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We´ve had an extremely busy last few days and things are starting to get complicated, but we´re still having a great time.
So, in chronological order...
We spend all day May 4 exploring the Plaza de Armas area of Cuzco and had a great day! So beautiful! Lots of colonial architecture and churches on top of Inca cobble stone streets and Inca stones as the bases. Cuzco is a pretty friendly city. The locals, especially the indiginous people (Quechua - referred to as campesinos-country folks). Lots of smiles and joking with each other. Many travel to the city to find more work, but still cling to their traditional ways, especially thier dress. We especially enjoyed the local San Pedro market. Lots of fresh produce, fruits galore, handicrafts, and eateries. Very interesting. We ended our day in a tourist restaurant overlooking the plaza where I dined on the Peruvian delicacy, cuy, or better known as guinea pig in the western world. Interesting to say the least. For those of you who are curious, yes, it tastes like chicken. They use a special herb called huacatay (black mint) in many of their dishes. An aquirred taste for sure. Later that evening
we met Isak, a friendly local 21 year old Cusceñan art student. He was very inquisitive about our life in the USA and we were likewise about his life in Cusco, so we decided to let Isak give us a tour of some of the nearby ruins the following day.
Man, what a full day of adventure! The morning of May 5 we met Isak and walked uphill to the base of Saqsaywaman (sexy woman) ruins. From there we rode horses for a few miles to another site called Templo de la Luna (temple of the moon). A moderate hike uphill (huffing and puffing from the altitude) we reached Zona de los Equis (zone of the x´s). This was my personal favorite of the day. An underground labirynth of caves and tunnels carved by the Incas. So intricate and well designed. Very cool! From there we took a colectivo (local bus that you flag down and ride for dirt cheap) to Puca Pucara, another small Inca site that may have been a small ranch of sorts. Another quick hike (downhill this time) and we reached Tambomachay, a sacred Incan bathing site. Pretty neat to see the aquaduct system still
working today. We ended w/ some time back at Saqsaywaman w/ almost the entire park to ourselves. Needless to say, Isak was a great tour guide and we thoroughly enjoyed his company.
Things start to get slightly complicated once we got back to our hotel. An email indicated that my booked jungle trip in Bolivia might be canceled due to strikes in Bolivia and numerous road blocks. It is totally up in the air as of today when the strikes will end. Right now, I don´t know if I´ll be able to go. There is an opportunity to go to the Jungle in Peru, but booking last minute is not very easy. I´m still unsure as to what will happen or what I will do. I checked with some local Cusco tour agents, but not much luck. Got my fingers crossed!
On top of that, Susan has some kind of flu. A slight fever, stomach aches, AND a wicked sunburn. She´s taking fever reducers and tons of water to combat the fever and stomach problems. She spent all last night and today in bed trying to beat this flu before we leave on our Machu Picchu hike......tomorrow!!!!!! Hopefully
she will feel better by the time we wake up in the AM. It´s not a terrible flu, but enough to make traveling pretty uncomfortable.
May 6 we took a colectivo to the nearby town of Pisac, which is known for it´s huge artisan markets and ruins perched above the city on the mountainside. We got a late start, and with Susan feeling under the weather, we decided to take it easy. Lots of Peruvian silver, stones, weavings, and pottery. Nice little town and fun way to spend a few casual hours. We decided to share a taxi back to Cusco w/ another tourist couple. Our taxi driver was very friendly, talking my ear off the entire way. I can honestly say, I think I might have understood some of what he said.
Today, May 7, we booked a taxi through our hostel and drove through the Valle Sagrado to the small town of Ollantaytambo, which is famous for its´ruins. What a fantastic drive! This valley has been a special place for the local people for hundreds of years due to the moderate climate and rich soil. Terraced fields line the edges of the mountainside w/ numerous varieties
of potato, maize (corn) and quinoa. Some of these fields creep all the way up the side and tops of the mountains! No idea how they manuver up the hill to maintain their crops? Many campesinos herding their llamas, sheep, and cows allong the way. Country people is a very appropriate term.
So we are now in Ollantaytambo. Susan slept while I explored the ruins right down the street from our hostel. Much bigger than I imagined. It took me about 2 hours to walk the entire circuit and I took about 150 pictures. So far, I´m extremely impressed w/ the Incas enginuity and manpower.
Our next stop is Machu Picchu tomorrow AM! We meet our guide at the bus station at 830AM and take the bus to the train station (the tracks have not yet been repaired from landslides earlier this year) where we wind along the Urubamba river by train. It stops for us at KM 104, where we start our day hike to Machu Picchu. Many hours uphill later, we arrive in Machu Pichu park from the top and then take a bus to the town nearby for some shuteye in a hostel. Early the
next morning (5AM to beat the crowds), we take the bus back up to MP and spend all day exploring this amazing site w/ our guide. We are both super excited and can´t wait.
On a side note, I can´t wait untill I can type on freaking keyboard where half of the buttons don´t stick!!!!!!!!!!! I also forgot how frustrating dial up internet connection can be. Looks like you´ll have to wait untill we get back to Cusco on May 10 to see some pics. Trust me, there are many.
OK, so I added some pics. The computers here suck. 5 internet cafes later, at least I found one where everything works properly. Here you go.
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Eric
non-member comment
I enjoyed your Peru post. It made me want to be back there. My blog is looking for travel photos and hostel reviews. If you have any time, email us some at dirtyhippiesblog@gmail.com or check us out at dirty-hippies.blogspot.com Continued fun on your travels, Eric