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Day 08: Day Trip from Cusco to Piscu
Llamas, alpacas, and us, oh my! 🙂
We started out from our hotel early this morning for a day trip to Piscu. Before I talk about that, though, I’d like to mention something about the Ninos Hotel, where we’re staying in Cusco. The story behind it is that 15 years ago or so, a Dutch lady visited Peru. She was struck by the many street children, and finding out that they had no one to take care of them, she returned a few months later with the intention of opening a home for them. She started with two and that grew to 12. Realizing that one way to generate money for them was to open a hotel, that’s just what she did. Some time later, she opened a second one a few blocks away.
So by staying here we’re supporting a good cause, and we all feel good about that.
About halfway to Piscu, we stopped at a textile mill, where we were treated to all steps in the process. We saw, and were able to pet and feed, llamas and alpacas. It was pretty fun and everyone got into it. We saw ladies in traditional garb sitting outside weaving, and at the end, of course, was the store. There were wonderful things of all kinds for sale in this upscale store, but I didn’t come to Peru to buy “stuff.” (All I can think of is where I’ll store it and how much use I’ll get out of it.) My “stuff” is pictures, so that’s what I’m concentrating on. I did get a couple of bracelets that I’ll be able to wear to work, though. When I wear them I’ll always remember where they came from, and that’s a good souvenir to have.
Our goal for the morning was the fabulous Inca ruins at Piscu. The terraces were amazing and seem to go on forever. Well, everything seems to go on forever, including all the trails to the different areas of the site.
We learned that the stonework is indicative of the status of the persons residing in the place or the function of the buildings in that area. Irregular stones put together with mortar were the lowest status, more fitted stones were in the middle, and regularly sized fitted stones were the highest. That helps archaeologists figure out, or at least make better guesses about–what uses the various places were put to.
If you look closely at the picture that just looks like a hillside, you’ll see holes. These are graves.
The Inca were amazing with planning and executing water runs. They built the terraces and irrigation so that the runoff from one terrace watered the next one down. And they ran stone waterways for the water to flow. Truly amazing when you consider how much they had to use. What planning had to go into getting water available in all these places and for all the agriculture. Just boggles my mind!
Our destination here was Intihuatana, or Temple of the Sun. We walked as the Inca did, on uneven stone steps, up/down/through. It was quite a workout! Along the way I got a picture of how some stones were fitted together; so precise.
Our guide (Raleigh is what we called him, have no idea what the correct spelling is) played a flute for us at one stop, and then we were off again, going up higher.
The pictures of looking slightly down on the reddish buildings is the actual temple. The stonework here is of the finest quality, except for one building closest to the temple. The speculation is that this was the head shaman’s residence. He performed the most sacred duties, but didn’t rate the best stonework. Perhaps this was to keep him humble?
Raleigh gave us each three leaves to put somewhere while he played the flute. the three leaves were for the three realms: spiritual, material, and underworld. All three interacted freely in their culture.
The doorway picture shows that they built their walls at a 95 degree angle. This was to accommodate earthquakes, or to make the buildings less likely to fall. Ingenious, no?
Then we had to decide how we wanted to descend. There was a less strenuous option and a more strenuous one. I chose the less, and first thing we saw was the flowers, yellow and green. National flower of Peru, I believe. Very pretty.
The picture that looks like tow walls and a rock are showing the “flying staircase” they used. These were stones that jutted out so you could climb up or down on them.
After we finished our portion of the hike, the van picked us up and we headed into thee town of Piscu. We were just in time to see a parade of saints, this being Sunday.
Then we had lunch and had an opportunity to shop in the market. I got a picture of some kids being picturesque, holding a couple of live baby alpacas. They’re so cute! (Kids and alpacas). They’re there, of course, to make money, so right after taking the picture, their hands came out to collect the money.
While others shopped, I was pretty tired and chose instead to take a nap in the van–especially following my shopping (not!) philosophy. When everyone returned, we headed back to Cusco. The last picture might be a little hard to see, but it shows the “more strenuous” option that some of our group took to come down from the temple. they went right down the center of that terraced area and walked all the way into town. Whew!
Tomorrow we leave Cusco and head for our first day in Machu Picchu, after, that is, a four-hour train ride. That’ll be interesting!
Another early start, so I’m going to start packing and getting ready. I hope our next hotel has Wi-Fi, too, so I’ll be able to do tomorrow’s update. Later everyone!
