Cusco is a bustling, colorful city of 400,000 with narrow cobble stone streets
and beautiful stonework. The elevation at the airport is 11,200' and it seems everything is uphill from the airport. The first floor of some of the buildings, up to about 12 to 15' is the pre-Columbian Inca fitted stonework on the Incan palaces. The Spanish introduced the concept of second stories and the beautifully carved Moorish balconies which they added to the Inca palaces. All the the doors are painted blue.
We enjoyed a Peruvian meal of squash soup followed by a dish I can best describe as a spicy chicken ravioli. For desert we had a bowl of fruit. Of course, we washed everything down with hot cups of coca tea. We won't pass any drug tests for awhile.
We left Cusco and traveled to the Urabamba river valley that is known as the Sacred Valley of the Inca.
It is spring time and, as you can see, some crops have come up while others are just being planted. The primary method of plowing is oxen. We traveled along the river to the village of Pisca. Just before the market we stopped to see llama, vicuna, alpaca, and guanaco and were able to see women making yarn and weaving.
Then it was off to the market in Pisca. The river cobble streets and plaza were hard on the feet.
You can see in this picture that the stones are turned on edge rather than laid flat. The plaza or square was built before the Spanish and the introduction of horses. We quickly tired of shopping and found a friendly balcony over looking all the activity and enjoyed a cold Cusquena cerveza. They tell us that it is important to stay hydrated at high altitude.
Our hotel here in the Sacred Valley is very nice. It is surrounded by high Andes peaks
and instead of rooms it has a number of individual casitas scattered about among a lush garden. There are hummingbirds with 7" wingspans zipping about.
We had an interesting dinner. Traditional Peruvian food again and too much of everything. I selected alpaca for my main course. One of our fellow travelers from Singapore was more adventurous and opted for the roasted guinea pig. We were all tired more from the altitude than the travel and the evening broke up after desert. The temperature had dropped quickly once the sun set and we were happily surprised to find multiple thick woolen blankets over the bed and hot water bottles in the bed. I could get hooked on the hot water bottles.
We slept in this morning which felt wonderful. We awoke to a crisp, bright morning and had a leisurely breakfast before continuing up the valley to Ollantaitambo Fortress. I had read only briefly about this fortress and knew that it was the site of a decisive victory during an Incan civil war. I never imagined that it was so impressive and magnificent. The structure is massive and the stone work very fine. All the aqueducts are still in use. I have combed through our pictures several times and can not find any that capture the feel for this fascinating site. First, though, the drive to the fortress was interesting. The valley is narrow with all the mountain walls terraced. The fields, most less than one acre, were all being plowed by ox pulled wooden plows and everywhere on the mountains are the signs, either terraces, aqueducts, or granaries built by the Inca or their predecessors. Must are still in use.
We arrived at the village and walked through the narrow streets to the fortress
We climbed the steep steps and the view got better as we went.
We continued to the top and followed the old Incan trail around the mountain by more terraces and graneries.
Here's Paula at the top of the world.
Location:Cusco, Peru
