Early at 4.00 am we arrive in the so-called cultural and touristical center of South America, in Cuzco, Peru. The carricating and provocing "so-called" properties are definitely true, nowhere else I have seen such a ense concetation of pre and post-columbian sights and sites. And of course, they are all bustling with tourists. Tourists and offers for them are literally everywhere. You cannot escape them... it's indeed annoying... "¿Soy turisto, pues quieres mi plata?". You see that I am a little bit annoyed by touristy Peru, when comared to Bolivia, but nevertheless the setting and architecture of Cuczo is indeed breath-taking, just take a look at the main square, the Plaza de Armas:
Cuzco was the former capital of the Inka empire and pretty much all of colonial Cuzco is constructed on top of older pre-columbian (<-> Inka <-> Quechua) sites, such as the Convento de Santo Domenico which was constructed on the "former temple of th sun":
It's partially classical baroque architecture done by the monks back then
but the fundaments are still the famous and well-known Inka walls.
I guess most of you have read various (conspiracy) theories about the ancient Inkas and their stunning architecture. Just to sum it up briefly, the Inkas were able to construct walls of stones up to 150 t and cut those razor sharp, such that there is not even a marginal gap in the walls. Today one would process stones like these with a diamant saw or a laser cutter, but how did they do it back then?
No idea? Me neither, and the scientific world does not give a satisfying answer for these remarkable craft skills of the Inkas. Well, all of Cuzco's center is built on ancient Inka walls, all narrow little streets
and even the local Scotiabank! Yes my Canadian fellows, zoom into the lower picure and look out for the Scotiabank logo. The pic is really taken inside a Scotiabank ;)
You may even find such sophisticated stones as the famous twelve-angled one... Yes, the good oll' Inkas were exaggerating a little sometimes :)
Do you know Mana's famous sng of the "Muelle de San Blas"? Well, this is my mum enjoyin' café cn leche at the San Blas square. I have no idea if this neighbourhood of Cuzco is really related to the song but it is indeed picturesque...
On our scnd day n Cuzc we hiked up to the ruins f Saqusaywaman (pronounced almost like "sexy nwman") high above the city. On the next pic you can see the nice contrast between the Christian statue (on the left), the ancient Inka ruins, and metroplotian Cuzco.
Although the ruins were more or less only walls and terraces, there was lots to discover, such as arches constructed with megaltiths,
picturesque gateways (perfect for chimney climbing)
or just the impressive masonry of the Inkas, of course with megaliths! Yes, you hold your breath when you see this!
Since my mother somehow attracts alternative medicine mans all around the world, we also met a Shaman up there (dressed incognito) who recognized us by our "aura" and gave us a free tour through the ruins with a Shaman interpretation and all the non-toursit and non-catholic sights, really interesting!
Later the day we had enough of visiting churches and ruins and so we, or more precisely my Mum, went on a shopping spree through Cuzco's markets and bought "some" handcrafts :)
After these two days in Cuzco we were fed up with the masses of tourists and decided to move on a five day pilgrimage to Mach Picchu, the Salkantay Inka Trail. Don't get me wrong, Cuzco is a wonderful place, but it was just too busy, too touristy, and too urban... we just have to escape from South America's cultural center into the mountains. Our five day trek/hike/pilgrimage will bring us through a wonderful scenery directly to one of the new seven world wonders, Machu Picchu. Stay posted for that!
All the best from the Inka's captial!
Florian
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