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Published: March 24th 2010
Before, between, and after our adventures on the Inca Trail, Machu Picchu, and the Sacred Valley, we spent some time wandering around the streets of Cusco and seeing the sights, mostly ruins and museums, around what was once the center of Inca civilization.
On the morning of November 30th, the day before we left for the Inca Trail, as we were passing through the alleyways, we noticed that many of the buildings were built on walls made with huge polished stones. Even though we knew very little of the Incas and their architecture at that time, one look at those walls told us that they were built by the Incas. We also got yelled at for leaning against the wall - how were we supposed to know? There were no signs posted!
We found out later from a young artist-student-guide that these walls along the streets of Lorento and Hatunrumiyoc were famous, and the huge shaped Imperial-style Inca boulders were specifically carved to fit together perfectly, like a jigsaw, without the use of mortar. The protrusions on the blocks were for the temporary attachment of wooden beams that were used to elevate and put the stones in place. He
showed us the famous 12-angled stone in the middle of the wall (I was wondering why everyone was taking pictures of that particular place along the wall - and a guy dressed like an Inca was standing near it). I found that the 12-angled stone appear in many logos in Cusco, including the Boleto Turistico which we purchased later that day. The walls are also best known for the panther and serpent images formed by some of the stones, with the images visible during certain times of the year. Right around the corner was where they filmed a scene from the
Motorcycle Diaries, where you can see pre-Inca, Inca, and the incapable (i.e. Spanish stonework).
Later that day, we stopped by the municipal building and purchased the Boleto Turistico del Cusco, a tourist pass (good for 10 days) that encompassed several attractions, mostly ruins and museums, around Cusco and the Sacred Valley. We visited a few of the museums listed that day starting out with the Museo de Arte Popular (Popular Art Museum), Museo Munipal de Arte Contemporaneo (Contemporary Art), and the Museo de Sitio del Qoricancha (which had some history and artifacts about the Incas and was situated
Inca, Pre-Inca, and the Incapable
Large stones are Inca, the facing wall on right is Wari (pre-Inca), and the stones on top of the Inca stones are done by the Spanish (i.e. the incapable). This is the corner featured in movie ¨The Motorcycle Diaries.¨underneath the front lawn of the Sun Temple). All these museums were pretty small and didn't take more than half an hour to an hour or so wandering through. We also stopped by the Center of Textiles and Weaving that afternoon, and learned more about this craft which is so ubiquitous in the Andes. Several women were weaving there as a demonstration, and for a small tip, we were allowed to take a picture or two.
The following days were spent on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, followed by a day exploring the ruins in Ollantaytambo (see previous entries). After getting back to Cusco, we were completely exhausted and could barely move! However, we still wanted to see the 4 ruins around the Cusco area; so instead of attempting to see them independently, which would involve busing 5 km out of Cusco and walking back to the city, we decided to sign up for a city tour to see the ruins.
So on Monday afternoon, Dec. 7th, we set out on a whirlwind tour to see the several Inca ruins in and around Cusco. We went on a tour bus with dozens of other passengers, which was
by far our LEAST favorite way of seeing stuff. What is wrong with tourists? Why can´t they just stay home?
Our first stop was the Hurin Qosqo (or Qoricancha), the Temple of the Sun, right in the city itself. After subjugating the Incas, the Spaniards built a Catholic church RIGHT OVER their Sun Temple. It was, of course, the Christian thing to do (where do you think Christmas came from?). However some of the walls of the original temple were exposed after an earthquake in 1950, and were now on display. When we arrived with our loud, billingual guide and our tour group, there were several other tour groups already there, each with their own loud guide. Our visit was a little chaotic and not too fun. After 40 minutes or so we were loaded back on the bus for the ruin of Sacsaywaman, pronounced literally as ¨sexy woman.¨
Having been impressed by the terraces in Ollaytantambo, we were blown away by the remains at Sacsaywaman. Although the site had largely been destroyed, enough of the three walls surrounding the city remained to give a sense of how formidable the place must have in its day. The walls
were made of huge stones, maybe 20 feet tall, and weighing so much I couldn´t guess. Just check out the pics. How did the Incas ever move these stones? Even stranger, how did the Spaniards manage to take the city and put down one of the most dangerous Inca rebellions?
We continued to the beautiful carved caves of Q´enqo nearby. This was one of the most holy sites in Inca culture dedicated to Pachamama, or the Mother Earth, and is thought to have been used in death rituals (i.e. llama sacrifices). Even today it is considered sacred by many of the locals. We ended our tour with brief stops at Pukapukara and Tambomachay. These sites were pleasant enough, but not a big deal after everything else that we´ve seen. Maybe we were getting a bit jaded? Our bus stopped at a marketplace on the way back. The tea was complimentary, but everything else was on sale.
We ended our day back at Cusco by attending a music and dance performance at the theatre, since that too was part of our Cusco ticket. The music was typical Andean pipes and guitars, pleasant if a little unchallenging. The dancers were
dressed in very colorful, (and we must imagine) ¨traditional¨ clothes. The dances were lively and high stepping. The dancers were often paired male and female, though at times there were separate parts for male groups and female groups. There were themes to the dances, each introduced in Spanish by an unseen male announcer, and then reintroduced in English by a female who sounded like she was 10 years old. Most of themes were pastoral: harvest, marriage, the usual. Then there was the war themed dances, introduced, without warning, by the little girl announcer: ¨We will eat the marrow of our enemies bones, and mate with their women.¨ There was a little fake sword play, and even some fake dying, but the dance was pretty tame. We went to bed that night with plenty of fuel for our dreams.
The next day, Tuesday Dec. 8th, we finally dared the ultimate experience for the Peruvian tourist: eating cuy, or guinea pig. We headed for a restaurant enthusiastically recommended by a staff member at our hostel for its tasty pig. As we headed towards the Plaza de Armes we were passed by a Saint´s Procession. We had seen several of these during
Inside Qoricancha
Inca stonework, Spanish church our time in Peru, and this one was similar. At the front of the procession several people held statue of the saint, and behind marched a band playing mournful tunes. This time the saint was Santa Rosa, one of Peru´s most important saints. We later learned this was her day, and most of Peru was on holiday for celebration.
Things looked promising at the restaurant. It was packed with locals and the food looked good. The only worrying thing was that no one was ordering cuy, or guinea pig. At first, only I was going to order the cuy, but Eva got jealous and ordered one herself. Twenty minutes later and out they came: a whole fried pig for each of us. Each pig was eviscerated and splayed on the plate. The heads were still on guinea pigs, complete with eyes and two buck teeth that stuck out of the mouths.
Cuy tasted a bit like a piggish chicken. Not bad at all - the skin was crispy and the meat tender - but we both agreed that it didn´t have much flavor, at least cooked the way we experienced it. We watched the diners with their chicken
Deep-fried cuy (guinea pig)
served with a potato that looks like it has been gnawed by the guinea pig prior to cooking. and beef with envy. Even worse, we kept thinking about the roast chicken we had the night before, the best we´d ever tasted, which was only a third of the price of this cuy. Eva was fine eating hers at first, but when she flipped the cuy over and saw the little crisp body splayed in front of her, she couldn't bring herself to eat it any longer. It reminded her too much of the rats and mice she used to dissect in her first lab. Guinea pigs are rodents, after all, and I had to finish hers.
After lunch, we visited the statue of Atahualpa, one of the Inca emperors. The statue is located on top of a tall tower at a busy intersection. We walked up the stairs in the tower to the base of the statue where we got a nice view of Cusco.
That night back at our hostel, George helped our friend Viru (from PSF) cook Indian food - butter chicken - using peach-flavored yogurt, the only yogurt available in the nearby grocery store. It turned out delicious!
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