Was Machu Picchu always a tourist attraction?

by Kraig Becker on

Travelers to Peru almost invariably make a stop at the famous Inca lost city of Mach Picchu. Situated on a mountain top, the spectacular ruins have been luring visitors almost immediately after they were rediscovered by Hiram Bingham back in 1911. But according to this story from National Geographic, a new theory is being put fourth by Italian scientist Giulio Magli who says that the fortress may have always been a tourist trap, even when it was first constructed back in 1460.

Historians have long debated the real purpose for Machu Picchu’s existence. Situated at 8000 feet above sea level, it couldn’t have been easy to construct, nor was it easy to reach after it was completed. Some people believe it was a palace built for Pachacuti, the ruler of the Inca Empire at the time of the city’s construction. Others have felt that it has some type of celestial observatory. But Magli feels that Machu Picchu was built to be a pilgrimage site that worshipers would make the trip to in order to relive an important journey from their historical past.

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According to legend, the Inca people were created on the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca. Later they made an important and difficult journey through the Earth, emerging at a place called Tampu-tocco. Magli feels that the journey to Machu Picchu was a symbolic recreation of those travels, and he even points to landmarks within the ruins that represent certain elements found within the myth. Furthermore, he feels that the site was accessible by commoners and royalty alike, who traveled there to relive a portion of that mythology.

This is an interesting theory, and if true, should make us all feel a little less guilty for beating a path to the Peruvian ruins. After all, if it was meant to be a tourist spot all along, we’re only doing what the original architect intended. He should have planned ahead for higher capacity, or at least expansion, though.

Bowermaster’s Adventures — Ibo

by Jon Bowermaster on

Ibo – officially Ilha Do Ibo, by the Portuguese who colonized it – is one of a string of 32 islands that make up the Quirimbas archipelago, separated from the Mozambique coast by just a shallow channel. Barely two miles long and two miles wide a fringe of reefs surrounds it; at low tide you can walk to the next island. On its main, slightly derelict beach fishermen hammer at boats turned on their sides and a pair of skinny boys walk the mangrove shallows with a net between them, trolling for baitfish. Just offshore cruise elegant-if-paint-flaked wooden dhows; their triangular white cloth sails making them look more windsurfer than sailboat. Ironically their masters can only fish when it’s windy, since most have no motors.

A grassy square of abandoned colonial houses in ice-cream pastels anchors the island’s main town (there are just three). Their grand size and wrought iron terraces and lampposts suggest prosperity. But the ironwork is rusted; the walls pitted with black mold and fig trees grow through the roofs. After the church, the grandest building on the square is the Customs House, pink-painted with ornate iron lattice along its roof. Inside, in a vague attempt at tourism, it has been turned into a tourist office. The unmanned display consists of an elephant skull, an old dining chair with a label reading “cadeira usada pelos portugueses” – chair used by the Portuguese – and a table laid out with a few coffee beans.

Ibo’s heyday was during the late 1800s, based on slaves and ivory. When slavery was abolished in the early 1900s and modern ships no longer needed to stop off so often for water and supplies, it faded. The island’s graves tell how, over the centuries, it attracted the Chinese, Arabs, British and Portuguese. Today it feels as if time has stopped since the Portuguese left abruptly in 1974, its population having fallen from 37,000 to fewer than 6,000. There are no cars, no banks, no postal service, no television or Internet and virtually no electricity … except at its lone and elegantly restored hotel, the Ibo Island Lodge (www.iboisland.com).

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One thing that sets Ibo apart from much of the rest of the Africa today – a continent on the verge of continent-wide drought – is an abundance of fresh water. For an hour I watch young boys come and go from a pair of wells in the center of town, pumping fresh, clear water into yellow plastic bottles with red screw tops. It comes from not far beneath the sand and according to locals seems bottomless. (For a good read on how the rest of Africa is dealing with serious drought, read my friend Andy Revkin’s recent. dotEarth report.)

“All day long it will come,” says my guide for the day, Ali, of the clear fresh water pouring from the rudimentary pump. “People even come from mainland Mozambique to get Ibo’s water. Maybe we can turn it into a business. What do you think?” I assure him that if he can figure out a way to export the island’s water, while preserving enough for local needs, he may have found his own path to riches, Ibo-style.

Read more from Jon at Bowermaster’s Adventures.

Five national parks to hit this weekend

by Kraig Becker on

Yesterday we mentioned that the National Park Service has waived all entry fees to every national park this weekend, and while that may increase the crowds in places like Yellowstone and Yosemite, there are still plenty of great parks that you can visit that will remain quiet. Here are five suggestions on where to take dad this weekend and still avoid the crowds.

Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Located in the southwest corner of South Dakota, Badlands National Park offers spectacular scenery and a surprising array of activities to keep you occupied. The windswept landscapes range from towering jagged rock spires and winding canyons to open grasslands and and miles of prairie. The Badlands also contain a huge fossil bed dating back more than 30 million years, giving visitors the opportunity to peek back in time to an era when long extinct animals still roamed the area. Today, the park is home to a large herd of bison, plenty of big horn sheep, and the endangered black footed ferret, amongst other species of wildlife.

Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico
The National Park system is home to one of the most spectacular cave systems found anywhere in the world in the form of Carlsbad Caverns, located in the far southeast section of New Mexico. With its 94 individual caves, carved from the limestone that is prominent in the region, the Carlsbad Caverns are otherworldly in their beauty. The underground labyrinth is filled with narrow, twisting passages as well as large chambers and open passageways. Perhaps the most spectacular is the Big Room, which is 8.2 acres in size, handicap accessible, and well lit with electric lights. The more adventurous will want to sign up for one of the tours that will take them deeper into the Earth, where they’ll make their way with headlamps into seldom visited dark crevasses.Crater Lake, Oregon
Located deep within the Cascade Mountain range, Crater Lake was formed when water from retreating glaciers in the last ice age, filled in the caldera of an extinct volcano. The lake is six miles across and more than 2000 feet in depth, making it the deepest in the U.S. It also happens to sits at the middle of 250 square miles of pristine wilderness that is the perfect outdoor playground. Hikers and backpackers will find plenty to love on the spectacular trails, and SCUBA divers have been known to plunge deep into the lake’s crystal clear blue waters. In the winter, the hiking gives way to skiing and snowshoeing as well.

Congaree, South Carolina
South Carolina is home to the remains of the largest old-growth floodplain forest in North America. Conagree National Park covers more than 22,000 acres and is home to 75 species of ancient trees, earning it a designation as a International Biosphere Reserve. Visitors can stroll beneath one of the world’s highest natural canopies along 20 miles of trail. But to really explore this park you’ll want to break out a canoe or kayak, and paddle deep into the interior. The park offers free guided tours on most weekends, although an advanced reservation is required. Birdwatchers will enjoy Congaree as well, with its plethora of birdlife, and white tailed deer, raccoons, and otters are also frequently spotted.

Great Basin, Nevada
Don’t be fooled by the desert location of Great Basin National Park, it is far from a dry, dead wasteland as many believe. In fact, the park is alive with plants and animals, and is accented by snow capepd Wheeler Peak, which stands over 13,000 feet in height. The best way to explore Great Basin is on foot, and there are plenty of great hiking trails to take you past the parks top attractions, such as the 5000 year old bristlecone pine trees and the six-story tall Lexington Arch Trail. If you do go to Great Basin, be sure to stick around after dark, as the view of the night sky is spectacular, with the Mikly Way on full display.

These are just a few of the many national parks and monuments that will be fee free this weekend. To find others, be sure to head to NPS.gov to checkout the options close to you.

A hidden church near Oxford

by Sean McLachlan on

Yesterday I reviewed Michael McCay’s Hidden Treasures of England, a book filled with wonderful places that most people miss. Here’s one McCay missed.

Not far from the popular destination of Oxford is the little hamlet of Binsey and its historic St. Margaret’s Church.

St. Margaret’s is reputedly founded on the spot where St. Frideswide (pictured here) built an oratory in the seventh century. The holy woman fled Oxford to Binsey to escape a local prince who wanted to marry her. As punishment for his lust, the prince was blinded by lightning, but the forgiving yet still chaste St. Frideswide cured him with water from a holy well that miraculously opened up from the ground after she prayed to St. Margaret of Antioch.

The well is still there today and attracts people who pray for help, especially cures to blindness. This tradition may even be older than St. Frideswide, because many holy wells in England were actually pagan holy spots before being taken over by the new faith. In the nineteenth century Lewis Carroll visited the spot and used it as inspiration for his “treacle well” in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. He was making a play on words. In his day treacle was a syrup, but in Saxon times it meant “a healing fluid.”

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The Saxon church of St. Frideswide’s day is long gone, replaced with a modest but beautiful 13th century building. There are some well preserved Gothic features such as the arch and the carved doorway, and a rare trussed rafter roof made with no nails.

Although it’s one of the most historic churches in Oxfordshire, St. Margaret’s is desperately in need of money for repairs and upkeep. The Church of England is feeling the pinch and smaller churches like this one are struggling to keep open. They are taking donations at their website and you can always drop some coins in the donation box at the church. A building with this much history deserves to stay open.

The church and its well make for a fine half-day excursion from Oxford. It’s only about three miles from downtown and much of the walk is through serene countryside. A map is available on the website. As you pass through the village of Binsey, you might want to stop by The Perch, a relaxing pub with a big garden. It’s tradition to stop at a pub during an English country walk, and you wouldn’t want to break with tradition, would you?

Take dad to a national park this weekend for free!

by Kraig Becker on

Just in time for the Father’s Day weekend, the National Park Service has announced that all entry fees will be waived for both Saturday and Sunday, June 20th and 21st. This means that more than 100 parks that traditionally charge for entry will be fee free this weekend.

In addition, a number of NPS partners that provide concessions, and other services, within the parks have announced special deals as well. For instance, those visiting Badlands National Park in South Dakota or Big Bend in Texas this weekend will receive a free, eco-friendly shopping bag that can be reused on your weekly trip to the grocery store. Meanwhile, travelers going to Glacier National Park can take advantage of a “buy-one-get-one-free” deal on commemorative t-shirts.

Already have plans for the weekend, and they involve relaxing at home instead? Never fear, there are still two more fee free wekends yet to come this summer, and most of the special deals from the concessioners will be available then too. The NPS has designated July 18-19 and August 15-16 as the other fee free days.

So, if you’re looking save a little money on your vacation this summer, perhaps you can plan to visit one of the many spectacular national parks around the country on one of these weekends. There is a nataional park or monument in 49 of the 50 states (Sorry Delaware!) and it has just gotten a little easier to pay them a visit. Head over to NPS.gov to find one near you.
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