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Published: October 1st 2009
With just a few days to explore the historic city of Cuzco I discovered, rather controversially, that I didn't like it all that much! And yes I'm pretty certain that'll be the complete opposite view to everyone else who's ever been there. I found my disappointment compounded by the fact I'd looked forward to coming for so long, really ever since I'd visited the Mayan sites of Mexico and Guatemala in 1997 and discovered a love of pre-Colombian history. Perhaps I'd just seen so many unexpectedly fantastic places on this trip that it couldn't match up. There were a few things I did love though, like the two excellent vegetarian restaurants I discovered (I was in absolute heaven!!), but I guess that seems a little contradictory when I say it was the zillion foreign tourists along with the associated ubiquitous western food restaurants, bars and complete commercialism that spoilt it!
With everything more expensive here we'd had to downgrade from the ensuite rooms with satellite TV that I'd been thoroughly enjoying since Shirley arrived - a definite step up from the dorms I was used to but I don't think she was too enthused about our reversal in fortunes. She
did her best to hide her horror at the idea of shared bathrooms though (this was her first ever backpacking trip - and a world away from her normal holidays - so I was chuffed she was willing to give it a go.... whether she'll ever repeat the experience... :0)) and we quickly set about exploring the city instead. One of the most interesting places in town was the Catholic church of Santo Domingo, or rather what once lay hidden beneath its walls. Santo Domingo now dominates the site where the Inca complex of Qoricancha, the Golden Palace and Temple of the Sun, once stood. Rooms dedicated to the Inca god Wiracocha, the Sun, Moon, Stars, mother Pachamama and others were built here using stones quarried some 30km away and shaped to fit together so perfectly that not even a needle could be squeeze into the gap between them. The word Qoricancha means "golden courtyard" in the Quechua language of the Andes and it's said that the walls of the temple were covered in panels of gold, that life-size gold figures stood in the courtyards and a huge golden sun disc reflected the sun and bathed the temple in light.
During the summer solstice the sun still shines directly into a niche where only the Inca chieftain was permitted to sit. Apparently it took the Spanish several months to melt down all the gold and silver they found here and when they divided the city up among themselves the area of Qoricancha was given to the younger brother of Fransisco Pizarro who in turn willed it to the Dominicans. The Dominicans dismantled many of the Inca buildings and used the polished stones to build a church and convent. What remained of Qoricancha was hidden beneath the walls of the convent until @1950 when an earthquake caused large sections to crumble, exposing the Inca walls that can be seen today.
As interesting as Qoricancha was my favourite place here was Sacsayhuamán, a hilltop site on the edge of Cusco with stunning views back over the city that for many years was believed to be an Inca fortress - current thinking supports a role as a ceremonial site, a temple to the Sun, instead. We were in a hurry to catch the bus to Pisac so didn't have much time here but with a bit of haggling we paid a guide
for an excellent whirlwind tour and then sat watching as a group of Andean locals swarmed in front of us, all short, stout, tanned and dressed in colourful traditional dress, enjoying a day out themselves. The site itself is huge. Three massive ramparts of zigzag walls run in parallel for over 300 meters on the north side, forming the outer walls. Of the three towers that once crowned the top of Sacsayhuamán only the foundations of two remain. The outer walls were impressive enough though and it's been suggested that the zigzagging shape forms the "teeth" of the puma's head which the complex represents; others believe they represent Illapa, the Inca god of thunder, lightning and rainstorms. The largest stones weigh over 100 tons and were positioned at the apex of the walls to strengthen them. As at Qoricancha the stones here fit together perfectly and this precision combined with the design of interlocking shapes (i.e. so there's no line of weakness) and the way the walls lean inward is thought to have helped the ruins withstand earthquakes. Unfortunately up until the1930s Sacsayhuamán acted as an unofficial quarry for the builders of Cusco so it’s hard to appreciate just how
it would have looked in Inca times.
We arrived in the small town of Pisac late on a Saturday afternoon, dusk fast approaching but just in time to watch the market stall holders packing up, completely dismantling their stands and carrying them off.... yet as fast as they packed up others were moving in, setting up their stalls in the now increasingly fading light. Now, it seemed, was change over time, today's stall holders moving out to make way for those trading at tomorrow’s tourist market. Which of course is why we were here! With Shirley fully embracing the backpacker lifestyle we headed off to find some accommodation... too expensive, too noisy, too closed.... finally we found somewhere that was OK and she did such a good job of trying to haggle the price that the owner asked her if she was Israeli, a nationality it would seem known for their haggling!
Early the next morning the scene was completely different, the streets barely recognisable for all the stands, people, colour and noise. We strolled around watching as stall holders set out their goods, some changing into the traditional garb of the region (I imagine it helps sales
if you're not dressed in jeans and a t-shirt!), others keen to try and make an early sale, a few making the most of the peace before the tourist buses arrived with a cup of tea and cake bought fresh from a passing seller. We tucked into a breakfast of cheese empanadas (kind of small Cornish pasties) fresh from the oven whilst the guys we'd met at our hostel opted for the Peruvian delicacy.... cuy... aka guinea pig! There are times when I'm quite glad to be vegetarian :0) At 11am on the edge of town a ceremony was underway where Varayocs (village mayors) and others from the surrounding villages arrived dressed in their traditional dress to participate in a Quechua mass at the small white Catholic church. By then the market was well underway but despite the huge volume of alpaca (all 100% baby alpaca, honest) jumpers, blankets, scarves, hats etc etc etc there was still a locals market going on with household goods and vegetables all on sale. Apparently there are 100 different types of potato grown hereabouts and whilst they weren't all on sale there were alot!
On the steep terraced hillsides above Pisac sit more
Inca ruins and we'd planned to hike up there in the afternoon. Unfortunately with Shirley’s knees still causing her pain after the Colca Canyon hike she soon had to turn back but with the rain clouds threatening and feeling the need to burn off those empanada's I opted to push on and finish the 4 hour loop, making it almost all the way back before the rain finally started. The ruins here are spread out over quite a large site and whilst they were interesting enough for me the best part were the stunning views along the Urubamba valley below. Meanwhile back in town the market was coming to an end and we were off too, squashing into a couple of minivans with the locals a move little further along the Sacred Valley to Ollantaytambo and from there Machu Picchu.
Next up, more Inca ruins and the way north
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the soul cultivator
Claire Hall
Beautiful work
Its been a joy going back over your epic journey and your photography is just breath taking, just like the Cusco air!