Morys Musing

Cusco City Tour

This was our last day in Cusco before we depart on our trek. Both Anna and I were not really feeling well this morning. We seem to have really been compromised since yesterday. Some gastrointestinal symptoms, lassitude and mild headaches. However, we were able to go out on our final tour with Leo. We told him to keep it pretty easy.

Most of our time was spent in a large park just on the outer edges of Cusco called Sacsayhuaman. the pronunciation of this name is very similar to “sexy woman”. There are many archaeological dig sites and we had the opportunity to view several of them-Tambomachay, Puca Pucara, Kenko and Q’enqo.  We were filled with an appreciation of the skill and the capabilities of the Incas with regards to stonework. It is truly amazing that they were able to build such complex structures and Anna was convinced that they had alien help. There really doesn’t seem to be any other logical explanation. We then visited the Inca Museum which provided an interesting juxtaposition of Inca stonework and colonial architecture. There was a beautiful courtyard that you will see in the attached pictures.

We had a really nice lunch-although we did not eat very much-in San Blas- this neighborhood, home to artisans, as well as their work- and craft shops, is one of the most picturesque in the city. Its cobblestone streets are steep and narrow, lined with old houses built by the Spanish over important Inca foundations. It has an attractive square with a delightful little colonial church featuring an intricately carved pulpit considered to represent the zenith of colonial-era local woodcarving.

Leo then dropped us off at our hotel for a two-hour break which was much appreciated. We then walked to the Cathedral located in the central square also known as the Plaza de Armas. The opulence of the numerous altars housed within this enormous cathedral was breathtaking. Pictures were not allowed so you will just have to come to Cusco yourselves! This very imposing building was constructed on the foundations of the palace of Viracocha Inca. Built between 1560 and 1664, its interior has a variety of different architectural styles, ranging from the late-Gothic to the Baroque. “El Señor de los Temblores”, or The Lord of Tremors, a massive crucifix, is venerated by faithful Catholics all over Peru. The cathedral harbors outstanding examples of religious art, especially paintings from the distinctive colonial-era “Cuzco School”, such as the Last Supper depicting Jesus and the Twelve Apostles feasting on guinea pig, a traditional Andean delicacy. We then walked back to our hotel and had a heartfelt parting with Leo. He was an extremely passionate, environmentally aware guide who really went out of his way to make sure that he kept us away from the large crowds. He really added to the overall experience of our time in Cusco.

In the evening we had a meeting with our guides for the upcoming trek- Raoul and Ricardo- and the other participants on our upcoming journey. There are twelve of us in total. We both have a little trepidation for the upcoming trek based on how we’ve been feeling over the last two days. However, the tour guide is extremely reassuring and it appears the operation is very well run. We are both sure we will have an amazing experience. I will not be blogging during the 7 days that we will be out on the trek. I will be able to let you know of our experiences during the trek when we return to Cusco May 2 2014.

Sacred Valley Tour

Today was our first tour day with our guide Leo. He met us promptly at the hotel at 8:30 AM. We were the only two on the tour as it is low season here. Less crowds, more for us to enjoy and individualized service. Perfect!

We drove for about 1.5 hours out of Cusco climbing us hills and then descending them. I believe we got up to 3700m in the automobile which was good for our acclimatization. On the way we passed through Chinchero, which comprises of mainly mud brick (adobe) houses, and, where locals go about their business in traditional dress. The town’s main square has some unique features such as a characteristic Inca wall with its massive trapezoidal niches. The nearby colonial church has a very interesting, intricate interior, with Cusco School-style paintings covering a large part of its walls. We then proceeded in our journey towards the Sacred Valley which is like an Andean Eden. Every bend of the road is a true revelation, a surprise. The deep blue skies act like a framework for the amazingly beautiful landscapes below. Snowy peaks look down, here and there, onto the lower slopes fashioned into agricultural terraces by long gone civilizations, but still used by the contemporary Quechua speaking farmers. The bottom of the valley is lush and green, in contrast to the drier, more barren higher altitudes where cacti dominate. Small, historical towns and villages with traditional colonial architecture and Inca ruins dot the banks of the River Urubamba. The sound of the river cutting through the stony ground is deeply relaxing.

Our initial stop was at the town of Ollantaytambo, which boasts an impressive archaeological site and well preserved Inca town structure. This was the estate of Emperor Pachacutec who conquered the region, built the town and the ceremonial center. Ollantaytambo dates from the late 15th century and has some of the oldest continuously occupied dwellings in South America. Overlooking the town is the archaeological complex, a ceremonial center built by the Incas on a steep hill. After all of our sitting we certainly felt the initial steps up the steep incline. The awe-inspiring views helped to compensate our laboured breathing. The intricacies of the stone structures was truly amazing. It is still not truly known how such massive stones were moved from across the valley where the quarry was located.

We then proceeded towards our lunch spot. However- prior to this along the road- we had noted red plastic bags hanging from elongated wooden poles along the side of the street. Our guide told us that these represented locations where a local corn liquor Chicha was made and was available for sale. We stopped at one of these locations in a small village that translates as “black underwear” (don’t ask) and where we were given an education about Chicha by Leo. He called it a “social drink” because it only contained between 2 to 3% alcohol. This apparently allowed the locals to have rational conversations during social gatherings. The variety of corns that were available locally was truly amazing.

Our lunch spot was located in an idyllic location on absolutely beautiful grounds. Apparently a French woman had moved to the area over 20 years ago and decided to build a relaxing spa and hotel called Sol & Luna Lodge and Spa. As always, we were fortunate it was low season as we were the only guests for lunch. The grounds were filled with absolutely beautiful flowers and individual small cabins were available to rent. The facilities were first rate. We could certainly see coming back here if we wanted to achieve utter and complete relaxation. The lunch was actually locally sourced cuisine which we consumed greedily. Much fancier than we expected.

Back into the van we went. We then continued to drive for approximately 1.5 hours in order to get to our next destination. This was an active archaeological dig site located just outside the town of Pisac.  We climbed in the van back up to an elevation of approximately 3500m. We walked the rest of the way to a ceremonial digging that had absolutely stunning views of the surrounding mountains. It boggles the mind as to how the Incas were able to construct such complex stone structures on such steep slopes. On the way back down from the structures we passed several schoolchildren who were walking home from the local public school located in a small village before the park gates. They lived in a small village that was located above the highest point of the archaeological dig site. This means they have to climb approximately 600-800 m to get back home. Amazing!

We then proceeded back into the town of Pisac, by the banks of the Urubamba River. and were dropped off at a local market to browse. Anna was not feeling the love and didn’t end up purchasing anything. During our tour of the market we were approached by a very cute local boy who asked us where we were from and then proceeded to tell us 5 factual pieces of information about our country. Of course, there was a catch. He then proceeded to offer us the sale of some small circular structures that you could blow into to produce a whistling sound. We had a good chuckle. We didn’t end up purchasing anything from him. However he continued to stalk us for the remainder of our tour of the market. We were sure he would grow up to be a very enterprising businessman in the future.

The road back to Cusco was much shorter as we took an alternative route back. Along the way, we passed another archaeological dig site that we would be visiting Friday. There was a beautiful statue which was quite large of a white coloured Jesus that is apparently lit in the evenings and is viewable from the town of Cusco. It stands as a sentinel over the city. Catholicism is the major religion of the local people.

We definitely had time to speak to our guide about our shopping needs on the way back. He informed us that it was best to purchase any of the local items through one of five factories in Cusco. A very helpful saleswoman named Elizabeth [who is now Anna’s best friend] instructed us in how to determine if an alpaca product was real or synthetic acrylic. You definitely can tell the difference. We will be returning and I am sure major damage will be done.

After refreshing ourselves back at the hotel we went back into Cusco for our dinner meal. The restaurant was recommended by our friends Anita and Greg and was called Cicciolina’s. One of the main reasons to come to this restaurant was to have guinea pig. It is served as a confit instead of roasted whole on a skewer which didn’t seem as appetizing. It was interesting. Our waiter was a very suave gentleman who kept saying yes in that Spanish way that adds the consonant d in front of yes that makes that word sound so sexy [at least, according to Anna]. We had a lovely walk in the cool night air and retired back to our hotel for a nightcap and succumbed to the deepening night.

Our next day’s tour is going to be more active and is going to take us to the salt mines of Moray. I promise, forced labor is not required…. I think!

Cusco!

We arose from our deep slumber definitely feeling more refreshed. We quickly organized our room and belongings and took a very well-deserved shower and appropriately groomed ourselves. We felt much better.

The plan for the afternoon and early evening was very simple. We were simply going to walk around the area of our hotel to become acquainted with the local sites and shops of the tourist district of Cusco.

Cusco houses about half a million people and is very safe except for occasional pickpockets so you do need to be careful. We were mainly on a scouting mission and found some wonderful folk art and alpaca shops that would definitely be visited later. There were many restaurants. There were also many beautiful churches which would be helpful to cleanse us of our future sins.

The Main Square

The Main Square

One of the many beautiful churches

Anna at our hotel, ready to head out on the town!

On my steed at our hotel!

The roads were very narrow. Apparently the ancient Incas could not have foreseen modern automobiles. We finally settled on an Italian-themed restaurant that was very charming, very clean and had locals eating at it. That is always a good sign. On Anita and Greg’s recommendation, we had soup Creole which was wonderful as our starter and followed this with skewers of alpaca meat. Yum!

We proceeded back to our hotel and finished the night with some passionfruit Pisco sour nightcaps! Of course, this was just for medicinal purposes.

We fell back into our very comfortable bed dreaming of our first tour the following day of the Sacred Valley.