Cusco
VISIT Plaza de Armas
We traveled through the Sacred Valley and actually finished in Cuzco which is the opposite way most travelers do it. Christina was concerned about the drastic shift in altitude and the sickness is a real thing at 11,200 ft. Her wise plan was to start at the bottom and slowly work our way to the top finishing up in Cusco which worked out really well. We did drink the delicious coca tea which is a lifesaver for altitude sickness and I took up chewing coca leaves and learned the drill from the natives really enjoying its bitter taste and healing effects.
When we arrived the streets were closed and the looming teachers's strike that had been crippling the country found its way to right outside our hotel, down the main avenue and finishing in the Plaza de Las Armas. We were working at coffee shop and literally saw the police, army and teachers go head to head right below the cafe windows.
Cusco was the historic capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th until the 16th-century Spanish conquest. The variance of rock wall building prowess throughout the city is shown with the visible perfection of the Inca walls and the shoddy, thrown together Spanish versions. How Cusco was built, or how its giant stones were quarried and transported to the site is still a mystery. It is said that the entire old city was built in the shape of a puma and many hidden forms can be found in various spots in the what appear to be laser cut rock walls. These walls are large stone blocks that fit perfectly into one another without the use of mortar, and with precision that comes within fractions of millimeters.
We explored the quaint narrow streets of San Blas, visited Museo Inka and browsed the insane San Pedro Market to see every potato imaginable. Peru is the single place of origin of the potato. There were 3,000 varieties of potato cultivated by the Inca before spreading throughout the globe and become the main staple food of billions.
There was a Country wide teachers strike that had been going on for months that had gotten quite serious and affected travel throughout the region. Although we hear tales of many stranded travelers we seemed to breeze by any inconveniences
This particular day the teachers took over the main square and there was a standoff with the military. South America!
One of the mysteries of the Inca is the perfection of the stone masonry. Not even with today's modern tools can such perfection be achieved
This the view from Coricancha geographical and political center of the ancient city of Cuzco
This wall shows the where the Spanish tried to complete and Inca wall. Not quite the same caliber.
So many varieties of corn at the local markets.
Getting the lowdown on the different alkali compunds to bring out the medicinal propertied of the coca leaf for chewing.
Extremely high quality coca leaves
The required Pisco Sour and chilcano Peruvian cocktails
Crying tears of joy when leaving Peru to discover that there was an empty seat next to him
FOOD FACTS: The most important crops in Peru are corn, potatoes, cereals such as: quinoa, kiwicha, cañihua, sweet potato, olluco and yucca.