Though I arrived in Cusco on Wednesday I haven’t done much of anything until yesterday. I took a couple of days to just rest and try to shake the bug. Unfortunately as it was finally vanquished and my appetite returned, altitude sickness has been an issue. For some reason, I’m having difficulty adjusting here at 3300m when I had no issues going up and down in Ecuador. Even still today when I was walking around I was panting, with a headache and dizziness. I really hope it passes by the time I head to Machu Picchu.
This is a lovely city of about 400,000 though that is spread out over a much larger area than the tourist will ever see. The historical centre still retains its colonial character with lots of buildings having Inca foundations with Spanish architecture above. There are lots of fun little alleys and streets to wander up and down. This is what I have been missing so far in Peru.
Llama statues
Women in traditional dress
Spanish era Episcopal Palace built on Incan foundations
Taking things easy I haven’t been rushing around seeing a multitude of things. First stop was the lovely Cathedral complex that dominates the main square, Plaza de Armas.
Plaza de Armas
Golden Inca topped fountain
The Cathedral
The inside of the Cathedral was the usual profusion of gold encrusted baroque chapels and ghostly dioramas and doll statues. Of note was the solid silver high altar and El Senor de los Tomblores (The Lord of the Earthquakes) who is the patron of Cusco and has the power to stop earthquakes. He is now black as a combination of the sticky flowers tossed at him on his holy day and the smoke of candles lit around him normally.
Silver high altar
The Lord of the Earthquakes
I also visited the Museo Inka which was more about pre-Columbian cultures in Peru. Much of it was a repeat of what I saw in Lima and so it was probably more pottery overdose. It is housed in a lovely colonial mansion so fun to wander through and see how the betters lived after the conquest! Sorry no pictures!
Today I visited my first Inca ruins called Sacsaywaman (affectionally also known as “sexy woman” by tourists). The ruins are situated on a hill above the town so it was a challenge to huff and pant my way up the steps. It provided a gorgeous view of Cusco as a reward.
The steps up to Sacsaywaman
Cusco from the hilltop – Plaza de Armas is in the left side
It is a huge complex of which only 20% is now visible. It was a site of some military and religious significance to the Inca. The structure you can see most clearly are the zigzag defensive walls built with massive stones. They are fit so snuggly that no mortar holds them together! Apparently they are so strong, as are most of the Incan structures, that they withstand the devastating earthquakes Peru suffers much better than the Spanish or even modern buildings.
Zigzag defensive walls
Massive interlocking stones
Sacsaywaman
I have to admit that for me one of the highlights was the herd of llamas that I found wandering around grazing the amongst the ruins. I bit smelly but I could definitely have one or a few as a pet and personal yarn source.
My other big accomplishment since I’ve been in Cusco has been to get my trip to Machu Picchu organized for this coming Tuesday. I find it surprising how hard they make it to do things in this area. MP tickets are only sold by the Ministry of Culture which has its ticket wicket buried down a small side street a serious trek from the city centre. No online ticket sales. You then need to make the rounds of the rail companies to figure out how to get to the town at the base of MP (Aguas Calientes). Anyway, long story short, I have my MP tickets, I have my train tickets, and a plan so Tuesday is the big day!
As to the altitude sickness, I am determined to spry and fully of energy for Machu Picchu so I’ve resorted to taking my altitude sickness medication, Diamox. Hopefully it will take care of the symptoms in the next couple of days so I can finally breath easily and get some sleep. Being sick the last week has really gotten me down. That combined with not liking Lima has really taken the shine off my time a bit in Peru. However, I’m determined to enjoy the sunshine and warmth and the time that I have here as it will end soon enough.
Looks amazing.