Peru: Cusco (Day 2)

The plane for Cusco left at 8 a.m. and flew over the Andes landing at nearly 12,000 feet above sea level. At first I thought I’d be okay, but one moment of extra exertion and it went downhill from there (figuratively only). We met our guide, Edwin, a native and guide for over twenty years, and he got us to Tika Wasi Boutique, set us up with coca tea, and updated our itinerary to see many additional sites I had mentioned interest in.

He left to get us a driver, and we wandered to Cusco’s Plaza de Armas for some lunch at the world’s highest 100% Irish owned Irish Pub: Paddy’s. And it was good. He grabbed us from there (thankfully, some street vendors had attached to us), and we went from the valley Cusco sits in up the mountain to Saqsaywaman, temple ruins that were built by the Incas later destroyed by the Spaniards. This is a great example of fitted stones; Edwin pointed out patterns in the rocks such as a guinea pig, snake, llama, and giant puma paw. On the “back” side of the complex were rock “slides” that several locals were enjoying. We all took a turn.

The van we hired had mechanical troubles, so we ended up in two taxis from that point. I was experiencing soroche (altitude sickness) strongly by this point, my head swimming in lightheadedness and shortness of breath (taking a lot of extra breaths to make up for the loss). Our next stop was a large rock that was carved into to make a “hospital” space. Our next stop was Tambomachay, a water temple with small aqueducts and more stone work but much smaller than the other locations. On the way back to Cusco city we stopped by a textile shop to get a short lesson in the different types of animals sheared and the quality. Across the road, locals flew colorful kites up in the hilly peaks of the Andes.

The sun was setting when the taxis stopped in front of the Qoriconcha monastery, built on top of two Incan temples. The Catholics had plastered the temples using them as additional rooms, but most of the plaster has since been removed to expose the Inca stone work. From there we walked through town to the San Pedro market, which was quiet, being a Sunday evening. By this point we were barely functional (JJ’s Fitbit counted 26,000 steps), so we ate at a small restaurant off the main plaza (alpaca pizza was involved…) and climbed our way (literally, I suggested a “shortcut” that included a lot of stairs and a great view at least) back to the hotel. What Cusco lacked in honking cars it made up with barking dogs though. Sleeeeeep…

Back to Day 1 | On to Day 3