Backpacker mecca: Cusco

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Blogger Bec and Dougo

Has there ever been a bigger tribute to the manufactors of outdoor gear than the streets of Cusco?? North Face, Quecha, Kathmandu, Mountain Designs, Macpac, Berger, Doite, Deuter, Osprey: scruffy backpackers cheek by jowl with popcorn eaters (luxury tourists), Cusco is a heaving mass of outdoor consumerism. And it ain´t in the shops folks, it´s on the back/feet/scalp/chest/pocket of every gringo that you pass on the overcrowded streets.
Jungle - check. Mountain - check. Ancient Incan ruins - check. Spanish cathedrals - check. You want it, Cusco has it and it seems that every tourist on earth wants a piece. Including us!

Cusco, the Inca heartland and capital, is where our Inca Trail journey really begins and we are in the thick of it all proudly prowling the streets decked out in head to toe ´Quecha´ gear bought at a fraction of the price that the Europeans have paid for it thanks to the Shanghai Decathlonsuperstore!

Before we start the trek however, we had a day to kill soaking up the sights of the town.

We started with a guided tour of the cathedral which the Spanish built after pulling apart the existing Incan temple. (As you do when you are the conquering race...) Fascinating mix of ostentacious colonial scariness and sneaky Andean symbols in all the artwork and carvings. The Spanish enlisted the local Andean people to paint all the images inside the church so they were obviously going to put there spin on them. Very much like the 'Da Vinci Code' in Paris, just way more obvious.

We next went to the Temple of the Sun, another Andean temple that the Spaniards converted into their own place of worship. What was believed to have been a temple lined with gold that lit up like its namesake during the summer solstice. Unlike the main cathedral, the Spaniards, incorporated the amazing masonry into its own structure.

In the late afternoon light, we walked to the famous incan site of Sachsaywaman (Sexy-woman) that overlooks Cusco. They wanted USD$35 to enter the site proper so we ventured up a hill next to the entrance to snap a few free pics.

The trip back down to our hotel gave us a great site of the full moon. Fantastic.

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Photos

Where to now?
The maps they provided at the hotel were pretty good..if you can read maps!

Old meets New
The Spainish incorporated the stones of the Sun Temple into their cathedral.

Perfect masonry
No mortar was used to hold the stones in place, they fit perfectly without it.

Sun Temple
The traditional courtyard

Sachsaywaman (sec-see-wo-man)
The highest point in Cusco was an important site for the Incas. We didn't think it was worth the USD$35/p entrance ticket so scaled a hill overlooking it.