Siblings Kerry and Maria Magner share their experience from educational tour of Machu Picchu, other landmarks in Peru

Editor's Note: The following article was submitted by siblings Kerry and Maria Magner, children of Jim Magner and Rose Magner of Waukon. Both are graduates of Waukon High School, Kerry in 1993 and Maria in 2003.

Kerry and Maria Magner, formerly of Waukon, visited Peru’s capital, Lima, as well as Cusco and the fabled mountaintop ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu earlier this year. Kerry, a Civil Engineering Doctoral candidate and Graduate Teaching Assistant at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, MO, accompanied a group of engineering undergraduate students throughout Peru for 10 days in March as part of a Geological Engineering course focusing on the geological and geotechnical engineering aspects of the Inca civilization.
Maria, a marketing specialist in Portland, OR, traveled as an additional chaperone with the group. Kerry has previously explored the region and welcomed the opportunity to expose the students and his sister to the amazing ancient engineering aspects of Peru.
Their Peruvian journey started in the capital city of Lima along the Pacific Ocean. A major international city and tourist destination, Lima eased the students into South American culture with its modern infrastructure and English speakers. Lima is a booming urban city of close to eight million people and this size can be a bit intimidating as most of the group is from the rural Midwest.
From Lima and the coast, they flew inland to the historic capital of the Inca Empire, Cusco. Nestled in the Andes Mountains, Cusco has a population of about 500,000 people and is at an elevation of 11,000 feet. Peruvians are accustomed to the altitude, but it takes visitors time to acclimate to the elevation and adjust to the thin air. Today, Cusco is the starting point for hikers wishing to journey the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. This area of Peru is a rich patchwork of both native Peruvians and international people wishing to explore the rich heritage of the region.
As part of the course, the group explored historic archeological sites composed of ancient ruins, aqueducts, quarries, bridges, irrigated terraced farming practices and active salt mines, all the while studying engineering and construction aspects used by the Incas that went into building each of these structures. They visited such sites as the fountains of Tipón, the terraces and markets of P’isac, the great walled complex of Saksayhuamán (Sak-Say-woman), the San Pedro de Andahuaylills (An-da-who-lis) Catholic church (the interior is gilded in gold!), Piquillaqta (Pi-ca-lac-ta) pre-Incan village, Awanacancha alpaca farm, the salt pans of Maras, the circular terraces of Morays, and the Yaurisqui active landslide site.
It is interesting to note that this area of the world is prone to frequent massive earthquakes, yet all of the historic structures remain intact some 500-800 years later; a testament to the Incan engineering and construction practices. Peru is located near the equator in the southern hemisphere and the seasons are just the opposite of those in the Midwest. Although the group traveled during Peru’s rainy season, the combination of warm wet tropics and cold mountain ranges gave the group exposure to the country's diverse climate and biodiversity of plants and animals.
Cusco’s open air markets feature some of Peru’s most popular exports of llama and alpaca wool, chocolate and potatoes (over 3,000 varieties of potatoes found in Peru!). Cusco is also home to the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin, also known as the Cusco Cathedral, a Catholic Church known for its repository of fine art including a painting of the Last Supper that depicts Jesus and the 12 Apostles feasting on guinea pig, a traditional Peruvian delicacy. Maria and Kerry attended Palm Sunday mass in the cathedral and although the mass was in Spanish, the Easter worship and illumination was breathtaking.
The group traveled to the village Ollantaytambo (O-lan-tay-tam-bo), a small town along the Inca Trail where hikers rest on their journey through the Andes Mountains to Machu Picchu. Ollantaytambo is a site of an ancient Incan grain storage facility where multi-ton sculpted granite blocks had been transported from a quarry six miles away by a culture that used neither wheels nor pack animals.
Throughout the Incan empire there are multiple historic grain storage facilities each sufficient in size to store enough grain to feed the entire Incan empire for six months. This was thought to be in preparation for droughts and floods, and to protect from invaders and marauders.  This is just another of the many testaments to the Incan ingenuity.
From Ollantaytambo, the group took a train along the Urubamba River through the Sacred Valley to Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu.
Built by the Incas around 1450, Machu Picchu was not known to the outside world until being discovered in 1911 by Yale Professor Hiram Bingham. The city sits at an elevation of 8,000 feet above sea level, between two mountains with terraces that were farmed to grow crops, but steep enough to make it difficult for invaders.
The city of Machu Picchu includes many structures, terraces, irrigation channels, temples, altars and houses.  As the students explored the Machu Picchu complex, they also discovered the ancient Incan bridge carved into the face of a shear granite mountain and the Sun Gate at Inti Punku. The Sun Gate is considered the entrance to Machu Picchu along the Incan Trail.
The group also climbed to the summit of nearby Wayna Picchu Mountain, some 9,000 feet above sea level. Wanya Picchu is the large mountain peak in the background of many typical pictures of Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site and is considered one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
Missouri Science & Technology contracts its Peruvian trips with Peru Moon and Travel, a family-run operation. The food was exotic, the language barrier was high, and the hiking was strenuous, but for two kids from northeast Iowa, being able to visit one of the Great Wonders of the World was an experience they will never forget.
A video of Maria Magner’s experiences in Peru is available to be viewed online at https://youtu.be/yXaos8x97Xs?list=UU6ayBKUj4QcOlMXwAQkjIvA.