Oblivion ??? ….. Bolivia !!!!

The bus ride to Cuzco was a 6 hour trip, with an hour in Puno waiting for the connecting bus. At the Bolivian-Peruvian border we had to get off the bus and walk into Peru. Because I have a Bolivian identity card, I got to pay an extra 60 Bolivianos to leave Bolivia. They literally get you coming and going here.

I arrived in Cuzco around 10:30 pm and took a cab to my hotel. The driver stopped on a dark street and led me up a steep staircase and along a couple of dark alleyways. I thought I was being set up for a mugging. To my relief, at the end of a long dark hallway was an unsigned door that opened to the lobby of my hotel !! There was a lovely jungle in the courtyard that was surrounded by the rooms. Whew !!

At breakfast, I met Sonia and Patrick from Montreal, who were traveling with their boys and were a couple of days ahead of me. They offered valuable information and advice to help me plan this portion of my exploration. We met later for a most enjoyable dinner (alpaca steak) and a couple of jugs of Pisco Sour - the National Cocktail.

I signed up for a couple of tours offered by the hotel, and headed out for my free morning in Cuzco. This is a much more modern city, despite its history, and was certainly more geared to the tourist trade. Cuzco is described as a “unique combination of colonial splendor built on hefty stone foundations of the Incas… legends tell that in the 12th century, the first Inca, Manco Capac, was charged by the ancestral sun god Inti to find the qosq’o (navel of the Earth). When he discovered such a place, he founded Cuzco.” The city was later “discovered” by Francisco Pizarro and the Spanish conquistadors in 1533, and was conquered, looted and settled. Most of the Inca temples, palaces and homes were destroyed, using their foundations on which to build Spanish buildings and Catholic Churches.

It was an easy walk (downhill) to the Plaza de Armas - the main square. It is surrounded by the Iglesia de La Compania de Jesus, the Iglesia de Jesus Maria, Cuzco’s Cathedral (built on the site of Inca Viracocha’s Palace), souvenir shops, and restaurants offering 4 X 1 “happy hour” Pisco Sours. From there I set out to find the famous 12-sided stone in one of the remaining Inca walls. Here I found different primary school classes, on a field trip to practise counting to 12. I found a small artisans’ area and bought a watercolour from one of the “art students”. I had lunch in a cafe on the perimeter of the square.

The afternoon was spent on a bus tour of the city’s main sites: Qorikancha (Temple of the Sun) which shows the best Inca stonework in the city. Little else remains as the Church of Santo Domingo was built upon the foundations; The Cathedral, with its dominating painting of The Last Supper, with the main course of Cuy (roasted guinea pig). I always thought the Last Supper was a Seder meal - and my Mom never served that !! We also traveled out to Saqsaywaman (”sexy woman”). This fortress was destroyed by the Spaniards who tore down the walls to use the blocks for their own homes. Only about 20% of the original walls remain. This was the site of a deadly battle in 1536 between the Spanish and Incas. Nowadays, on the Summer Solstice, which I just missed, a huge colourful pageant - the Festival of the Sun, or Ind Raymi - is held; Tambomachay, with its natural springs (el Bano del Inca - Inca’s Bath), also believed by the Spaniards to be the Fountain of Youth; and, Pukapukara, at the beginning of the Inca Trail leading to Machu Picchu

The next day was a full tour of The Sacred Valley of the Incas. I was fortunate to sit beside Margot, originally from Ohio, who is now working for the Nature Conservancy in Belem, Brazil at the mouth of the Amazon River. Her company was the best part of this day. The morning stops were at a couple of artisan markets, the second in Pisac. Margot’s fluency in Spanish saved me a few sols at these markets. After lunch in Urubamba, we then traveled along the Vilcanota or Wilcamayu River (Sacred River) to Ollantaytambo, considered the best surviving example of Inca city planning. Steep terraces dominate this site. There are the remains of a Sun Temple, known as the Wall of the Six Monoliths. The Incas built several storehouses out of fieldstones on the hills surrounding the city. As we were leaving, a large group of students spread out over the entire site and danced in unison to the beating of a band of drums. Pretty cool. The last stop of the day was Chinchero, another Spanish colonial church built upon Inca ruins. Margot and I met for dinner and more Pisco Sours - had beef for a change.

Saturday the 28th started with a 5:00 am wake up call to catch the 6:00 am train to Aguas Caliente - the last stop before Machu Picchu. My package included transportation to and a guided tour of Machu Picchu immediately upon arrival at the train station. The crowds were incredible on the paths in, but the first view inside was quite literally, awesome. It looked just like the postcard view I’ve seen over and over, but this was real !! I must have taken hundreds of pictures of the same thing - from a couple of steps this way or that, or up a few steps or down, or a couple of minutes later - each one from a different perspective (?). The guide was the best I’ve had, leading us to all the main features, giving a succinct and entertaining explanation. After the guided tour we were free to explore independently. The place cleared out quickly after 2:00 and was much more relaxed. We were able to sit on the terraces and just contemplate the whole scene. Just before leaving, someone called “condor !!” and I was treated to the magnificent view of the great bird gliding across the sky, for almost 5 minutes before it disappeared in the distance. I returned to Aguas Caliente before dark to find my hotel and buy my admission and bus tickets for Sunday.

The first bus up the mountain leaves at 5:30 AM, in order to get to Machu Picchu for the sunrise. The line up at that time of day was incredible. I met Shraddha, with whom I walked around on Saturday. She was traveling, recovering from working on Hillary Clinton’s primary campaign. We got on the 5th or 6th bus out, and arrived inside in the pre-dawn light. I climbed to the top terrace for my vantage point and she went to climb Huayna Picchu ( the trademark hill, mistakenly thought to be Machu Picchu). Machu Picchu is actually the mountain to your back when you are looking at the “postcard” scene. It’s amazing how I could just stare at the panorama. As the sun’s rays climbed down the mountain sides, I must have taken another hundred pictures of the same scene, each one different. Once it was full daylight, I followed the marked trail and did another circuit of the site. I sat a while on a terrace, on condor watch - peacefully, but no bird. I returned to town in time for lunch, the Euro Cup final, and the 4:30 train back to Cuzco… and early to bed.

And that’s another experience off my list of things to do/see before ….