Cusco, Peru

Hey, I'm in Peru! Who would have thought that after more than seven months on the road things could still be getting better. Cusco is my new favourite city. It has history (great buildings, cobblestone streets and Inca stonework), modern and traditionally dressed locals everywhere (some with baby goats or llamas for torist photos), craft stalls, yummy food, pisco sours... need I go on.

Cusco is the historical capital of the Inca empire so there are a lot of photos of stones and rocks - and great stories to go with them. It took a bit of walking uphill to get to some of and sights and I'm hoping that it's the altitude (3,400m) and not me getting old. It was hard work.


Again it's the usual theme, I've got heaps of photos and struggle not to share them all. Lucky you, I haven't put them all in - nearly but not quite.

The road I walked up and down several times a day to get from home to town.

Yes that lady is leading an alpaca.

My first pisco sour in Peru.

A very important moment that needed to be documented.

A traditional dance done on the 2nd & 3rd of May at churches on hills that have a cross (I think).
.
The main square

Traditionl weaving

Church of Santo Domingo and Coricancha Temple
This was the Inca's primary temple and astronomical observatory. They had built it so that the sun would touch different windows and corners at different stages of the year. Our guide had studied this at university so had lots of interesting stuff to share.
The Spanish built this church on the temple foundations, after they'd knocked down most of the temple. In Inca stonework is so sturdy that it has survived earthquakes that that church hasn't. There used to be a church wall on top of the dark grey stones on the right of the photo.

Inca sacrifice stone. People and animals were killed here.

The hole at the back was to drain the blood.

This courtyard was filled with gold at one stage and the walls and floors of the temples were lined with gold.

Our fantasticly knowledgeable guide pointing out a stone used in the Inca's calendar.

He is holding photos of himself as a student at different times of the year that show the stones shadow showing the date by where their shadow hits another stone.

Me and my date at lunch at a restaurant that is run as a fundraiser for a children's charity and was decorated by the children.

The main square from the restaurant where Tana and I got a step by step pisco sour making lesson.

On the way up to Sacsayhuaman. There were a lot of stairs to walk/puff up.

Another Inca structure/ruin 30min's walk from town.

The Inca's expanded on another groups work and then the Spanish took most of the stones to build their churches in Cusco.

View of Cusco from Sacsayhuaman (also known as sexy woman by some).

The main square from the same place.

That's me beside those little rocks.

I got the tall guy to stand by the taller rock.

How did they move these things?

Lots of theories, not definite answers.

Soaking up the sun at 3,700m.

Tana has been hanging out for this meal for well over a year.
Yes it is a guinea pig!

Tongue, teeth, claws... check. The fur and inside bits were the only things missing.

Inca stonework

The famous 12 sided stone. The most photographed stone in Cusco.

It's even on postcards.

The stones are so close you can't slide paper between them.

Beverages overlooking the square.

Ordered pisco sours (of course), they took ages so ordered beer to keep us going, pisco sours and beers come at the same time - not such a bad thing.

On our way to Pisac, our driver took us to this place. It's an inititive to encourge local weavers to continue to raise alpacas, use their wool, dye it naturally and weave so the art is not lost.

Our guide's son, Miguel, decided that feeding me was better than feeding the alpacas.

Alpacas turn now.

Wool dye

The base red is from a parasite that lives in a cactus and then different minerals are added to make different colours.

The wool gets boiled for an hour in the dye.

Alpaca wool

Weavers from different communities come and weave their traditions patterns then the finished product is sold in the shop.

Each community has a different style (patterns and colours) and they can be identified by the style of hat they wear.