Cusco

Flew into Cusco on Monday and began chewing coca leaves and sucking coca candies prior to and during the flight. No one really knows (unless they have prior experience) how the altitude might affect them and we were told that coca relieves the symptoms, should you be vulnerable.

Cusco, at it´s highest point, is 11,600 feet above sea level and upon arrival, I felt a brain wobble a few times and chest pressure but not much else....until around midnight. I had stopped chewing the coca around 3 pm so that I could sleep (the native recommendation). Others in our group had already sucked back oxygen from the readily available tanks at the hotel. Laying prone in bed brought on a fierce headache and once I propped myself up on two pillows, my headache was almost gone. After breakfast, the concierge brought me oxygen at my table and I had a 10 minute shot. As you can see, Bob needed it as well!

Above: Bob on the juice; the courtyard of our beautiful Cusco hotel

We had a tour of the city and Incan ruins. It is more than a bit of a joke that many of the churches built by the Spanish have fallen (earthquakes) and been rebuilt many times over the years, and yet those brilliant Incan structures still stand today. What an amazing people they were! Much more on that in a bit.....

Below: Scenes of Cusco Market. That is our guide below, peeling an orange for our very freshly squeezed orange juice.

Above: Guinea pig house (the little one with the 3 balconies)...fattening them up for dinner.....yes, they eat them in Peru.

Have I mentioned food? We all had a giggle when we read our itinerary and whenever food was mentioned, the word ´´gastronomic´´ was always in the description. The food in Peru is fabulous and we were never disappointed in a meal. Guinea pig and alpaca were on the menu but neither Bob nor I tried them.

Along the highway we encountered country people selling their crafts. The children are completely comfortable with the routine and sit with their mothers for hours.

Bob discovered this wonderfully bored woman at a ceramic school for children. I believe she was weaving a blanket.

Almost every home we passed had this good luck symbol on the roof.

Our tour took us to many Incan ruins and each and every time we were completely amazed at the architecture, the use of natural materials, the ability to move huge stones and to capture the sun for their homes, temples and especially to pinpoint the sun for the special dates on the calendar...June 21st and December 21st. Most often, the rocks were transported across mountain ranges using ramps and using round stones to roll them into place. Large stones were notched so the next would fit and there was not one bit of mortar anywhere in the structure. This way, when an earthquake hit, the structure shifted but moved with the quake then settled back into place.

We moved on to a destination we all felt was going to be the most special of our trip....Machu Picchu (Peruvians spell it "Machupicchu"). The night before we took the train to Machupicchu, we stayed at a beautiful hotel in the Sacred Valley. It appeared to be an old hacienda and was a perfect place to spend a quiet evening with the sounds of nature.

Bob found this beautiful young boy who stood fascinated, watching him. Bob indicated with his camera, that he would like to take a picture. The boy just stared for a bit...then he began to smile. The photo was taken and when shown his image, he rewarded Bob with a huge grin.

Next....Macchupicchu, which more than deserves it's own entry!

Blessings.