Ollantaytambo

So, abandoning the shelter of the ruins, the Indians were now enjoying the convenience of living near some springs in the roughly built thatched huts of their own design.

Without the slightest expectation of finding anything more interesting than the stone-faced terraces of which I already had a glimpse, and the ruins of two or three stone houses such as we had encountered at various places on the road between Ollantaytambo and Torontoy, I finally left the cool shade of the pleasant little hut and climbed further up the ridge and around a slight promontory.

Arteaga had been here once before and decided to rest and gossip with Richarte and Alvarez in the hut.

They sent a small boy with me as a guide.

Nowhere else in Peru, so far as I know, is there a similar structure conspicuous as a masonry wall with three windows.

These ruins have no other name than that of the mountain on the slopes of which they are located.

Had this place been occupied uninterruptedly, like Cuzco and Ollantaytambo, Machu Picchu would have retained its ancient name, but during the centuries when it was abandoned, its name was lost.

Examinations show that it was essentially a fortified place, a remote fastness protected by natural bulwarks of which man took advantage to create the most impregnable stronghold in the Andes.

So, abandoning the shelter of the ruins, the Indians were now enjoying the convenience of living near some springs in the roughly built thatched huts of their own design.

Without the slightest expectation of finding anything more interesting than the stone-faced terraces of which I already had a glimpse, and the ruins of two or three stone houses such as we had encountered at various places on the road between Ollantaytambo and Torontoy, I finally left the cool shade of the pleasant little hut and climbed further up the ridge and around a slight promontory.

Arteaga had been here once before, and decided to rest and gossip with Richarte and Alvarez in the hut.

They sent a small boy with me as a guide.

Nowhere else in Peru, so far as I know, is there a similar structure conspicuous as a masonry wall with three windows.

These ruins have no other name than that of the mountain on the slopes of which they are located.

Had this place been occupied uninterruptedly, like Cusco and Ollantaytambo, Machu Picchu would have retained its ancient name, but during the centuries when it was abandoned, its name was lost.

Examinations show that it was essentially a fortified place, a remote fastness protected by natural bulwarks of which man took advantage to create the most impregnable stronghold in the Andes.

So, abandoning the shelter of the ruins, the Indians were now enjoying the convenience of living near some springs in the roughly built thatched huts of their own design.

Without the slightest expectation of finding anything more interesting than the stone-faced terraces of which I already had a glimpse, and the ruins of two or three stone houses such as we had encountered at various places on the road between Ollantaytambo and Torontoy, I finally left the cool shade of the pleasant little hut and climbed further up the ridge and around a slight promontory.

Arteaga had been here once before and decided to rest and gossip with Richarte and Alvarez in the hut.

They sent a small boy with me as a guide.

Nowhere else in Peru, so far as I know, is there a similar structure conspicuous as a masonry wall with three windows.

These ruins have no other name than that of the mountain on the slopes of which they are located.

Had this place been occupied uninterruptedly, like Cuzco and Ollantaytambo, Machu Picchu would have retained its ancient name, but during the centuries when it was abandoned, its name was lost.

Examinations show that it was essentially a fortified place, a remote fastness protected by natural bulwarks of which man took advantage to create the most impregnable stronghold in the Andes.

I do.

But when you really look at these sites, I mean, who could pull off the precision of Pumapunko or the pyramids of Giza or sites like Ollantaytambo in Peru, where it's just like...

Unbelievable precision.

Even a few of the precise things I found out here in Hawaii, the weight factor too.

So, abandoning the shelter of the ruins, the Indians were now enjoying the convenience of living near some springs in the roughly built thatched huts of their own design.

Without the slightest expectation of finding anything more interesting than the stone-faced terraces of which I already had a glimpse, and the ruins of two or three stone houses such as we had encountered at various places on the road between Ollantaytambo and Torontoy, I finally left the cool shade of the pleasant little hut and climbed further up the ridge and around a slight promontory.

Arteaga had been here once before and decided to rest and gossip with Richarte and Alvarez in the hut.

They sent a small boy with me as a guide.

Nowhere else in Peru, so far as I know, is there a similar structure conspicuous as a masonry wall with three windows.

These ruins have no other name than that of the mountain on the slopes of which they are located.

Had this place been occupied uninterruptedly, like Cuzco and Ollantaytambo, Machu Picchu would have retained its ancient name, but during the centuries when it was abandoned, its name was lost.

Examinations show that it was essentially a fortified place, a remote fastness protected by natural bulwarks of which man took advantage to create the most impregnable stronghold in the Andes.

So, abandoning the shelter of the ruins, the Indians were now enjoying the convenience of living near some springs in the roughly built thatched huts of their own design.

Without the slightest expectation of finding anything more interesting than the stone-faced terraces of which I already had a glimpse, and the ruins of two or three stone houses such as we had encountered at various places on the road between Ollantaytambo and Torontoy, I finally left the cool shade of the pleasant little hut and climbed further up the ridge and around a slight promontory.

Arteaga had been here once before, and decided to rest and gossip with Richarte and Alvarez in the hut.

They sent a small boy with me as a guide.

Nowhere else in Peru, so far as I know, is there a similar structure conspicuous as a masonry wall with three windows.

These ruins have no other name than that of the mountain on the slopes of which they are located.

Had this place been occupied uninterruptedly, like Cuzco and Ollantaytambo, Machu Picchu would have retained its ancient name; but during the centuries when it was abandoned, its name was lost.

Examinations show that it was essentially a fortified place, a remote fastness protected by natural bulwarks of which man took advantage to create the most impregnable stronghold in the Andes.

These protrusions, they call them knobs.

You have these sites like Sacsayhuaman in Peru and Ollantaytambo and Tiahuanaco, Pumapunku.

Then you have the pyramids.

The middle pyramid is cased with granite stones, and it's like pillowing with tight fits of granite with these knobby protrusions, and they can't be used for lifting.

So, abandoning the shelter of the ruins, the Indians were now enjoying the convenience of living near some springs in the roughly built thatched huts of their own design.

Without the slightest expectation of finding anything more interesting than the stone-faced terraces of which I already had a glimpse, and the ruins of two or three stone houses such as we had encountered at various places on the road between Ollantaytambo and Torontoy, I finally left the cool shade of the pleasant little hut and climbed farther up the ridge and around a slight promontory.

Arteaga had been here once before, and decided to rest and gossip with Richarte and Alvarez in the hut.

They sent a small boy with me as a guide.

Nowhere else in Peru, so far as I know, is there a similar structure conspicuous as a masonry wall with three windows.

These ruins have no other name than that of the mountain on the slopes of which they are located.

Had this place been occupied uninterruptedly, like Cusco and Ollantaytambo, Machu Picchu would have retained its ancient name.

But during the centuries when it was abandoned, its name was lost.

For anyone who wants to try to say, like, Matt, come on, Gobekli Tepe is beyond comprehension.

Go compare it to Ollantaytambo.

Go compare it to Sasuke, Oman, or Cusco, or the Great Pyramid of Egypt.

These are on a different scale.

We're going to do a run around the world.

First, right out of the gun, we're looking at a site called Pumapunku on the left in Bolivia.

And on the right, you're in the outskirts of Ollantaytambo.

Cassie, first thing, look at that picture on the right.