Mom and I take on Cusco

I was pretty excited the day of my mom's arrival, despite the fact that I had stayed out all night the night before and only gotten an hour of sleep. I raced to the airport and soon thereafter I was hugging my mommy! It was really awesome to see her after so long, but at the same time, it didn't really feel like I hadn't seen her in a year. She held it together really well, I was proud of her!

We spent the day running our mouths and eating delicious food and kind of walking around Cusco. We also signed up for a city tour for the next day, and got our plans all squared away for Machu Picchu! We drank some pisco sours, a mandatory activity if you are a tourist in Peru. I had planned to turn in early, but I was feeling restless so I ended up going out with a fabulous Australian couple while Mom recovered from her day of flying.

I definitely regretted this decision the next day, as we had a nearly all-day tour of points of interest in and around Cusco. I must admit, I was still not quite ready to be a tourist again, but Mom did her best to motivate me, and the knowledge that she had come so far to see and do fabulous things inspired me to pull through.

Along the way, we visited the cathedral on Cusco's plaza de armas, much of which was built from Inca stones pilfered from palaces that used to stand on the plaza, which was twice the size of what remains. We got to go inside the cathedral and view all sort of interesting objects, like the crucifix that was paraded around to stop an earthquake, gold and silver covered altars, that famous painting of The Last Supper where a ginuea pig is being served (some scholars think it's a chinchilla), and an amazingly carved wooden chior. Mom was in awe. I always feel the weight of my Catholic upbringing in places like that. It means a lot to a lot of people, and for that, in addition to its historical allure, made our visit to the cathedral fascinating.

Our next stop was Qorikancha (uff, who knows about the spelling on that one), which was once an Inca palace and also a place of worship to the sun and moon. We learned a lot of interesting things here as well; the story that sticks with me is that the Incas, as the gazed into the night sky, didn't see patterns of stars forming pictures as we do with our constellations. Instead, what stood out to them were the dark spaces between the stars, in which they saw images, much like seeing figures in the clouds. They could see a snake, a hunter, and a condor, among other images. We also learned about their world view, involving the prevalence of the number three and the condor, the puma, and the snake, which each represented a different realm of the afterlife, the present, and the underworld. All that remains at the site are some Inca walls and lots of stonework, because again, the conquistadores built over the palace. We also learned about the Inca style of building that utilized the architecturally sound trapezoid. In places, stones had been removed, but the structrues didn't collapse because the trapezoids support the weight of the whole. The Incas, by the way, didn't use cement. Their buildings are just stone on stone, and they are so perfectly fitted that most withstand earthquakes while colonial structures crumble. Freaking hot!

The colonial architecture built over the top of Qorikancha.
A series of trapezoidal windows.
The hills of Cusco as seen from a staircase at Qorikancha.
Inca stones, man.
More stones, more Cusco.

After, we went up the hill to the site called Saqsaywaman, another crazy Inca site. The site used to be huge, and what we saw was only 20% of the original, because the conquistadores carted away all the building material to build conquistadorey things. The site was pretty cool, though, even in its state of disrepair. Some of the stones were freaking huge! I can't really remember what this site was all about, but probably a ceremonial center. Apparently it used to have a huge tower! There is also a theory that the city of Cusco was originally constructed in the shape of a puma, and Saqsaywaman was the head of the puma. There are zigzag walls that could potentially be the teeth, and the tower could have been the eye. Mom and I walked through the site, and then to the edge of the hill to look into the valley filled with Cuzco's tiled roofs. Even in the midst of inclement weather, it was beautiful!

Saqsaywaman remains.
Zigzag wall.
Inca stonework is so sexy!
Cusco!
Mommy taking a picture!
Mommy being cute!
Cusco is rad.
After Saqsaywaman, we stopped at two more sites, one of which was a ceremonial cave and another of which was an Inca fountain that the Spaniards believed was the Fountain of Youth. Both very interesting. Apparently, the surrounding areas are still being excavated, and a few new sites have been discovered. For example, near Saqsaywaman they discovered remains of a reservoir. The whole day, I was in wonder of the Inca society and its architectural prowess. I mean, city planning anyone? I want my city to look like a puma from the air!

That night, mom and I ate a delicious dinner (I had the ceviche, a favorite dish of mine) and then prepared for Day Two, our trip into the Sacred Valley!