Lake Titicaca to Cusco

 

We've been going nonstop for nine days and I think it’s starting to take a bit of a toll. For example, last night when we arrived at our hotel in Cusco, I had a conversation with the person at the front desk about the room options. Then Martha asked me to explain what the choices were and I told her, in Spanish.

That said, I did pick a pretty great hotel. The water pressure and quantity of hot water is better than
anything we’ve experienced here so far.

We both really love Cusco and both of us want to come back when we have more time. It was once the capital of the Incan empire and is now the capital of North Face, Columbia and Patagonia, and Starbucks and great food. It’s also very beautiful and has a lot of Incan culture. Since in the last few trips I have discovered that learning new things isn’t so bad, I’ll just make a list:

When the Spanish conquered this place, they placed a huge statue of Jesus with outstretched arms on the top of the tallest mountain. And in the main plaza, the people built a statue of the first Incan king, who is pointing at Jesus. There are three interpretations of this, 1. The Catholic interpretation – the Incan king is pointing to Jesus saying “You’re the man. Thank you for saving us.” 2. The first local interpretation – “The earth is sacred, get off the damn mountain”. 3. The second local interpretation – “You stole all of our gold. Give it back,” says the Incan king. “I don’t have it. Look, you can check my pockets,” says Jesus.

In the 1400’s, the Incans built walls with stones weighing multiple tons and no mortar that fit so closely together that you still can’t slide a piece of paper between them. No one knows how they did it. Here is a picture of an Incan wall and a European wall.

Before the Spanish came and destroyed this place, the city was shaped like a jaguar (one of the Incan or Quechua holy animals). The main plaza appears where the jaguar’s heart is. They had to reroute two rivers to get this shape.

By accident, today happens to be the Quechua new year. By tradition, they scatter flower petals in front
of their homes and stores to celebrate. So all of the street vendors are selling bags of yellow flower petals, which the locals are buying and then pouring out in front of their stores.

Mr. Cuy is a cute little Guinea Pig, which is a very common dish here. Just a warning for when you come to Cusco – if you order Cuy for dinner, he will be served whole; head and furry little feet included. If you don’t want to have to dismantle him while he looks at you, you need to order him disassembled. Bon Appetit!