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Published: March 4th 2008
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Took Inca Express from Puno to Cusco. The train is 3 times as much, and word has is that it is a real butt buster--ten hours on wooden benches--so I opted for the luxury of a bus with an English speaking guide, stopping in 5 different places along the way. It had been raining all night, so the early departure was downright frigid. We immediately were served coca leaf tea which seems to be the cure-all here for whatever ails you. I personally don't like it, plus it does to my stomach exactly what coffee does--feels like a washing machine is working on heavy soiled clothes. I opted for manzanilla.
We retraced back to Juliaca, which is perhaps the most unattractive town I've ever seen. It's a real hub of manufacturing (Adidas knock-offs for 3 dollars) and a lot of contraband. "You can get anything in Juliaca," so says the guide. There are 4 paved roads--two NS, and two EW: the rest of the streets of this completly square gridded city of 200,000 are mud pits. Most of the buildings look as if they are in the process of still being built--steel rods extending upwards and outwards. In this part
of Peru, if your house isn't finished, then it isn't taxed, so no one ever finishes their house. It's one UGLY city.
After driving on a really bad paved road, our first stop was Pukara--center of pre-Inca culture. Pretty interesting museum there (lots of stone steles of people holding cut-off heads to scare invaders). Pukara is the center of making ceramic bulls which you put on your roof to bring good luck and prosperity, although I only saw 4 houses with them (they are much more popular in the Sacred Valley). The altiplano is too high for a lot of agriculture--you see mostly livestock--llamas, alpacas, cattle, sheep, pigs and a few horses. During this time of year it is really green, but we were told it only lasts about 2 months, and then turns brown.
Suddenly, the road was exceptionally smooth. This road had been finished during Fujimori's presidency, and even though he is currently on trial in Lima for graft and "crimes against humanity", the straw poll says that if he ran, he would be president again. He managed to do a few projects like paving this road, as well as ending the reign of terror of
the Shining Light, and for this, he is immensely poplar. When you ask Peruvians about their government, they just roll their eyes and say, "Only in Peru".
The mountain pass which makes the border between the "states" of Puno and Cusco was our next stop. Mountains with glaciers and herds of wild llamas and alpacas was the backdop to a great little market for souvenirs and textiles and alpaca sweaters (mine was 9 dollars). And then was the beginning of the Sacred Valley (Urubamba river). The landscape changed immediately, and it was immensely rich agriculturally. The weather from one side to the other is markedly different. The altiplano gets hail and blowing snow in winter. The houses are half underground. The valley only a few miles away rarely ever gets snow, and never hail, so the houses are several stories with ceramic roofs. Throughout the Sacred Valley, you look at the rich agriculture, and wonder how it is that Peru is so poor with so much natural bounty.
After a lunch, we had a stop in Racqui ("ceramic" in Quechua) at the temple of the high Inca god. A 35 foot central wall nearly 200 feet long is
still standing after 600 years, as are the 16 round bases of roof supports. It is a ceramic center now (like a lot of places in the Sacred Valley). One more stop-- colonial chuch at Andullayas that is the most Baroque decorated church I've ever seen. Every possible inch of space was painted or had a wood carving or had a painting or mirrors--even the ceiling. So much for "less is more".
Left the Sacred Valley and in a few moments we were in Cusco (navel of the world in Quechua). Frankly, this navel had a lot of schmutz and was really dusty and dirty. I was not impressed at all and as we went further, I kept thinking that I had made a really bad mistake coming to Cusco to spend some time. Even the taxi trip to the hostel left me wondering why everyone talks about this being such a great place.
I walked down to the center of the old town at sundown, through Inka built walls and looked at colonial balconies overlooking Inca streets, and arrived at the plaza, and suddenly realized why this place is on the UNESCO world heritage list. My first
thought was "this is what Santa Fe used to be"--an amazing mix of cultures that meld into something brand new and exciting. Within 10 minutes I had completely changed my mind about the city.
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