Sacsaywaman is an impressive Inca site of military and religious significance. The site, usually pronounced Sexy-Woman, is situated on a hilltop from where one gets great views of Cusco. Sacsaywaman is famous for its zig-zag fortifications (which are thought to represent the teeth of a puma or perhaps lightning). Only a fifth of the original site remains (as the Spanish plundered it and used it as a stone-quarry). The stones there are huge and meticulously carved out into near-symmetrical blocks (some of the stones apparently weigh 300 tonnes). There is one particular stone which has 11-angles (as opposed to the usual four in a square / rectangular block - in fact, there is a stone in Cusco which has 12 angles).
From Sacsaywaman we went to Tambomachay which was a ceremonial stone bath from which a spring emerged. We also visited a Llama / Alpaca farm on the outskirts of Cusco. Here one could pass through the pens which housed the domesticated camelids (Llamas/Alpacas). There were enclosures for the wild camelids (Guanacos/Vicunyas). However the highlight of the trip to that farm was that Richard Gere was also there and we got to see him from close quarters! Unfortunately he refused to be photographed (‘I’m on holiday’, he said) but that didn’t deter me from taking a few paparazzi style shots.
After getting our Hollywood fix, we went onto the sacred valley where we visited a few towns – Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and Yucay. Just above the town of Pisac are some beautiful Inca ruins / terraces – from where one also gets great views of the Sacred Valley. The town of Pisac has a very famous market where one can buy all sorts of knick knacks and rugs, blankets, and ponchos. It was a really colourful and interesting market to walk through. If someone wanted to buy clothes for their kids (who were not there), the shopkeeper would call the nearest strolling kid (there were quite a few) and then try the clothes on these kids!!!
Yucay was a half-horse town with just one street running through it (though it did have the remains of an Inca palace). The day I was there, there was some local football match going on – unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get there on time but managed to see the post-match presentation ceremony! For this ceremony, the entire population of Yucay town was in full force in the main town square (which was a huge garden) – naturally a lot of beer was flowing and no one was interested in the people who were giving away the prizes and certificates. They seemed to thank (a la Oscar awards) everyone and anyone they knew and that put everyone to sleep. But the best part was reserved for the end when they sang the national anthem (sans any musical accompaniment) which was followed by chants of ‘Viva Peru’ and ‘Viva Yucay’ (which I also heartily joined in).
One day we took a local bus from Yucay to Urubamba and then to Ollantaytambo (which as beautiful Inca terraces). The ‘buses’ are minivans that run chock-a-bloc (sometimes with people standing) – the buses can be flagged down by anyone anywhere and only move from the starting point only after they are full.
Also visited a Chicha parlour (all local bars have a pole with a red polythene bag to indicate that alcohol is available in the ‘establishment’). Chicha is the local tipple made from fermented black corn. There we also played Sapo (‘frog’) in which one has to, from a distance, throw small pucks into holes on a table – each hole has points attached to it with the maximum points gained if you’re able to throw the puck into the mouth of a brass frog in the middle of the table. Ofcourse, the game is should be played (and enjoyed!) after a few of those chichas!
There are only two ways to reach Machu Picchu (on which much ink has been spilt) – either through the 4d3N ‘Inca trail’ or by taking a train to Aguas Calientes (and then a 20 minute bus service to MP). We took the train (lazy way out) from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. The road track to the train station was being restored so we had a mini-Inca-trail-trek when we had to walk on a narrow path to the station. This wee walk was made complicated by the fact that it was raining and there were a million and one people selling water, umbrellas, and ponchos. The train station turned out to be a cute Barog kind of affair and the train journey itself was through dense jungle with steep hills on both sides and the river Urubamba flowing through the valley right next to the train track. All in all a very picturesque two hour train ride.
The only problem in the whole train journey was that we were blessed with a very talkative German sitting next to us (remember my post from turkey?) who spoke non-stop (so much so that a Britisher was heard saying “Shall I tell him (the German) we won the war?”
Machu Picchu (‘Old Peak’) is actually the name of a peak under the shadow of which is located the ‘lost city of the Incas’. There is another peak there called Wayna Picchu (‘New peak’) and in between both these peaks is a flat plateau on which one finds one of the ‘new seven wonders of the world’. I am not going to say much about Machu Picchu apart from the fact that it is exactly (if not more) what one expects! The setting is really spectacular and one could spend days and days there just admiring the beauty of the site (we spent two days there!). We were very lucky with the weather (apparently Machu Picchu has two kinds of weather – rainy and very rainy!). The first day we were there, the weather was perfect (not a single drop from the sky) even though there were lots of mosquitos. However, we did get a bit of rain on the second day but not enough for us not to enjoy the visit.
Cuzco (sometimes written as Cusco or Qusqu) was the historical capital of the Incas. The main plaza in town is called (yes, you’ve guessed it) Plaza de Armas (also known as Huacaypta). Apart from the Cathedral and a very picturesque Jesuit church, the plaza has lovely colonial arcades. Sacsaywaman was sacked and its stones were used to the build the cathedral which has a lot of art in it - including a ‘last supper’ in which Jesus and the disciples are feasting on cuy (guinea pig). Cuzco is a great city to just walk around - it has beautiful narrow cobbled streets and the walls of most buildings have Inca foundations. We also visited Qorikancha (‘Golden courtyard’) which was the site of an Inca sun temple on which the Spanish built a church. And since we were in Cuzco on St. Patrick’s day, we made an obligatory visit to Paddy’s (apparently the highest Irish bar in the world!).
Made it back to Lima yesterday after a couple of wonderful weeks in the Peruvian hinterland. Visited the Anthropology Museum, and the area of Barranco. When we reached Plaza Armas a crowd was collecting and we also did in Peru as the Peruvians do (i.e. waited to figure out what was happening). After a few shrugs from those around us, we found out that a memorial service was being held for the Japanese Earthquake / Tsunami victims. Following a lot of confusion, during which we saw a riot police officer (in full gear, baton, gun and all) listening to music on earphones, we were able to catch a glimpse of the Peruvian President, Alan Garcia.
