The trek through Pisac

Yesterday, we traveled through the Sacred Valley to a small town called Pisac. High above the colonial town of Pisac (12,500ft), a gateway to the Sacred Valley, are some of the most beautiful Inka ruins. We were dropped off at the top of the mountain by a Quechua taxi driver who was obviosly frustrated by his dismissal from the NASCAR cicuit and consequently vented this by screeching the wheels of his little toyota car while passing at every blind corner. Gasping for breath and calming our adrenaline, we were greeted at the top with the beginnings of the impressive archeological ruins. The sections of ruins are separated by natural terrain and only accessible by paths and tunnels. As we walked from one terrain to the next we were awestruck by the massive agriculture terracing, complex water engineering and irrigation systems, defensive stone walls, steep drops with buildings hugged against the cliffs, religious and ceremonial areas and beautiful stone work throughout.



We stopped for a quick snack, hydration, and Spot check-in at the edge of a large precipice, overlooking the stunning Sacred Valley. We cooed and gave Inka kisses (which is much like the well-known Eskimo kiss, but involves the passing of coca leaves while rubbing noses) to each other as we listened to the winds blow through the canyons between the craggy Andes. Wondering what a typical day would have been like when the Inka's had inhabited such a beautiful place, we closed our eyes and pretended we were in the 1400's. In the distance we heard the soft whistling of a flute play. Stunned, we opened our eyes, glanced at one another and looking in the distance to see if we could see where the echoing sounds were coming from. We decided it was time to continue on our Pisac adventure, so we pressed on walking single file along the paths of the Inka's.

Snack break at Pisac

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(zoom in and out to see where we were sitting)



The most impressive part of the ruins was the Sun Temple, which had the most sophisticated stonework since it was the religious center for the Inkan city. A channelized spring carried the sacred water throughout the ruins and ended up into a small pool in the center.























































Beyond this we passed through even more agricultural terraces and beautiful vistas. Like the terraces, the pathway meandered along the mountainside with fluid intent.




All in all, the hike down was over 8 km and each kilometer thinned out the tourists who didn't dare venture too far from their air conditioned buses. The second half down felt as though we were discovering the ruins ourselves, until we descended upon the town with loud music, colorful tents, and hand crafted artesenia.


With our exhausted legs, parched lips, growling tummies we spotted a lovely, local restaurant to plop ourselves down for some tasty sandwiches and jugos (juice). It was definitely one of our most adventurous days.

Future adventures: Tomorrow we leave for our 5 day/ 4 night trek to Machu Picchu at 5am...

Adventuring in Cuzco

One of the primary tourist destinations is the famous 12-sided stone along an alleyway in old town Cusco.


Outside of the beautiful Qoricancha museum and church. Pre-Colombian, this site was one of Inka's most sacred temples. Spiritual festivities that revolved around their accurate and unique calendar were held in the beautiful courtyard. The darker stones are the original mortarless and seamless foundation of the Inka temple. The church tore most of the structure down and used many of the same stones on site to build the enormous Santo Domingo church.




The garden outside of the church had the iconi Condor, Puma, and Snake, which represent the different levels of being. The snake is the underworld where all the ancestors are; the Puma represents the corporeal; and the Condor represents the sun, moon, and sky gods. Original Cuzco city was intentionally the shape of a giant puma.



A beautiful Virgin Mary siting....think we can auction it off on E-bay?!



The picturesque ruins of Tipon. Not only were these Inkan ruins incredible in their exactness and function, they are documented as the most sophisticated agricultural and irrigation systems on earth at that time in history. The terracing controlled the exact amounts of water down to the square foot, where the cultivation of different crops laid and a constant stream of water was always moving down the channelized aqeuducts from the top terrace to the lowest one down (12 levels!! And some very fertile soil!!). It was basically like seeing 15th century Ever-Bloom. :) Between each terrace were stone outcroppings that we were able to climb up. The archeological site was 3560 meters in elevation, or 11,680 feet, so there was a lot of huffing and puffing up the hill.




The next ruin we went to was Pikillaqta (say that 10 times fast! pee-kee-yak-ta) . It was from a Pre-Inkan civilization called the Wari. The Wari lived in the Sacred Valley, but sought to take of the Lucre in modern day Cuzco city. The Wari lost, and the Lucre became what are known as the Quechua of today. The site was phenomenal in that it was a perfect grid with city streets, designated living areas, and a walled 'highway' that wrapped around the entire 2km wide urban site. Most of the site is run-down and falling over, however, their was a crew of about 20 men digging up old walls and restoring some of the site's previous glory.

El Paro - The Strike

Sept 21 and 22 the Campesinos, or rural community outside of Cuzco city, initiated a strike that sought to reclaim water that was being diverted from their farms and to the neighboring state Arequipa. Arequipa's development is supposedly out of control (a local Cuzco source told the ivankk press), and they do not manage their resources effectively or efficiently. The strike prevented any vehicle from leaving outside Cuzco's city limits, as well as enter the city. Consequently taking the train to Machu Picchu was impossible for the unlucky tourists, as well as the exhausted ones who wished to return. For us, we were unable to visit several Inca and pre-Inca archaeological sites outside of the city. However, we did witness the large protest in the central Plaza de Armas, that constituted people of every class, profession, age, and enthusiasm. Propaganda posters wished death upon politicians, title to water, popular slogans, and popcorn or ice cream for sale. The plaza transformed with the 4,000+ people chanting, blowing up fireworks, yelling into bullhorns, and selling their ice cream or popcorn. The energy was positive, but neared desperation since their water source could possibly run dry. Though the strike was a protest against the neighboring state of Arequipa, it was interesting to see that Cuzco seemed to be the only place affected by it. Attention was certainly brought front and center to the issue, but we didn't see any Arequipa citizens discomforted or blockaded...

To pass the the time in the city, we walked all over the historical district and even spent some time in the famed Museo de Inca. Our really friendly tour guide Alfredo (who barely reached Ivan's rib cage) did a great job of enlivening the ceramic artifacts, bones, murals, mummies, maps, dates, and rich history. We even taught him some English to help him out on future tours.

Another thing we did in the city was attend a traditional dance at the Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo. The costumes were beautiful and complimented the colorful movements of the dancers. At the end the band played a song and invited everyone on stage. Ivan did not participate.

Though the strike delayed some of our day trips, it certainly hasn't put a damper on our adventures. We are leaving our mark on this historic city, but taking much more with us.

Ruins and ruins to be plunged by the "bombita"

For photos, start from the bottom up and read descriptions 1-16. Sorry we are still learning this blogspot thing...

1.Our first stop up the mountain was Tambomachay. The elevation is in meters (you can do the math!) This was our highest stop of the day.
2. Tambomachay was known as a religious site for the Incas. Here they venerated the very precious resource: agua
3. Puca Pucara was just across the valley and served as a resting stop for Inca and Quechua alike who could lay low before the long journey to Pisac. Here the doorway indents signifying a portal of religious importance to the room we entered.
4. Travelers and pupils could study this rock formation which closely modeled the outline and geography of Machu Picchu (Where we will be hiking next week!!!)
5. A communication tunnel at Sacsayhuaman (Pronounced "SexyWoman")...Ivan barely managed with his claustrophobia issues.
6. Here is the actual seats that the governing Inca King would have sat if he happened to be in this part of the Empire. Obviously a woman would never have set next to him, but rather one of this 200+ wives! Kristin obviously is treated as an equal (ivan says: she has obviously over stepped her bounds) haha
7. We crested the hill at Sacsayhuaman and were amazed by the gigantic stones that were labored into place by more than a maintained 20,000 slaves who labored for over 50 years to not even be completed since the Spaniards came and used both stones and slaves for their cathedrals (insert cynical Ivan comment here...)
8-9. The largest stone weighing over 135 tons!! This took several thousand laborers (without the use of the wheel or John Deere) to move this into place. Legend also says many men were crushed when the stone would accidentally topple over. Also, set in the stone wall is the paw print of the Puma or the representative icon of the terrestrial plane or earth and men. Also set in stone were a llama, alpaca and a snake.
10. This door led to the religious quarters and the 3 gigantic military towers that the Spaniards both massacred the remaining Inca soldiers and then toppled the towers.
11-12. Both pictures are of the same sacrificial room. The silhouette is both the emblematic condor and (rotate right) a llama head. This room was emotional for Kristin since countless little baby llamas were sacrificed upon the alter.
13-14. Shots of Old Town Cuzco from above.
15-16. After a full day of trekking through 4 amazing ruin sites we pigged out Peruvian Style! Chicarrones y pollo a la plancha con jugo de banana! YUM!
Four hours after the meal, Ivan inquired the whereabouts of the "bombita"...this was of course his second inquiry for the necessary tool. Maybe tomorrow (day 3) Kristin will surprise him with his very own "travel" bombita...hehe

We were planning on visiting more ruins in the Sacred Valley tomorrow, however the campesinos are blocking the roads in a strike against Cuzco's government, but especially the water district who plans to divert some necessary water. The strike will heavily impact the tourist industry (example trips to Machu Picchu are canceled tomorrow)