Cusco and Ruins

Kat says: We decided to skip the 12 hour bus ride from Arequipa to Cusco and instead treated ourselves to a flight. Well we thought it would be a treat - it was the bumpiest flight I´ve ever been on. I´m normally a very good passenger and turbulence doesn't bother me but I have to admit to being a little nervous on this flight. Nevertheless, a 30 minute flight (bumps and all) compared to a 12 hour bus journey (with only a small cost difference) cannot be complained about. 

Cusco is also a pretty place, although not as pretty as Arequipa. It is very busy with all the tourists here to do the Inca Trail. On our first night we went into a place for dinner and a "traditional" band was playing. I got a bit excited until I realised they were playing "Let It Be" by the Beatles. I have since discovered that you can't go anywhere for lunch or dinner without a similar group coming in and playing the exact same songs. And no, we´re NOT going to by a CD, no matter how many times were asked. Mind you, they are pretty talented people. It would just be a bit nicer if they played traditional stuff. Good ponchos though. The next day we spent time looking around Cusco. The Cathedral and smaller churches are amazing and you´ve got to give the Spanish credit for the constructions. However, they also destroyed all the Inca temples etc so big slap for that one! 

One place - Koricancha, also known as the Temple of the Sun, used to have huge amounts of gold decorating the place but the Spanish put an end to that! Dylan says: Before our trek to Machu Picchu we decided to check out some of the local Inca ruins. We booked a couple of quad bikes through our hotel manager, he was so helpful. "Just leave it all to me" we thought he said. 

Next morning a cab drove us up the valley to get suited up and ready to burn some rubber. For some reason we were dropped off in a paddock full of horses. We both looked at each other, surely it wasn't possible to confuse quad bike for horses? Apparently it is. The last time Kat rode a horse she was 13 and even then she wasn't very good at it. The last time I rode a horse it was a racehorse and I fell off. So things were looking good... It turned out to be a great day. The horses were quite good fun actually, if a little skinny. They knew the way far better than us so we let them show us around.

North of Cusco are some pretty high profile Inca ruins; Sacsayhuaman, Qenko, Puca Pucara and Tambo Machay. The ride lasted most of the morning and I thought it was pretty technical. On several occasions I thought we were goners, for some reason these horses are keen on walking right on the edge of sheer drops, and upon spying tasty grass a hundred meters or so down the track, galloping off to investigate regardless of the helpless human baggage flapping around up top. Yee Haw! For me the most spectacular ruin was Sacsayhuaman (local tour guides like to call it "sexy woman", it sounds almost the same in english). The stonework is really impressive, the Incas really knew how to build walls.

The stone is mostly granite based and they carved the whole lot using nothing more than hammers and other stones. In some places you really can't see where one rock beds into another. For someone who appreciates workmanship this was something special. These walls are over 500 years old and still fresh.

 

Oh, and Kat got a sore bum - she doesn't like horses any more. 

After we peeled our behinds from the saddles we noticed a fairly massive event just over the valley. 

It was a re-enactment of some sort - people dressed as Inca rulers and a number dressed up as Condors (which are sacred here). I'm still not totally sure what it was, but I really felt sorry for the flag bearers who had to stand on the hill for hours while the rest of the locals ate and watched the impressive procession below. 

Then we went home to prepare for the Inca Trail. 

Dylan