guess what it is. (Excuse the poor quality of the photo since I didn't realize what it was either until later.)

 

Hint: It's in the top right corner.

Hint: It's in South America.

Got it yet?


Hint: It's easy to pronounce and hard to spell.

Hint: Some people take a multi-day hike to get here while others take a train to Aguas Calientes and then ride a tour bus up that road, right to the front stone gate.

Give up?

The world-famous archeological site you can't really see here is none other than Peru's Machu Picchu. This picture was taken on a random hike I took with my wife the day we arrived in Aguas Calientes (a misnomer I'd say; a better and more accurate name would be Aguas Barely-Come-Outa-La-Shower). We would be hiking up the mountainside the next morning - leaving at 4 to get to the top by 6 when the stone gate opened - so we took part of our free afternoon to explore and enjoy the neighboring mountains.

The only angle I'd ever seen of Machu Picchu was this one:


I'll bet most people would say the same. Until now.

I don't expect to be returning to Agua Helado anytime soon. If you are going, however, consider hiking up Phutuq K'usi and checking out the view.

Or see it right here, thanks to Sabrina Sanchez who, unlike yours truly, seems to have had a better idea what she was looking at.


Next up: a totally out-of-focus photo of the bottom half of a semi-famous statue...

2 comments:

  1. I think your shot of looks amazing! and I've got to admit, it was kind of difficult for me to guess what the photo was! but I do think your 2nd shot is stunning!

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    1. Thanks Rachel! Yes that second photo shows a great view, and seems to be the obligatory angle for anyone visiting M-Pich. Many people will recommend the steep, treacherous climb up tall eggy-shaped mountain on the far side, Waina Picchu, it offers an incredible panorama of the whole area. I didn't get any pictures though as I had run out of film. (Yeah it was a while ago!)

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