Cuzco

Cusco (or Cuzco to the Peruvians) is the ancient capital of the Incas. Located east of Lima, well into the Andes, it stands at an altitude of nearly 11,000 feet (3,330 meters) above sea level. In the 15th century, before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors, Cusco was a thriving city of 15,000, with gold-covered temples and gardens filled with gold and silver plants and animals. The Incas considered Cusco to be the center of the world. The treasures were all plundered by the Spaniards, who also built their churches and fine mansions atop the remarkable stonework of the Incas.

We arrived in Cusco via the plane from Lima. This meant that in the spanse of little more than an hour we had gone from living at sea level to trying to function in the very thin air of a city in the sky. We followed the advice of friends and guidebooks, taking it easy the first day, downing altitude sickness prevention pills, and drinking cups of coca tea. Thus, the first day we simply wandered around the plazas and back streets of Cusco. Even this entails lots of steps up and down, as the city is built in a valley and filled with hills. So, though we are all in pretty decent physical condition, walking around was draining and found us gasping for breath.

Still we were able to enjoy the back streets of San Blas, the more Bohemian neighborhood of Cusco. And because it's what we seem to do, we stumbled across a festival - this one in honor of "Amistad" or friendship. This festival involved competing bands of brass instruments and the ubiquitous pan pipes.




We also took in the colors of Cusco. These include compesinos, people from the countryside, generally very poor, who dress up in their traditional clothes and either try to sell you their wares or offer to pose for photos on the understanding that you will offer some sort of tip.

Admiring the colors and styles of Cusco also means taking in the amazing stonework left over from the Incas which serves as the foundation for much of the city's buildings. The Inca stones are huge, weighing many tons, and cut into odd, often multi-sided, shapes that are fit against each other like a perfect round of Tetris. They were joined together without mortar, and they have withstood the test of time as well as disasters (natural and manmade). One local fellow explained to us that the lowest layers was made of slightly smaller stones to absorb the shock of earthquakes. Don't know if it's true, but it was a good story.

The side strees of the San Blas neighborhood are filled with wooden balconies, interesting carved stones, and bright blue doors/shutters. They reminded me of the streets of Sidi Bou Said in Tunis, or some of the Greek islands.


























Here, Addison has a chicha, a favorite Peruvian drink made from blue corn. This one was particularly good. We were having dinner at Chicha, a new restaurant run by Gaston Acurio, the acclaimed Peruvian chef.





In the side streets of San Blas, we came accross Evelyn, an Irish woman who has lived in Cusco for 5 years. She has a shop called Philo (Carmen Alto, 260, Cusco) in which she sells funky and very original women's clothing. I was trying on some pieces, which she then tailored to fit me perfectly. Now, I just need an excuse to wear them.









Here is Britt in front of one of the many blue doors in the back streets of Cusco.










The old streets of Cusco are lined with amazing stonework - and beggars.












People from the countryside - especially women and children - dress up in traditional clothes and bring their alpacas into town to pose for photos, hoping to make some money that way.