Cusco Kingdom

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Geo: -13.52, -71.99

We had breakfast on our own at the hotel and then met in the lobby to start our day.

We boarded our bus for a short ride to the Temple of Sacsayhuaman which is just above the city of Cusco. This temple is an amazing structure made of stones that weigh up to 200 tons. They were brought to the location from great distances in the building of this three level structure. The temple has an alter at it that is considered by the Incas as the most holy place and has only been used since that time by one person, Pope John Paul. The stones fit so tightly together that you cant even fit a human hair between them. It's zig-zag pattern has ensured that it withheld the test of time and earthquakes but not humans who, until the 1960s pilfered stones from this temple to build homes in the nearby city.

After spending time at Sacsayhuaman we walked down the hillside back into the city of Cusco and on the way down, our guide Harvey gave us interesting facts about things we passed on the way.

When we got back to the main square, we met up with some of our fellow Adventurers who had chosen to ride the bus down to town rather than walk. We were then given the option to our the main Cathedral of Cusco. It was a beautiful church and Harvey did a great job of explaining how Catholicism and the Incan religion have been woven into one in the iconography of this church.

We then were given free time for the rest of the afternoon. We did a little shopping in the town and walked about 15-20 minutes to the main food market of Cusco. It was an open air market where you could purchase just about any produce or meat you might be interested in. There were also vendors selling spices, breads and cheeses.

Dinner was in a private dining room of the hotel. We had our choice of appetizer, entrée and dessert. Once dinner was over, we played the "white llama" game and exchanged the gifts we had purchased in Pisac the day before. It was a great way to end the night and our stay in Cusco.

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