I left my heart in Cusco!

Well, the trip to Cusco and Machu Picchu was a success, minus getting altitude sickness in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. But, the Peruvian adventure was quite amazing!

The adventure began last Wednesday with a quick flight to La Paz, where we stayed the night. We arrived at the La Paz airport at 7 AM on Thursday morning for our flight to Cusco! The flight was about an hour, but the scenery below was absolutely beautiful--Lake Titicaca and part of the Andes Mountains! Being in Cusco immediately felt like being in another country. The city is very different than any city I have visited in Bolivia.

The driver who picked us up from the airport accidentally took us to the wrong hotel, so we waited with coca mate while someone came to get us and take us to our hotel, Hotel Royal Inca! We showered and got ready and headed to Plaza de Armas, the main plaza, for some lunch. We went to this small, quaint restaurant on the second floor that had an amazing view of the plaza.

At 1:30, we had a tour of the city. We toured the main Cathedral in Plaza de Armas. The Spanish built this church where an important Incan palace once stood before it was destroyed during colonization. There were amazing carvings in the cathedral, and much of the decor was done with 24K gold! The Spanish had a painting done portraying the last supper. The painting portrays daily life in Cusco, but the Spanish insisted Judas wear brown, while all the other disciples wear other colors. Brown is the symbol of the Incas! The Incas always wore brown, and the Spanish did not. Just one way the colonizers tried to dominate and oppress the indigenous.

Next, we visited Qorikancha, which is now the Convent of Santo Domingo. This area used to have temples built by the Incas to worship the fertility gods. However, the Spanish blew the rock walls apart using gun powder and built the Dominican convent. After a huge earthquake in the 1950s, the walls of the convent crumbled to reveal the older walls built by the Incas. Then, we drove up to the hills around the city to see Sacsayhuman, a temple that was built to the god of thunder, Qenqo, temples dedicated to the jaguar and the Pachamama. Human sacrifices took place in the temple dedicated to the Pachamama, and over 30 mummies were found in a ravine behind the altar of sacrifices. Puka Pukara was next! Puka Pukara is a fort that was used to maintain communication with the Machu Picchu region, and to try and fight off the Spanish, who had far superior weaponry. Our last stop of the day was Tambo Machay, a tribute to the water god, who is very important because he fertilizes Pachamama. It is not known where the water comes from that flows from 3 different falls. However, the water has been flowing steadily since the time of the Incas.

Our second day we toured the Sacred Valley of the Incas. It was absolutely beautiful--snow-capped mountains and flowing rivers, green hills and quaint towns. No wonder the Incas chose to live in this area of Peru! Our first stop was the ruins in Pisac. This happened to be the beginning and the end of the Sacred Valley journey for me! I was feeling pretty bad, and ended up throwing up on the ruins...never a good thing. So, I did not get to see much of the valley or the other ruins because I slept in the bus. By the last stop I was feeling better. We hiked up through a small town to see the "most beautiful church in the Sacred Valley." The Spanish destroyed the home of a famous Incan king and built the church on that hill. Only Spanish and noble Incas could enter the church, so the lower classes would sit outside and listen. When we arrived back in Cusco I was so exhausted.

Our last day was the journey to MACHU PICCHU! We got up at 5:45, had a quick breakfast, and took a bus to the train station in Poroy, just outside of Cusco. The train ride to Aguascalientes was about 3 and a half hours, but it was so beautiful! We followed this beautiful river and were surrounded by tall, snow-covered mountians. When we arrived in Aguascalientes, we found our tour guide and headed to catch a bus to the ruins. We entered the area and took a steep path up! When we finally came upon the city it was absolutely breath-taking! We were looking down at the city from above! We saw the terraces that were used for growing corn, the temples to the gods of the sun and the water, and to the condor as well. We saw the famous temple of 3 windows, which represents the 3 worlds--the upper world, this world, and the lower/inner world. Each world is represented by an animal--the condor is the upper, the puma is this world, and the snake represents the lower world. The sacred rock, which marks the entrance to the Huayna Picchu, the famous mountain that has a very important temple at the top and only 400 people can climb this mountain a day, has the same shape as the mountain in the distance. The lower section of the city was houses, workshops, etc, while the upper section was made up of temples and important buildings.

The whole Machu Picchu experience was amazing--to see the work that was put into this city, and realize that no one knows what happened to the inhabitants! I learned so much about the culture and history of the Inca people. It is still alive today because Cusquenas carry on the religious practices, including worshiping Pachamama and other Incan gods. Although I only explored a small portion of Cusco, I feel in love with the city! The people of Cusco today still associate themselves with their Incan ancestors and are proud to have such strong, indigenous roots!