Arrived in Cusco on Sept. 13th (day before your birthday Barry!) and stayed in a gorgeous wee hostel called Piccola Locanda. Only thing was we had a few steps to climb to it....this wouldn´t be a big deal at home, but Cusco was 3,400m above sea level, so even steeping up into bed left you short of breath! we were very lucky throughout the trip in regards to coping with altitude, all we experienced really was breathlessness which is part and parcel even for the locals. Alot of people aren´t so lucky and spend the time with chronic headache, puking etc!
We came to Cusco a few days before our Lares Trek to Machu Picchu to acclimatize and just chill out really. We had been told to go to Paddy O´Flaherty´s pub (Irish pub of course) where the craic was always good. Well we were in our element food was gorgeous...had shepards pie & chicken curry which went down a treat. They even served brocolli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans....(ok you might think´its all sounding a bit OTT excited) which was unreal cuz all through Argentina & beyond you rarely saw vegtables it was all meat & spuds/chips! I can tell you there was no one standing over us with a wooden spoon telling us ´eat your greens´!!!
Caught some of the dismal rugby in Paddy´s aswel seeing as its only place showing the matches. Craic was good, but rugby shite as you are all well aware!
Did a city tour of Cusco with a travel agent which was really informative & intersting. The Inca culture is just mind boggling. The level of intelligence they had and the foresight they had... apparently alot of the techniques they used for various methods of living have yet to be figured out by our intelligent race!
The City Tour included visiting 4 Inca Temples ... Saqsaywaman, Qenqo, Pucapucara, Tambomachay, Koricancha & the Cathedral.
The first Saqsaywaman (pronounced sexy woman)... Enda had great difficulties remembering! Firt he was calling it sexy lady & then on the Lares Trek called it Sexy Mama!!! It became the local joke with all of our trek group then calling it Sexy Mama! (I think Enda started getting confused with that cartoon character Johnny Bravo!!!).
Saqsaywaman
It is located 2 Km. from the city of Cusco at a height of 3,700 meters above sea level. Saqsaywaman is made from two words and can have 2 different meanings: ´Saqsay´ meaning get stuffed and ´Huaman´ meaning falcon or else ´Sajsa´ meaning mottled and ´Huma´ that means head.
One section was dedicated to the god Rainbow or K'uichi and was constructed with carved flagstones forming stair-like signs. the bastions located to the front of the plains are three walls with some of the stones weighing 90 to 125 tons, they are constructed in zigzag fashion like a lighting bolt.
Saqsaywaman might have been constructed for religious purposes, although others say it had a military function. It may also have been the location of the most important temple of the Hanan Qosqo (upper Cusco), dedicated to the veneration of the sun (Inti), moon (Quilla), venus (Chasqa), lighting bolt, thunder, and lighting (Illapa).
Qenqo
This was about 3 km from t Cusco, it seems to have been a ceremonial centre. Qenqo means labyrinth or zigzag. It had an amphitheatre with 19 niches, and there is an entrance in the form of a labyrinth which leads to underground galleries. There are statues in the upper part, where rituals are thought to have taken place.
Pucapucara
This was bit further out from Cusco, the name means fortress or red watchtower. It is built in such a way that makes it possible to see the road to Antisuyo. It is thought to have functioned as a lookout position, as well as being an administrative and military centre
Tambomachay
This was an important religious centre for the adoration of water. This ruin is made up of walls, and channels for water where crystal clear water flows.Its at a height of 3,700 meters and it is known as the baths of the Incas. Man today still has no idea where this water originates from as it has yet to be found on any map (most probably an underwater spring). But it has never run dry and the rate of flow of the water remains constant even during the driest of weather! Legend is that this water ia the water of eternal youth & if you drink it you´ll be forever young. We just washes our faces with it, as the local beer called Cusquena is made with water from this well...so we drank it instead fo eternal youth!
Koricancha
The convent was built over the spectacular Temple of Qoricancha (place of gold), the most important temple dedicated to the cult of the sun. The walls here were covered with sheets of gold. This convent, using a base structures of carved stones, is apparently one of the most delicate works of architecture in Cusco. However yet again, th Spanish kinda screwd up. When they came they tried demolising all Inca structures...but to show the strenght of the Incas none of there buildings could be knocked by man, and all their buildings were also earthquake proof (something modern day man is still trying to accomplish!) So the Spanish used gunpowder to knock down as much as possible. What rocks they knocked, they used to rebuild their own Catholic churches in Baroque style.
At this point I got a dose of the trots and spent part of the tour in the toilet so Enda can fill you in on what tour guide had to say....
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