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Day 40 – 43 Cusco
We hit the highway for Cusco early in the morning, and passed a number of small towns along the way.
There was this town, probably named Sebastian, has a very modern university
campus, but the local population seems not to enjoy even similar quality of
housing. Odd, but probably not unreasonable, if the university was a new one.
There were also a lot of small outhouses behind some of the farm houses, that has a black, what seemed like water tanks, atop.
They are probably a very crude form of solar hot water tank, but why do a house needing 3 or 4 installed ? Another oddity.
The scenery is full of high mountains and grand landscapes, dotted with farmlands, but where are the people tilting them, could it be the season ?
It was time for lunch, when we reached a high mountain pass at 4335m elevation, and have a look at a local alpaca product market setup on the roadside.
The products certainly
looked quality enough, and are very delicate and attractive, given that the
temperature probably falls below zero at night time here, but I never asked for
the prices, only if I have the bags to carry them !
By late afternoon, we finally de-trucked besides the runway of Cusco Airport
after a long’s day's drive from Puno.
The historical town of Cusco, once the capital of the Inca Empire, has many cultural and colonial buildings, as well as a number of Inca ruins around the center of town.
From here one can have a glean of the Inca architectures, at the highest end, the perfectly fashioned stones that forms the walls and foundations. No fillers like cements etc are between stone.
It is said that these interlocking stones had
withstood the time in this earthquake prone zone, and so indeed they have. One of the most notable stone have 12
corners, interlocking with a number of other stones.
One section of the walls had stones forming the shape of a serpent, condor, and jaguar all in one wall...one can let one's imagination run wild a bit here ! More on Cusco Animal Stones.
But to have so many perfectly
interlocking stones put together is definitely a feat in itself for sure, given
the technology and tools they had the time.
To be exact, each of them is really a piece of sculpture in its own right, having to be seamlessly interlocked.
But remember all these were done, to please the King and benefit only the noble classes.
On the first full day, I decided to buy a ticket to walk 4 Ruins, starting from the famous “Sexy Woman” ( phonetic of Saqsaywaman Ruin ) just above the main square, Plaza de Armas, and walked for 32 Km, up and down 400m in elevation...one by one... as my training regime for the impending Inca Trail hike.
Saqsaywaman, is the largest of the four, with a lookout overlooking the city, offering a second to none view of the mountains surrounding Cusco.
Before continuing onto the other 3 ruins, I decided to descend back to the city, to have lunch plus a walk of the city itself.
Then I found that the San Pedro Mecado ( market ) offering some very good fruit salads for a princely sum of S/- 5 ( US$1= S/-2.8, S=Solars ) ( In fact I went back there for the next 3 days...and for a good 3 course lunch for S/- 4).
Then up the hills again to continue touring the ruins, followed by...Q’Enqo, which also offers a slightly different view of the city scape.
Then it was a long 8 Km walk upwards, to Puca Pucara,
and then Tambomachay, nearby.
On the way back to Cusco, I decided to walk back in a straight line, cutting through some grasslands and bushlands, and climbing fences, (probably I shouldn't do) in the dusk after the sunset. And I made it back without a hitch...wow!
Finally, ended up at the hill top where there is a Jesus Shrine after dark, overlooking the city, to take some night photos of the city.
As I was feeling very good about the shape I was in, after walking for 32 Km, up and down 400m in elevation, that I did not feel tired or short of breath, and was thinking of what more to do to continue this regime of training...then...
The final descent took the form of walking down a hillside suburb with many steps, it was the last few steps that was very telling, that my right knee was starting to hurt, the same way like 11 years ago, walking down from Tai Shan in Shandong, China. It’s really worrying, with Inka trail in three days’ time.....!
And I decided, that the next two days, must be rest days, no more walking, I needed to tackle the Inco Trail in the best possible shape with no injuries.
I checked the weather forecast for the Inka Trail, it indicated “Rain” for the first 3 days, then sunny on the last.....let’s hope that “Rain” meant, chance of a rain! And the temperature at night was forecast to be around 0 Deg.
For the next two days, I did very little walking other than buying foods and some necessities....and also a long overdue haircut.
We hit the highway for Cusco early in the morning, and passed a number of small towns along the way.
 |
| Local tri-bike taxis |
 |
| a school ? |
There were also a lot of small outhouses behind some of the farm houses, that has a black, what seemed like water tanks, atop.
 |
| Solar hot water tanks ? Why so many ? |
They are probably a very crude form of solar hot water tank, but why do a house needing 3 or 4 installed ? Another oddity.
The scenery is full of high mountains and grand landscapes, dotted with farmlands, but where are the people tilting them, could it be the season ?
It was time for lunch, when we reached a high mountain pass at 4335m elevation, and have a look at a local alpaca product market setup on the roadside.
 |
| Kids after school |
The historical town of Cusco, once the capital of the Inca Empire, has many cultural and colonial buildings, as well as a number of Inca ruins around the center of town.
From here one can have a glean of the Inca architectures, at the highest end, the perfectly fashioned stones that forms the walls and foundations. No fillers like cements etc are between stone.
 |
| Can you count 12 corners ? |
One section of the walls had stones forming the shape of a serpent, condor, and jaguar all in one wall...one can let one's imagination run wild a bit here ! More on Cusco Animal Stones.
 |
| Can you see a jaguar here...head facing left. |
To be exact, each of them is really a piece of sculpture in its own right, having to be seamlessly interlocked.
But remember all these were done, to please the King and benefit only the noble classes.
On the first full day, I decided to buy a ticket to walk 4 Ruins, starting from the famous “Sexy Woman” ( phonetic of Saqsaywaman Ruin ) just above the main square, Plaza de Armas, and walked for 32 Km, up and down 400m in elevation...one by one... as my training regime for the impending Inca Trail hike.
Saqsaywaman, is the largest of the four, with a lookout overlooking the city, offering a second to none view of the mountains surrounding Cusco.
Before continuing onto the other 3 ruins, I decided to descend back to the city, to have lunch plus a walk of the city itself.
Then I found that the San Pedro Mecado ( market ) offering some very good fruit salads for a princely sum of S/- 5 ( US$1= S/-2.8, S=Solars ) ( In fact I went back there for the next 3 days...and for a good 3 course lunch for S/- 4).
Then up the hills again to continue touring the ruins, followed by...Q’Enqo, which also offers a slightly different view of the city scape.
Then it was a long 8 Km walk upwards, to Puca Pucara,
and then Tambomachay, nearby.
On the way back to Cusco, I decided to walk back in a straight line, cutting through some grasslands and bushlands, and climbing fences, (probably I shouldn't do) in the dusk after the sunset. And I made it back without a hitch...wow!
Finally, ended up at the hill top where there is a Jesus Shrine after dark, overlooking the city, to take some night photos of the city.
As I was feeling very good about the shape I was in, after walking for 32 Km, up and down 400m in elevation, that I did not feel tired or short of breath, and was thinking of what more to do to continue this regime of training...then...
The final descent took the form of walking down a hillside suburb with many steps, it was the last few steps that was very telling, that my right knee was starting to hurt, the same way like 11 years ago, walking down from Tai Shan in Shandong, China. It’s really worrying, with Inka trail in three days’ time.....!
And I decided, that the next two days, must be rest days, no more walking, I needed to tackle the Inco Trail in the best possible shape with no injuries.
I checked the weather forecast for the Inka Trail, it indicated “Rain” for the first 3 days, then sunny on the last.....let’s hope that “Rain” meant, chance of a rain! And the temperature at night was forecast to be around 0 Deg.
For the next two days, I did very little walking other than buying foods and some necessities....and also a long overdue haircut.
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