The End of a Long Day

I’ve been sitting here in my hotel room tonight wondering how I could begin to describe today. It’s amazing to think that just this morning I flew into Cuzco. By the end of today, I feel like I have been here for several days. After napping this morning, we headed out to lunch at a local grill. Per Edwin’s advice (our local tour guide), I limited myself to bread and soup in order to aid my acclimating to the altitude. (I would pay for this decision later.) We met our tour guide at the hotel at 2:00 p.m. and headed up into the Andes to go to the Saqsaywaman ruins. It was amazing. The original structure, which housed Inca noble, was partially destroyed after the Spanish Conquest. The rocks were removed from the existing structures and used to build the Cusco Basilica Catedral, among other buildings. Images from these sites are in the slideshow below. Perhaps the most interesting part of the trip to Saqsaywaman was the Shaman I encountered at the top overlooking Cuzco. He was handing out mint leaves which he told me held medicinal values that would aid my acclimating through smelling them. In addition, he was chewing coca leaves which I also chewed with him. I prefer the tea, but the experience was priceless. I can’t exactly describe to you how coca leaves taste. They are somewhat grassy with a bitter aftertaste. Their flavor is weak in tea, but when chewed, the flavor becomes very intense. The flavor reminds me of some green teas I have had. After descending from the ruins, we climbed the remaining stairs on the opposite side. Had I been anywhere else, the stairs would have been a piece of cake. However, the altitude takes your breath away whenever you exert yourself. It is best to take it 5-6 stairs at a time. We also had time to visit with alpaca in the field. There are many alpaca and llama throughout the area. The people here depend on them for their weaving material. Cedric, my traveling gnome, finally made an appearance. He enjoyed lounging in tiny holes he found within the Inca stonework.

After we finished at Saqsaywaman, we headed by bus back down into the center of Cuzco to the Convent de Santo Domingo del Cusco. This is where you begin to see extreme poverty. At the base of the mountains there are crude structures that serve as homes. Sometimes they have the appearance of a rusted box with slanted walls. You know they are occupied because laundry hangs in the wind. The people here depend heavily on tourism derived from Machu Picchu. People stop in Cuzco before making the trip to the ruins. The foundations of many Cuzco structures are pre-existing Inca stonework from previous buildings which existed here. When the Spanish arrived and converted the Inca to Catholicism, they demolished the Inca buildings and used the stones to rebuild Spanish buildings. The convent is built directly on an Inca religious spot. The interior has both Inca and Spanish architecture. Many of the Inca structures are recent reconstructions due to an earthquake which destroyed a large portion of the building in the 1950’s. While touring the convent I think my issues with the early flight, not eating enough, and altitude began. It was not long before I felt extremely queasy and dizzy. For the majority of the afternoon and unfortunately during the tour of the Cusco Basilica Catedral, I suffered from altitude sickness. I was very happy when we went to dinner. After some quinoa soup and spaghetti, the queasiness and dizziness dissipated.

While at dinner, a Peruvian band known as the Rogue Five provided lively entertainment. They played original music from the area which was heavily influenced by the Inca culture and spiritual beliefs. In addition, they played some classic favorites like La Bomba and Jingle Bells, all on wooden flutes and guitars. It was an experience I will keep with me forever. The culture here is very welcoming of tourists, but they can be quite pushy when selling their goods. “No” is not always enough when telling a seller you are not interested. When our bus pulls up outside the hotel, five to six people line up with goods to sell. However, their selling strategies amaze me. When walking to the bus today at the airport, a man was snapping our picture with one of the oldest plastic cameras I have seen since acquiring my Holga. The way he took our picture was almost comical. Often he was not looking through the viewfinder and the camera was moving every which way. This was at 7:00 a.m. At 2:00 p.m., our pictures were printed and pasted onto postcards. Considering my job and what we attempt to do with images, (plus they caught my good side) I had to purchase one. It’s a wonderful souvenir and one of a kind. I also purchased several watercolors depicting Andean street scenes and an oil reproduction of a Spanish style saint. Edwin, our tour guide, recommended purchasing items from his trusted friend Santos. One of the watercolors Santos painted while the other his father painted. I look forward to finding a space for them on the wall. A question was asked about what has been my favorite piece of artwork so far. I would have to say it would be The Last Supper painting at the basilica. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos within the basilica. One of the interesting aspects of the painting is that at the center of the table is a cuy. The disciple pictured at the lower right side is much darker than all the other disciples and Jesus. Although he has the same style hair and beard, there is something about him that captures local Andeans. His look is almost one of shock and dismay and from every direction he is looking at the viewer. It is a piece that speaks heavily from the people in this area.

I’m going to try and photograph some flowers and I have been photographing my food starting today. I will continue to do that and post them in slide shows. By the way, five dollars will buy you a lifetime supply of pineapple juice in Peru. People here can live on five nuevos soles a day. That is equivalent to US$1.60. It is now about 10:18 p.m. I told myself I was not going to post tonight, but I love being able to share my experience with everyone and this blog is a wonderful way to capture the memory before I forget the details. I have a few photography goals set out for me tomorrow. I hope to photograph some of the local flowers. Goodnight everyone!