Saturday, February 13, 2016 - Cusco, Peru

Saturday, February 13th we arrived in Cusco on time. 

The goal this day was two-fold. First, most of us had not slept any all night. So we needed to stay awake all day so we would be regulated to our time zone. Now, the reality is that Peru is in the Eastern Standard Time Zone just like Kentucky. Shouldn't have been a problem for Claude and me. However, we added the curve of going to California which is in the Pacific Time Zone or 3 hours earlier than Kentucky. The second goal was to begin acclimation to 11,700 feet above sea level. Both worthy goals. 

We went directly to our hotel where, miracle of miracles, our rooms were ready. We were allowed a few minutes to get to our hotel room and unwind before going down to breakfast. The idea was to have breakfast and then meet in the lobby at 10am for a walking tour of Cusco.

Outside our room window was this neat view. There was a big open hole like space outside our window. Someone had put good soil in the bottom for gardening. They also lined the walls with rain gutters and filled them with soil. These became gutter gardens for little herbs and veggies. Clever people those Peruvians. Very clever.

At breakfast we were introduced to a tea that would help us to deal with potential altitude sickness. This tea is from the plant used to make cocaine. Hmmmmm...We were cautioned to only drink a cup with breakfast and one with dinner. Claude said it tasted like alfalfa. He was raised on a beef farm and would be familiar with alfalfa. I just knew that two packets of sugar made it palatable. As it turned out, we had one cup with our breakfast that morning and didn't take any more. We handled the altitude pretty well. A few little headaches. Claude had some chest pressure one morning. No nausea. Only the extra breathing because of less oxygen when walking up any type of hill or incline. I am sure that we spent two days in Cusco to acclimate before going to Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is not as high an altitude as Cusco. This was a surprise to me. Always thought this was reversed. Live and learn, live and learn.

So, we all gathered in the lobby of our hotel and started our walk...up a hill... along Avenue of the Sun to the Temple of the Sun. We took our time. No race for this first walk. We would walk a block and stop for everyone to get their breath. Then walk another block. This picture of the street had the first of the many terraces we would see in Peru. This is how the Inca farmed. If you look at the hill in the distance you can tell there are terraces up it for farming.

At the top of the hill we found the Temple of the Sun.

Okay, this looks very Catholic and very Spanish. Not at all like an Incan temple. That is because the Inca Temple of the Sun was built on this hill first. Then the Spanish conquered and worked to change the religion to Catholicism, they simply built over the Incan Temple. Behind Claude and I is a red brick structure that is a Catholic museum with the while portion is a convent. Under the roof of the brick building is the preserved structure of the Temple of the Sun. The grassy area behind of us a huge lawn area. When the Inca were there, this field would have had lots of different gold life-sized replicas of animals. It would have been pretty amazing to see that temple covered with gold and the animals made of pure gold. 

Claude is standing in the first doorway of the Temple of the Sun. Claude is 6 feet tall so you get perspective as to size by putting him in lots of pictures. All the openings of the Inca buildings had doors and windows and structures that were trapezoid in shape. This gave strength to the structures. There is also no mortar used to hold the stones together in the walls. Each block has cut out places in different shapes. These are matched with protrusions in the stone next to or on top of it. Samples of these blocks will be in a later picture.  

Love this picture looking through the windows in three rooms.  

This picture is the smallest stone carved by the Inca. Another day we would be shown the largest stone carved by the Inca.  

Franklin was our Peruvian guide. Our group totaled 44 people. We were divided into two buses at the airport and titled Bus 1 and Bus 2. Each bus had its own tour guide. Franklin was a great guide. He helped us get a nickname 'Cuy'. This is the Spanish word for guinea pig. Guinea pigs are a staple of the local diet. Yuk!! Franklin was with us all the time we were in Peru. In the picture above you can see half of the Temple of the Sun behind Franklin. In the picture below Franklin is showing us some of the sample stones used in Incan construction and how they were carved differently to match and hold secure without mortar. 

Remember the Inca Temple of the Sun has a Catholic building over the top. This picture is the building over it and the courtyard in the middle of the structure. The original Temple of the Sun was built with a building on either side and a courtyard in the middle. This Cathlic museum fit perfectly over the Temple of the Sun. There were beautiful hanging flowers that looked like pink roses coming from the second story arches. Lining the walls of the lower halls were enormous religious paintings. We were not allowed to photograph these.

After touring this building, we were on the move again, hiking to the Plaza de Armas. This is a picture of the street with a little gutter running down the middle.

At the Plaza de Armas we encountered a mother and daughter in traditional attire with a goat. For a dollar they would pose for you to take their picture. Several in our group had their picture taken and we had handed our camera over to another in our group to take our picture. I really wanted the traditional clothing. However, the police had a different idea. Turns out they don't want them plying their trade there. The mother and daughter went around a corner. I looked at Claude and he looked at me. He could tell I really wanted that picture. We waited for a minute and then went around the corner and happily found the mother and daughter and goat waiting till they could get back on that block again. Instead of a picture of Claude and I with them, Claude took the camera, I took the goat and Claude got this picture of me with them. Look at their beautiful faces. I just loved the dress and the face structure of these people. Wonder what they thought of my gray hair, face with wrinkles and lighter skin. 

That was it for our forced hike. We were now ready for more food and beverage. We were set free to find the place we wanted to eat and then roam at will or wander back down the hill to our hotel. They had kept us awake until early afternoon. We had gotten a little used to the altitude. So we were basically in good shape. 

Claude and I chose a pizza place and dined on a Peruvian version of pizza. No Mello Yello in Peru. They only had Coke products and water bottles. Alan and his wife came in to eat and he ordered this fun beverage made by the Coca Cola company. It is a soda pop and tastes like a cream soda. A bit stronger but that is the flavor. Not a bad beverage. 

After lunch we wandered around the Plaza de Armas. I got some fun video of a little boy chasing the pigeons and laughing. Shared it with Papa today and he totally enjoyed it. These are a couple pictures of the Plaza de Armas.

Then we wandered slowly down the street to our hotel. Across the street from the hotel was a Mercado. It was full of stalls with all kinds of craft items. It also had a little grill area for dining. We spent some time roaming through it and getting a feel for types of items we might purchase for souvenirs for our family. Back to our hotel and rest a bit before dinner in the hotel restaurant.

Our server was just so cute. He was older and you could tell he had lots of experience. He expected us to order something from the bar to go with our dinner. We don't drink so that wasn't happening. We ordered a bottle of water each. He smiled and came back out with a bottle of water. He laid this across his arm and showed it to me just like it was a nice bottle of fine wine. Then he smiled with that question on his face for my approval the vintage was okay. I grinned and assured him that was exactly what we wanted. He poured a little into my glass and then did the same for Claude. This was our anniversary and it was a sweet moment over our dinner. The food was excellent and we were happy with our first day in Cusco.

Just a comment here...we had the same rules we had when traveling in Egypt. We were only to drink bottled water. We were not to open our mouths in the shower. We were to only use bottled water for brushing our teeth. No salads as the greens would have been washed in the water. Only fruits that could be peeled to eat. Eat soups and cooked foods. Why? They process their water with different chemicals than we are used to in the States. The water is okay, our bodies just can't handle the chemicals. It really messes up the tummy. The same is true for them when they come to America.