| Dec 2, 2005 - Back in Cusco
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 | | show all 101 | | Statue of the final Inca King, in Cusco | | Inca statue again | | Wider shot, other statue on the back hillside | | |
| So, back in Cusco for a few more days of sightseeing after the Inca trail. The week before when Maddy, Bryan, Sarah and I went out to Pisac we took a taxi straight there. However, there are about 5 historical sites with Inca ruins along that road as well, so that is what I went to visit on Wednesday.
I took a local bus out to the farthest site, and actually was not so impressed. I think afet the whole Inca Trail and Machu Picchu, the rest of the Inca ruins seem kinda ordinary and all start to resemble each other. From that farthest site it is an 8km walk back to Cusco while visiting the ruins along the way. It was a nice day, although some odd sun showers every now and then, so I didn't mind the walk. Most of the sites were actually not so great, until I reached the final and most famous/popular one called Sacsahuayman ("Satisfied Falcon"). Once again, I was impressed more than I expected to be. The site was forever assumed to be a fortress of some kind, though now it is assumed to be an old sanctuary and temple to the sun. I feel like I've been seeing a lot of those on this trip. This location was home to one of the final stands the Incas took against the Conquistadors, and nearly fought them back and out of Cusco. The structure is all made up of these massive larger than human size up to 130-ton boulders (with one allegedly over 300 tons). Somehow the Incas were not only able to transport them all there, but actually have them all fit together perfectly to use as building material. Some of the ones in the wall have as many as 12 corners to make it fit just right. It is a really spectacular place to walk around, which I did once again without a guide. There is also a large grassy field in the middle of the site where the famous Inti Raymi summer solstace celebration is held each year.
At the same location as Sacsahuayman there is a large statue of Jesus which is perched on a hill overlooking the city of Cusco, and is all lit up at night and visible from almost everywhere in the city. It was a fantastic lookout and great spot for panoramic shots of Cusco. I continued the walk down into Cusco and back to my hostel, at which point it started pouring. I basically took it easy the rest of the day and evening. Not much to report.
Thursday was the day I had arranged with Nico to go back to Urubamba. But we were meeting in the afternoon so I had another plan first. There was one final archaeological site I had really wanted to visit. In a lot of the tourist agencies and postcards around Cusco they have photos of these gorgeous looking colliseum type terraced fields that seemed really interesting. This is a site called Moray, so i wanted to check it out. I heard there was a great walk there as well so that became my plan. I took a collectivo out to Urubamba, where the walk starts. There is a nice path, but not many poeple do it, and I actually only saw locals my entire way along the over 2 hour path. About 1/3 of the way into it, you pass a location called Saleras, which are these millenia-old salt pans that are still in constant use and production. I had never even heard of a salt pan before, so had no idea what it would look like. But these little pools of water and salt mixed spread over an entire hillside was quite impressive to say the least. From there the trail continues on to Maras, the town from where you set out to Moray, in very hot heat and sun. I took a ride out to Moray, and unfortunately it did not exactly live up to the photos. Moray actually is circular terraced fields once used by the Incas. Historians believe it was some sort of experiment in growing, and each level of the terraces is said to have its own separate micro-climate. The thing is, it must not have been the peak of harvest season or something because the grass was not as green and lush, and the terraces not as full as I had seen in all the photos. Plus that soon after I got there it started raining on me so that cut the trip short.
From there it was back to Urubamba, and went by Nico and Berta's house for a great lunch. We sat and talked some more, and again it was just so nice to be with a local family and get off the typical touristy Gringo Trail experience even for just a little bit. Nico gave me a small tour of the area and some of the more recent Visions projects, and then it was back to Cusco again, for my last night there. At night I went to a "Folkloric Music & Dance" performance at some venue which showed tradional dances and live music from the area. It was nice, I enjoyed it, but couldn't help feeling like I was on a 3rd grade field trip. So I got back to the hostel, kinda ready to start having some company again. Its great exploring on your own and doing all this cool stuff, but some times some people to share it with just make it all the better. It had been a few days since the Inca Trail, which was constant company, and also Maddy, Bryan, and Sarah before that. Well, back at the hostel I run into Jacqui from Huacachina and the Punta Union pass group, and Vidgis and Kristine, the 2 Danish girls from the mountain pass as well. It was a great little reunion, we went out that night together, and they all made passing the time a lot more enoyable.
Friday was the final day to just relax and enjoy the atmosphere of Cusco. I didn't do a whole lot, but went back to my favortie breakfast place with all the great food for a couple bucks. In the afternoon the 4 of us decided to go see a bootleg of the new Harry Potter at a local cafe, after which was just dinner and packing and getting ready to go. About 9:00 I had my overnight 8 hour bus to Puno on Lake Titicaca.
In the end, I really loved Cusco. It is a beuatiful city in a beautiful area with so much to do and see. Its not as expensive as everyone says it is, if you know how to do it right, and if you can get past all the annoying tourist grabbing and money grubbing, a wonderful place to spend some time. I was there for 2 full weeks, which is the longest I probably will spend in any one place on my trip, and it never got old. Definitely a place I would love to revisit again some time in the future. |
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