VERSAILLES BASICS

                                          One Huge Palace
       
         We decided to take the train from Paris for the hour ride through the countryside to visit the  Château de Versailles. Before heading to the subway we stopped in a cigar store to purchase a two-day museum pass. On arrival and seeing the long line to buy tickets,  we were especially glad we already had ours! It was nice to bypass the line and go directly to the side and enter the chateau where the first stop was reception to buy English ear phones and pick up a map.

            Chateau Versailles is a bit of a misnomer, as it is truly a magnificent palace radiating wealth, grandeur and ceremony. A UNESCO site for the past thirty years, it is an excellent example of 18^th century art. Louis XIII built Versailles as a hunting lodge.  Louis XIV expanded the structure and moved the court and government there in 1682. Three French kings occupied the 18,000 square meter palace---the seat of power until 1789.

The château also includes lavish royal apartments and the Châteaux de Trianon, Marie Antoinette’s hamlet. Magnificent gardens, 250 acres of them, surround these monuments. In the 16^th century the area was a clay quarry for making tile. Catherine built the palace after Henri II died in 1559. The Italian style reminded the queen of her native Tuscany.

Between 1660-1994 the palace was redesigned in French style. a renovation took place in 1990, statues were added and the palace was separated from traffic. In 1994 a foot bridge was added across the Seine River.

The palace tour starts at the Louie XV chapel, completed in 1710. The two-level room faces the east and the rising sun. The king sat in the top level, his family to the sides and the public on the ground floor. Mass was held every day.

            Marble wainscoting and wooden parquet floors were in the apartments. The gorgeous salon ceiling, containing 142 figures, took three years to paint. Belgium marble in a quilt pattern edged the contrasting colored marble walls. The 236-foot long hall of mirrors in the grand apartments dates back to the 1670s. There are 17 multi paned mirrors, gilded together rather than soldered, on the inside wall of the long room. Seventeen arched windows are opposite on the outside wall. Three rows of crystal chandeliers go the full length of the hall, plus there is a row of gold statues on the side walls holding up additional chandeliers. Large red, grey and gold tapestries hang on the king’s bedroom walls. To say this part of the palace is ornate, and busy, is a bit of an understatement!    

             The dauphin (oldest son of the king) apartments, dating back to the 1670s, were much prettier and calmer. The white walls had lovely painted raised, probably plaster, decorations running around all the edges. Forty-three coats of alternating paint and varnish covered the decorated parts. These rooms, apartment if you will, were a contrast to what we’d seen, and although I loved them, they were occupied by a male and seemed very feminine to me. 

            We walked through the gardens to catch a little tram ride through the forest to Marie-Antoinette’s apartments where she raised sheep. Her quarters were peaceful in a quiet setting. Marble was popular and she had some unique furniture pieces. It was easy to see why Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793), an Austrian princess and brother of Emperor Joseph II as well as the wife of Louis XVI, would love to stay here. She had a flair for entertaining. Besides raising sheep, she was a music and art lover and played the harp.

            In the 19^th century Versailles became a museum of French history. 

INCA CULTURE continued

                                     Inca Lifestyle

      At lower altitudes in more temperate and subtropical valleys bananas, coffee, beans, yucca, avocado, plus a variety of fruits and vegetables are grown. Such crops are rotated with corn, wheat, and alfalfa. There are special rituals that accompany the planting of corn where the men plow, but the women do the planting.

      Water symbolizes eternity, and where there is water, there is life. Sources of water are sacred; springs are regarded as entrances to the inner earth.  Immersion in water is a healing practice.  Ceremonial baths have been found in all ancient Inca ruins. Mineral waters and hot springs are found in the mountains surrounding Cuzco and Machu Picchu.  Mayu means river.

       Quechua women dress in vibrant bright colors. Traditional dress of Quechua women is a combination of pre-Spanish and Spanish colonial. Skirts are full and gathered, and worn in layers giving the hips a broad dimension. Hats may be a Panama-type woven from palm fibers, but the most common hat we

Always willing to pose!

saw was a brown woolen rounded top-hat type that sat on top of the woman’s head. I tried in vain to figure out how they kept these hats on. Women wear their dark hair long in two braids fastened in back with a ribbon. The women are short (generally a little less than 5’) and physically small. Babies and supplies are carried on their back held by a large colorful  woven cloth.

Men wear traditional western clothing including a vest and brimmed hat. Footwear is either leather sandals or ones made from tire rubber. Men carry small woven pouches to hold coca leaves. Coca leaves are an integral part of Quechua life. The leaves are often chewed as a digestive aid or as an appetite suppressant, and of course to brew tea.

     It takes about six months to spin, dye, and weave the ponchos that are distinctive in color and design which identify the wearer’s village/district.

     Young girls weave a multi colored scarf, called a chilina. She works on it in her spare time. At a festival or celebration when she sees a young man she wishes to have a serious relationship with, she gives him the chilina and once it is accepted, they go off to consummate their relationship.

      Young boys learn songs and how to play an instrument, often a mandolin or flute. At a festival, if he sees a certain girl he desires, he’ll serenade her. If she also desires, they go off to consummate the relationship.

 But whatever the custom, after the commitment, the couple visits her parents, who in turn call his parents. Parents exchange coca leaves. The young couple moves in with one of the families, and helps where needed. Pregnancy soon follows. The child is accepted by both families and after living together two years the law gives the same rights to women and children as by any formal ceremony.

       The Incas had no written language, but intricate patterns woven into their fabrics told a story. Fabrics were crucial to the culture. Awa is the Quechua word for weaving, and is considered the highest of the Quechua skills. One of the first things girls learn is how to use a drop spindle to spin alpaca or llama wool into thread.

     The alpaca is domesticated and raised almost exclusively for its wool, which is finer than sheep’s wool. The alpaca is sheared every two years.

      In one form of Awa a portable backstrap loom attached to a belt is braced around the weaver’s waist, the other end is anchored to a stake in the ground or around a tree. This ancient art, threatened by modernization, is being revived. The fabrics woven by the Quechua are beautiful. They make many things from these cloths and sell them for very small prices.

A BIT ABOUT INCA CULTURE

             The Culture Continues Today

      Ama Sua, Ama Quella, Ama Lulla, an Inca credo translates to: Don’t steal, don’t be lazy, don’t lie. The name Inca originally referred only to the royal family, in particular the emperors, but today it describes the people as a whole. The Incas spoke Quechua, and called their empire Tawantinsuyo.

 The Andes Mountain Range runs down the entire western coast of South America, and boasts some of the most accessible and beautiful scenery on the continent. The range is geographically unstable, earthquakes are common, and volcanoes are located in the southern Andes.

         But it is here that Quechua (keth-uwa) farmers live in isolated areas throughout the Andes. Their communities are called ayllukunas, and it is in these Andean villages where an age-old culture has survived. Ayni is the Quechua word meaning one works and helps wherever needed; all work is shared and each benefits from helping others. It implies an interconnectedness and interdependence.

          The Inca civilization is the best known and most studied of the pre-Columbian cultures of South America. Before 1430, Incas who believed their Emperor was descended from the sun, ruled over the Cuzco valley. A unity of purpose allowed the Incas to support a vast conquering army while simultaneous expanding their cultural influence. The Inca dynasty is estimated to have lasted from 1000-1572. Although they had no written language, history, traditions, and spirituality were passed down orally for generations.

        Story telling was a big part of Inca life. The llama was sacred in many of their stories. Singing and dancing were also very prominent in their lives. The Andean mandolin and flute were favored instruments. They believed that dancing brought the body and mind in perfect harmony, and cleared and aligned the energy fields. Nature becomes part of the dancer and the dancer becomes part of nature. The Incas in their worship of nature found huaca (spiritual power) in the heavens, hills, and stones.

       Mother Earth directed their life---- if one lives in harmony with her, feeds and nourishes her, you receive gifts of life. Rocks have always been considered sacred, and all ruins were built on or around unusual rock formations. Andean people understand rocks have special energy.

      The Incas had an advanced system of astronomy, and a unique ability to read annual cycles of the sun. The Inca calendar was essential to agricultural cycles. Hail, snow, and lightening were considered three brothers whose deeds were malicious and spiteful, capable of destroying crops.

The Quechua way of life incorporates spirituality in all aspects of living. They live an earthy textured lifestyle, and their love of the earth is profound. Over 100 varieties of potatoes and grains are grown high in the Andes. Each family has an area in which to raise guinea pigs. These animals are clean and quiet, and are a special treat for families and guests.  Also served on special occasions, we were told that when roasted and cooked fresh it tastes much like poultry.

     Continued next time.

                

TRAIL START AND OTHER INCA RUINS

                                              So Many Ruins

        It was an hour and a half bus ride over a very bumpy rough path to K 82 where we found many other hikers  and of course the regular hawkers.  We paid some enterprising fellow one sol to use the bano before starting out. It was the last toilet bowl I’d squat over for the next four days!

We had to sign in with the park service before crossing over the river on a swinging foot bridge.

The trail immediately started up, up. The scenery was beautiful, but the breathing hard. My

Crossing the Urumbabma River bridge

 

son and I brought up the rear, with a guide bringing up the tail. We were hiking with a group of middle to late 20 year olds; my son at 45 was the old man, so you can imagine what his mother was!

A good part of the trail

  The old Inca trail is the most popular trek on the continent. Walking from one beautiful ruin to another was an unforgettable experience. For some reason I expected a good packed earth tail, but most of the trail was rock paved. That sounds good, but the rocks were of various sizes from a good-sized flagstone (easiest to walk on) to small brick size. They were all intermingled and the surfaces were anything but even, forcing one to watch every step.

     Days before we ever got to the trail we did considerable site seeing. Surrounding the city in the Sacred Valley are several large Inca sites.

Our first stop was at Sacsayhuaman, 1450, Quechua for satisfied falcon, but is more easily remembered by saying sexy woman. It is a massive site and perhaps the most important Inca monument after Machu Picchu. Some of those stones weighed up to 300 tons. They formed parallel walls stretching 1000 feet. The skill of Inca builders was incredible! These stones are so accurately cut that a knife blade cannot slip between them! There is no mortar, the stones were precisely cut and fitted together. Archaeologists believe these walls outline what was a sun temple.

Covering an area of 6 square kilometers, the three tier structure held walls 30 meters, 20 meters and 15 meters high, bottom tier to the top. Standing in front of the 98 ton first-laid stone in a certain position it is said one can absorb positive energy from the rock.  Likewise there is another  area where one can rid himself of negative energy. The seven stones surrounding this rock represent the seven senses. There were three entrances and an underground passageway to Sacsayhuaman

Pizarro was attracted to this fortress-like area and made it his military base. Although the buildings are gone, still standing are the impressive zigzag walls, which represent the puma’s teeth. This once huge structure was cannibalized for years for building material for Cuzco’s homes and 22 colonial churches. Now only 20% of the ruins remain.              

     

     The Urubamba Valley was sacred to the Incas, and is known as the Sacred Valley.  It was so named because it had a good climate, fertile soil, and a river. The valley is 150 Kilometers long. Enroute through the valley to the Pisac ruins we passed many tile roofed, adobe villages.

The terraced hillsides of the valley are cultivated, producing one crop a year. But in the valley, which is irrigated via mountain water, three crops a year are grown.

       Pisac, 1570, ruins sit on a hilltop with a gorge on either side. The area contained 8 neighborhoods (Machu Picchu only had two).  Diagonal flagstone stairs set into the terraced walls join the many agricultural terraces. At the top of the site sits the usual sun and religious rooms. The highly defensible site guarded both the Urubamba Valley and a pass to the Amazon jungle. Excavations in 1980 uncovered baths and the largest Inca cemetery. 

  

   Ollantaytambo is another massive Inca fortress. Huge steep terraces guarded the fortress, and in 1536 Pizarro was unable to fend off the barrage of Inca arrows, stones, spears, and boulders, and made a hasty retreat.      It was late afternoon after a day of a lot of climbing so I climbed only halfway up the steep steps to the terraces as I figured my knees had had enough for one day. Later my son informed me the view at the top was fantastic.  I was happy to sit awhile in the site and enjoy the incredible scenery.