On Monday morning I woke up at 5.45, and forty-five minutes later was saying sad and bleary-eyed goodbyes to the family, who had got up early to wave me off. Then I had to rush downstairs to meet Rafael, who was already outside waiting.
The flight to Cusco went smoothly, despite the fact that the plane was so small that the windows rattled and there was even a slight draught coming from somewhere. When I emerged at the other end, I was shocked to find myself in warm sunshine, completely the opposite to the cold rain I’d been expecting. Another pleasant surprise was finding that I wasn’t overwhelmed by the altitude - although I had taken an altitude tablet in advance, just in case. Nevertheless, the worst altitude sickness usually occurs on the second or third day, so I’m told.
As I left the airport, I was surrounded by taxi drivers shouting prices at me - most of them saying S/.20, which seemed much too expensive. I decided to walk a bit further from the exit to see if I could get a better deal, and found another driver just outside the main taxi lane. He quoted me S/.15, which I knew was still expensive, and I told him that I was well aware that everyone was trying to cheat me out of my money. Unfortunately, I couldn’t deny that he was probably right in saying that it wasn’t a good idea to stray far from the airport in search of a cheaper taxi. At least I knew that these guys were working for an official taxi company and weren’t going to rob me or kidnap me.
My mum’s voice in my ear, I decided to bite the bullet and go with the last driver, who introduced himself as Oscar. He seemed a nice enough guy, even if he did spend most of the journey explaining the reason his fares were higher than unofficial taxi drivers’. He insisted I took his card, but I was pretty sure I could get myself a better deal once I knew a bit more about the city.
Milhouse Hostel was about twenty minutes from the airport, right in the historical centre, which was perfect. All the staff were lovely and helpful from the moment I arrived, and all of them generously complimented my Spanish (which made them all the more likable).
By the time I’d checked in and freshened up, it was past midday and I needed to make a plan to get the most out of the afternoon. I booked myself onto a city tour, grabbed a coca tea for the altitude and made my way to the main square, the Plaza de Armas.
I’ve only seen a little of Cusco so far, but what I have seen is beautiful. At the centre of the Plaza de Armas is a well-kept green with colourful flowerbeds and stone paths, and it is surrounded by cobbled streets, colonial buildings, and a beautiful cathedral and church.
I didn’t have much time to explore today, since I had less than an hour to eat lunch and get back to the hostel for the city tour. I settled for the first cafe I found with a reasonable menu, even though its proximity to the main square made it fairly overpriced. After a rushed but pleasant lunch, I walked back to the hostel, where I met a guide and some other people doing the tour. Happily, there were three other English-speaking girls - two from America, called Amanda and Ruth, and another, Gabrielle, from Quebec. As we walked to the first stop on the itinerary, I got chatting to the guide, who wasn’t much older than me and was impressed by my Spanish. When we split off into other groups, I decided to stay with the other girls from my hostel, and we ended up with a guide who spoke both English and Spanish (although unfortunately, he wasn’t very easy to understand in either language).
Qorikancha is an archeological site consisting of Inca ruins, which form the base of the colonial church and convent of Santo Domingo. It was once the richest temple in the Inca Empire, but when the Spanish arrived, they stripped its walls of their 700 solid-gold sheets and converted the temple into a Catholic place of worship. They also looted and melted down all the site’s other solid-gold treasures such as altars, llamas and baby statues, a replica of the sun and life-size replicas if corn, which were ceremonially planted in agricultural rituals.
This temple was the location of various religious rites and ceremonies. It is believed that the mummified bodies of several previous incas were kept here and brought into the sunlight every day to be offered food and drink, which was then burnt. It also served as an observatory for high priests to monitor celestial activity. Today, although only the lower part of the original stonework remains, it is an interesting combination of Inca and colonial architecture and has a roof of glass and metal.
I was glad that we had a guide (even if he was difficult to understand) because it would be easy to mistake the temple for just another archeological site if you didn’t know what you were looking at. As it was, I was able to appreciate that the stonework is some of the most impressive Inca architecture in the country; like all Inca constructions, the stones are held together without any kind of mortar, but despite this, one 6m-high wall has survived earthquakes that left the rest of the city in ruins.
The individual chambers coming off the courtyard are also interesting; the largest are believed to have been temples to the moon and stars, and were originally covered with solid silver. Their walls are not parallel but perfectly trapezoidal, so precisely that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish where one block ends and another begins. The smaller chambers are thought to have been dedicated to thunder and rainbows. The purpose of the holes in the walls in these chambers is still unknown - they could have been for sacrificial chicha (fermented corn beer), blood or rainwater, or even used as speaking tubes to the outside. This side of the complex also retains the original Inca floor.
When we had completed our visit of Qorikancha, we followed our guide to a minibus, which drove us through the mountains to the ancient military site of Sacsaywamán. The name, in Quechua, means ‘satisfied falcon’, and like Qorikancha, this Inca site suffered much at the hands of the Spanish. Although only 20% of the original fort remains, it still appears immense and impressive. It comprises three different sections and was devised by the ninth inca, Pachacutec, who had envisioned Cusco as a giant puma, with Sacsaywamán as the head. The 22 zigzagged walls, which represent the teeth of the puma, also served as an effective defense mechanism. One of these stones weighs more than 300 tons.
Beyond its archeological significance, the fort also has a historical one, since, in 1536, it was the site of one of the greatest battles in the Spanish conquest. Two years after Pizarro entered Cusco, Sacsaywamán was recaptured by the Inca rebel Manco, who almost succeeded but was thwarted at the last minute by Spanish calvary. The site was littered with the bodies of thousands of Inca soldiers, attracting flocks of Andean condors; it is because of this that Cusco’s coat of arms carries the emblem of eight condors.
From Sacsaywamán, we got back into the coach and drove further uphill to Q’enqo, whose name means ‘zigzag’. This site was considerably smaller but equally interesting; it is a large limestone rock engraved with symbolic carvings and has steps, niches and zigzag channels. The top of the rock was used for ceremonies and contains the etchings of a puma, a condor and a llama. Below is a subterranean cave containing altars.
Another short bus ride took us to Pukapukara, meaning ‘Red Fort’ - probably due to the rock’s slightly pink colour in certain lights. Despite the name, however, it is thought to have served as a hunting lodge, guard post and rest point for travellers.
Our last stop was at Tambomachay and involved a short uphill walk - which was disproportionately tiring due to the altitude. By this stage, the sun had gone down and there was a biting chill in the air, a complete departure from the warm sun of the afternoon. Tambomachay consists of an impressive set of ceremonial fountains that still function today. It is therefore commonly known as El Baño del Inca (The Bath of the Inca), and is believed to be connected to an Inca water cult. The most incredible thing about the site is the origin of the water itself, which remains a mystery to this day.
After visiting the last item on the agenda, the bus took us to a nearby shop selling clothes and accessories made from alpaca wool (we had been told that we were going for free coca tea, but really the tea was just a sideline). We were all slightly outraged at being tricked in this way, but somehow we seemed to forget this when surrounded by all the lovely alpaca wool. I couldn’t help but laugh when I got back on the bus to find everyone kitted out in brand-new alpaca gear.
When we arrived back in the main square, Amanda, Ruth, Gabrielle and I decided to go back to the hostel to freshen up before going for dinner together. We chose a place recommended by the hostel, where we had 10% discount, but it turned out to be far too geared towards tourists to offer proper Peruvian dishes or value for money. Nevertheless, we had a nice evening and it was nice having a little group to eat with.
On our way back to the hostel, we bought fresh pancakes from one of the street sellers, who was offering all kinds of different toppings. We made it back just in time to get some two for one cocktails at the hostel bar and meet a few people before Gabrielle and I decided we should probably go and get ready for the next day (by happy coincidence, we were in the same dorm). I’d hoped to make the most out of the lovely hot showers the hostel had advertised, but I was sadly disappointed. I think I’m going to have to get used to living a bit more simply - I leave for the jungle tomorrow.
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