Cusco in the sky with diamonds

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And here begins the vacation part of my vacation. Yet another really early morning. I rolled out of my down haven one last time and was welcomed by a lukewarm shower that turned cool by the end. The hotel is under major renovations, and apparently they´re playing with the hot water. We met our travel agent down in the lobby at 6:15 and got in HIS car (how many travel agents do that?!) for a ride to the airport. Our plans had been pretty up in the air for a while, and we finally settled on something on Monday (we were kind of forced to pick Mon because many of the hotels and transports had filled up). The rough outline is Cusco city with city tour on Sat, Sun to Macchu Pichu and spend the night there, Mon to Huayna Pichu then to Aguas Calientes and spend the night there, Tues to tour the sacred valley and return to Cusco for the night, Wed take a train from Cusco to Puno and spend the night at Puno (overlooking the lake), Thurs tour Lake Titicaca with the floating islands, Fri (if I get up early enough I´ll kayak on the lake) then to the airport near Puno with a stop at some ruins on the way, with a flight to Lima in the afternoon. We get to Lima just in time to get our bags and check into our flight home on Fri night. By Sat mid-morning I should be home! A lot to pack in, but there´s a lot to see here. I´ve already picked out what I´ll do if I come back. By the way, our travel agency was recommended strongly by the group because several people (Dr. Martin, Roxanna, and I think some others) have used them in the past. I have so far been very impressed with the services, and the price wasn´t TOO bad. I would highly recommend Turismo Total for anyone looking for a travel agency in Peru.

So anyway, we got to the airport with time to spare. We decided to condense all of our stuff down to what we could carry on (light, lean, and mobile). Humberto (our travel agent) was awesome and agreed to take the rest of our bags to his office for the week since the airport wanted freakin $70 just for mine. Whatever happened to those lockers you just put in a doller and take out the key? After packing last night, I think I might actually be able to fit everything home AND be within the weight limit (if I carry on about 50 lbs...) Our flight was uneventful, save for some choice photo ops from just above the clouds. In case anyone doesn´t know, Cusco is very high (11,170ft) and travelers here can easily get acute mountain sickness. Since we had just had a few lectures on it 2 weeks ago, we were well-versed. We came prepared with our Diamox (acetazolamide = a diuretic that through some unknown mechanism can prevent altitude sickness). The indication for diamox is fairly well-accepted, however the exact usage is a crap shoot. If you ask 10 people you´ll get 10 different answers on when and how much to take. I took my first one just before getting on the plane, which timed it about perfectly. By the time we landed, I bee-lined for the bathroom. And it´s been a continous issue throughout the day. There are 2 things that help prevent altitude sickness: Diamox and lots of water -- both things that make you pee a lot. I´ve never been one of those people who has to stop everything to find a bathroom (which I´m sure means I don´t drink enough water), but I´m starting to gain a new appreciation for it. And that was with the lowest dose! It also screws with your sense of taste, so all of a sudden the carbonated beverages tasted aweful. Like licking a rusty bumper. So much for that sprite zero that I was so excited to find in Peru (I´ve been having sprite zero withdrawal here). In the airport they actually sell little bottles of oxygen (at our hotel too) for about $15. Not sure if it´s aersol or pump, but that´s pretty fun. I might have to buy one just to check it out. Supposedly there´s a lot of places here that pump oxygen into rooms too (just like Vegas...) So far today, the only thing has been a slight headache on and off (one of the common altitude problems) and peeing. Who knows if I have it worse -- it often feels like you´re just sick and under the weather. Well, I already have that...

We were met at the airport with someone holding one of those little signs with your name on it. That was the first time I´ve ever actually done that. They gave us a very nice and comfortable ride back to our hotel. She even checked us in once we got here. For being one of the cheaper tour packages and one of the last places left to stay in Cusco (that the travel agency recommends), it´s pretty dang nice! A 4-star hotel (The Picoaga Hotel) with free internet (which I´m using right now), free breakfast (I´ll let you know tomorrow how it was), and pretty decent rooms, if a bit small (just right for a single). They even left us a little hospitality basket with a bottle of water (the good stuff that tastes like Dasani) and 2 little tejas chocolates (very big down here. It´s chocolate with some sort of fruit or nut and carmel inside. Quite tasty).

We had some time to kill before our tour so Edwin and I just wandered around the streets near our hotel. We´re in such a great location too. We´re a very short walk (5 min) to the Plaza de Armas (the major plaza in Cusco). It´s such a beautiful city too. Such a nice change from Lima. And get this -- the sun was actually shining! Except for that little respite in Ica, I hadn´t seen the sun for a while. Lima is SOOOO depressing this time of year! I don´t know how they stand it. I don´t think I could do it. No, I´m pretty sure I couldn´t.

It was such a beautiful day, we had fun just walking around and popping into stores here and there. We actually stumbled onto one of the very famous Inca finds in Cusco: the 12-sided stone. The Inca were known for their masonry. They created these elaborate and extremely sound walls without any mortar. All the pieces fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Many are trapezoidal (but alternating with the one next to it) and even the concavity or convexity varies so they fit together well. They had a little bit of liquid metal (combination of gold, silver, copper, etc) poured into a hollow that crossed 2 adjacent stones at the top or sides so they were even more sound. And all of the pieces are irregular. I´m pretty sure this was all before the wheel too. They had tons and tons and tons of people to help build (it was part of Inca culture to all spend some time helping out) and carried each ridiculously heavy stone to it´s place where it fit perfectly without mortar. Most are a standard 4 sides, but many were 8 or 9 or 10. And then there was the 1 12-sided block. Pretty cool. By the way, when the Spanish invaded, they thought the Inca were using witchcraft or something because their structures were so sound, so they started demolishing it all. They carted away many of the stones from great creations, and used them to build a whole bunch of catholic churches in Cusco (now the predominant religion). The irony is that through all of the many earthquakes that have struck Cusco (and there have been many since the 1500s, when the Spaniards invaded) many of the Spanish buildings were destroyed, but the Inca foundations remained fast (and still do). Ha. Take that.

We stopped for lunch at a nice little vegetarian place found from a suggestion in the guidebook (thanks Sylvia!) and had a great lunch. Filling, but fantastic. Called Govinda, it was pretty close to our hotel. We made it back just in time to drop off some stuff, take advantage of the really nice computers, and meet the tour group in our lobby at 1:15. After a bit of a charlie foxtrot we started the tour about 30min later at Le Catedral on the Plaza de Armas. Our guide was pretty well-informed and talked about a lot of stuff in there. It was another one of those places where you can´t take pictures. Annoying. I think it´s just so they can sell you the book at the end. It was an interesting merging of Incan religion (with mother earth being the main deity) and Catholicism. There were a lot of crucifix statues, but many more Maria (Mary) statues. They have this unique pyramid-shape, formed by the way her robe hangs, which is supposed to represent the earth (trees). They also had a very pregnant Mary statue (not often seen), and a depiction of the Last Supper with a guinea pig, or cuy, on the plate instead of a lamb. Other things on the table were papaya, strawberry, corn, and a couple of other local staples. The paintings were done by local Incan artists (with spanish influence) and are a twist on all the favorites (incorporating local animals like horses that look an aweful lot like llamas, and local trees). They also had a black jesus crucifix (actually just painted or stained black, not african). And the original cross from the conquistadores. This entire area (and the Incan culture) was known for the massive amounts of gold. In that time, it did not denote wealth, but was associated with wisdom. They used it a lot in religious articles and sacred areas. The alter of the cathedral (floor to really high ceiling) is entirely made of gold and very intricately carved. They also use a lot of silver, and some of the chapels had alters of silver. A nice visit, but wish I could have taken pictures. Words didn´t do some of that justice.

From there we boarded the bus and headed to the Temple of the Sun. It was a purely Incan area and incorporated many small temples. Back in the day, it was filled with golden idols (all looted and melted by the Spanish, mainly Francisco Pizarro). Qorikancha, as it was called, had many authentic, untouched Incan walls. And there we learned that underneath the walls, they sit on little ball bearings. The thought was that when an earthquake hits, the ball bearings help absorb the shock since everything can move a little. Ingenious.

Our next stop was outside Cusco and even higher into the mountains. First we went to the famous site of Saqsaywaman. It used to be a strong Inca fortress (though before the Spaniards arrived, it was just a temple. The Inca apparently had never known war until the Spanish). It was impenatrable for a time, but the Spanish were persistent and finally made it over the walls and started massacring the Incan soldiers, who were then trapped inside the towers. The Incans had an impact though -- one of the first arrows out hit Francisco Pizarro´s son, who died later that night. After sacking the Incas, they took all the stone they could carry from the fortress. Deconstructed the towers completely (now just a base remains), and the only thing remaining of the wall is the foundation -- only because the stones were too large to move (they weighed tons!). The whole thing is supposed to be in the shape of a puma, very symbolic to the Inca. Maybe if you use your imagination... The bottom wall has 22 zig-zagged edges -- the exact number of Puma teeth. We had a little free time up there so Edwin and I decided to climb to the top (not too high, but a workout). We were definitely winded. I´m not even sure what altitude we finally ended up at (higher than Cusco) but it really hit me when I tried to do any kind of exertion. We got to the top and had a great view of the city, but decided we climbed the wrong peak since we couldn´t really see the Puma. So we climbed down, ran over, and sprinted up to the top of the other before we ran out of time. Holy crap. I think I know what it would feel like to be 50lbs heavier, out of shape, and trying to run a few blocks. Dang. Talk about winded. Fun though. And what a view! (still didn´t look like a Puma)

Our next stop was Q´engo (sounds something like cachengo). The local language is Quechuan, the Incan language, and it´s still spoken widely. Many people here are actually just straight up Incan (well of Incan ancestry). It was a little maze of tight passages through the rock, and a statue out front that was supposed to look like a Puma (again...not seeing it. They say though that at sunset on June 21, the winter solstice here, the shadow looks just like a Puma. The Inca were renowned for their astronomy and building with relation to sun, moon, and stars). Next was Pukapukara. The only thing there is a fountain. But it´s the fountain of youth. The myth comes from when the Inca used to rub the water in their eyes and would have better health and live longer. Something about a lot of iron in the water, but I don´t buy it. Anyway, we all hiked to the end where it was, and of course dipped our hands in it. I don´t think anyone rubbed it in their eyes though. Edwin and I dared each other to drink it though, but we both decided we had too much to lose in another week of touring to do it now. We took a bottle. So you too could be the owner of water from the fountain of youth. I bet I could sell it for like $100 on Ebay. How could they prove me wrong? haha It was dang cold though. Probably would´ve tasted amazing, like clear mountain spring water (with only a little giardia in it).

By the time we were done with that it was getting late. We made one last stop at a little shop that sells Alpaca sweaters and stuff (I´m sure the tour company gets a cut on that one...) It was a useful stop though because I learned to tell the difference between an acrylic sweater, i.e. fake alpaca (it´s shiny and not soft), a blend, and llama (not as soft). Also the difference between baby alpaca and alpaca (baby´s softer, duh). I bought a nice sweater for a good price, and am finally satisfied that I have something baby alpaca. It´s no shawl, but it´s something. I´m still thinking about that shawl but I think the boat has sailed. So far haven´t seen anything that nice (but some for prices like that). We made the drive back down to Cusco (really only like 10min) in the dark with a beautiful view of a yellow full moon over the mountain, and the lights of the Cusco city below.

For dinner Edwin and I hit up a little bar at the Plaza de Armas for a quick bite. We actually started at another restaurant, but like many restaurants in Peru, the service was AWEFUL so we left. In 10 min he was so busy with other tables he never even came over to greet us (except to say "momentito" which became 10min). I´ve solved the problem though. If they would actually employ TWO waiters instead of one in a busy restaurant with full tables, you might actually see a waiter once an hour. It was a great decision though. We went 2 doors down (thankfully passed up the Bembos, which is the local burger king equivalent) and landed at The Crown (I think that was the name...). The food was great and the beer was good (despite the funky taste from diamox). It was quick, good music, and a great little bar (though I could do without the cigarette smoke at least it wasn´t in my face). ¡Perfecto! I think we might go back when we´re here again in a few days.

I´m headed off to get a few hour sleep before having to leave the hotel at 5:30 in the morning. Seriously, am I ever going to sleep past sunrise again? I´m jealous of anyone that´s sleeping in tomorrow... Tomorrow night we´ll be at Macchu Pichu. If there´s internet there, I promise I´ll start uploading some pics.

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Photos

Travel Husband
Airport snapshot -- that was Edwin's breakfast