The Incan capital

Cusco! First though we had to endure yet another over night bus ride. The best thing about the night bus in Peru is that you can't see just how demented your driver is. You can't see just how sheer the drops by the road side are or just how close he is getting to them. We arrived in Cusco about 5am and were not met by a driver from our hotel. The security guard at the terminal got us a "safe" taxi who drove us to the Plaza de Armas and then told us we could walk the last 600 meters up hill to our hotel. (We were to discover that many of the streets in Cusco date back to before the advent of horses or cars and so are more like broad, steep, cobbled staircases than actual roads.) Little did we know that the theme of "your fat American behind needs to get out and walk" would become the leitmotif of our stay in Cusco. And walk our fat behinds did.

After recovering for several hours in the arctic lounge waiting for breakfast we headed out on a walking tour recommended by the good people at Lonely Planet. Cusco is an absolutely gorgeous city of spectacular colonial architecture. However, it is at 11,000 feet and will take your breath away in a variety of ways- visual splendor, elevation, and air pollution. Exploding hearts and lungs aside we enjoyed our 8km walk. The high point (ho ho ho) was the ruined Incan fortess of Sacsaywaman. It sits outside and well above the city center. After walking all the way up there we found a parking lot. The bitterness was actually twofold since there was also a lot at the lower entrance as well as one at the top. Zada was thrilled to discover the presence of llamas and alpacas grazing around the site. The stonework was unbelievable, immense stones, far from their origin, so precisely carved that no mortar is needed to hold the structure up.

Another wonderful discovery was Jack's, an Australian ex-pat's contribution to the rich fabric of Cusqueno life. They have breakfast all day. The food was incredible, the desserts were richer than an Incan burial. We crawled back up our hill to rest before going out to the traditional Andean dance and music show. We asked our inn's receptionist to call us a taxi as it had become dark and quite cold. She told us that we didn't need a taxi because we could walk. We agreed that we could walk but told her that we didn't want to which is why we were asking for the taxi. Anyway, the show was very interesting though the music was distorted by the antique sound system. The theater was built in the 1920s and is just now being renovated. However the air conditioning works beautifully. At this point we might ask what it is about the people of the southern hemisphere and their refusal to acknowledge the existence of winter? Both here and in New Zealand, though it is 40 degrees the doors and windows are open and there is no heat turned on. Then it was back to the inn to rest up for the big day.