A proper intro to Cusco and the Incas.

Started the day with a visit to Tambomachay (3765 m), the site of an ancient temple of water about 20 minutes from downtown Cusco. The water has been running here for over 800 years and the local people use it for crop irrigation (mainly potatoes, beans and grains including my favorite, quinoa) and as drinking water.

puma photobomb

Pumas are indigenous to the area and are symbolic of the balance between the sky (symbolized by a condor) and the underground (symbolized by the serpent). We would see a lot of pumas, condors and serpents in the coming days... and the running shoe brand name suddenly made more sense.

A beautiful temple in an incredibly serene environment. Even with probably a hundred tourists at the site, in most places we could just hear either our guide quietly explaining things, or the sounds of the water and birds chirping.

Next we stopped at Qenko where we toured more ruins in the form of handmade alleys of stone leading to an interior area of worship.

but first, an awkward photo op

an alleyway leading to the central worship area

This site was very much focused on the connection of the three worldly components - sky, earth and underworld - and it was here that I really started to see how much Catholicism/Christianity adopted from ancient cultures in developing its religion (I think I knew this before but in a vaguer sense). We saw a tri-level altar that we're pretty sure was used for sacrifices as well as birth rituals...

where they put the bodies

... though the guide glossed over the "sacrifices" part. He is very proud of his Incan heritage and skipped over the brutal parts of his culture's history throughout the day (a familiar but annoying practice - yes, the patriots came to the Americas and kumbayaed with the Native Americans over a turkey dinner, riiiiight). Outside the alleys were lots of pretty little flowers and beautiful views.

Saqsaywaman was next. This was an amazing site of ruins offering great panoramic views of Cusco below.

It's hard to believe that people dragged hundreds of stones weighing over a ton quite a distance, even harder to believe how well they made them fit together to form temples, living areas and a giant lightening bolt in honor of the lightening god.

This site was allegedly built around Cusco in order to form the shape of a puma, with the tail being in the lower part of the city and the head at the top of the mountain. I took a picture but honestly didn't really see the puma.

The ruins were being renovated - this is how they marked the stones to be sure they put them back in the exact same place:

We headed back downtown and visited the Museo Inka where we learned about the history of the Incan uprising (again, as told by our guide this was a peaceful affair of merging cultures... riiiiight) and subsequent conquest by Spain. This museum also showcased hundreds of ancient artifacts with insignias of condors, pumas and serpents.

Last stop before lunch was the Cathedral of Cusco. The Spanish built this massive cathedral with the "help" (as slaves no doubt) of many local Andean people who managed to subtly incorporate their own religion into the cathedral as well... Pretty sneaky, sis. Mother Earth in particular was proudly and predominantly represented throughout the paintings and wood carved seating areas. The Catholics apparently either didn't notice, or interpreted these symbols as spreading the word of God or as the Virgin Mary. This meant that the Andean people were happier to (be forced to) come here to worship since their own beliefs were represented. It was possibly the first historical "win/win"!

Cathedral of Cusco

Lunch was brilliantly spiced vegetable soup and a caprese salad at Freddo's Cafe next to the hotel. Then we visited Qorikancha (from the Quechua words Quri Kancha meaning 'Golden Courtyard') right across from the hotel where the Temple of the Sun is located. Very interesting architecture and placement of areas of worship in relation to the sun and N/E/S/W, but to be honest, by this time I was on information overload so I don't remember much else about it.

a N/E/S/W marker in the center of the structure

we're in a temple!

Afterward Viki and I explored the local market (much like the one I visited in Cuenca, only bigger) where one could buy anything from tourist tshirts to 17 different types of corn to handmade weavings to 13 varieties of potatoes to a glass of freshly squeezed juice. Really neat place where we hope to spend a little more time and money experimenting when we get back to Cusco.

Viki ogling the chocolate stands

Back to the hotel for a quick briefing about the morning's departure, and a light dinner of "Snackies" and various coca things, then dessert at Sara (an organic cafe).

not bad, actually!

pretty bad, actually!

In a moment of cliche I got a hankering for apple pie and ice cream, which was delicious - though different than your usual apple pie thanks to the grated apple.

Viki opted for a berry tart with amazing chocolate pepper sauce.

We decided we needed another week in Cusco to fully appreciate the various food offerings.

Then early to bed in prep for our trekking adventure. There were supposed to be seven of us but three UK folks got stuck due to the Iceland volcano, so now we are four (me, Viki and two ladies in their late 60s) plus the guide and campside assistants. Even with all the briefings I have no idea what to expect... Other than something amazing.