Historic Incan capital Cusco is a bustling city full of cobblestone streets with perilously skinny footpaths, Incan flags on every light post which look suspiciously-exactly-the-same-as-gay-pride-flags, random fireworks at odd times both day and night just to keep you on your toes, colourful processions of defense forces, traditional dancing and brass bands every weekend around the Plaza de Armas and recently, a parade for San Pedro, carried aloft by struggling young men doing their best not to drop the elaborately dressed and slightly effeminate looking statue over the slippery stone road.
Speaking of San Pedro, he’s patron saint of the open market, selling coca everything, big wheels of bread, dried llama foetuses, fresh squeezed juices and disturbing displays of butchered animals. It’s not every market that features surprised looking sheep’s heads glaring back at equally surprised tourists dodging a pair of cow kidneys sailing through the air from bin supply to display.
As the former Incan capital, Cusco still retains some remnants of buildings, mostly used for foundations for Spanish buildings, however, still around for us to see. The blocks of stone they hauled into place remind me of styrofoam – they are smooth, fit perfectly together, don’t use mortar and it seems impossible to have constructed such immense piles without the help of machinery. One block of a building near the plaza has twelve angles, representing the 12 months. I had no idea they followed the same calendar…interesting huh?
The Inca Museum is a small and interesting collection of textiles, dioramas, stones, deformed skulls, mummified bodies and pottery, the more eyebrow-raising of which sported decorations of men having sex with the devil, men and women having sex and then there are the pots used for who-knows-what-since-the-translator-had-given-up-by-then moulded into the shape of a couple having sex and then painted so you couldn’t be in any doubt what was going on. The guy on the bottom seemed to be having more fun than the woman on top. So not much has changed in over 500 years then?
If that’s polite-speak for keep off the grass, the dog doesn’t speak Spanish
Inescapable is the fact Cusco is the gearing up point for getting set for the Inca Trail – four of us had booked early enough to secure permits for the Classic and three went on the shorter Quarry trek.
Reduced to six kilos of luggage in a duffel bag, we spent a day driving through the Sacred Valley and visiting the traditional Kichwa community Ccor Ccor.
Capitalising on their prime location on the road to Ollantaytambo, the community takes in tourists for a couple of hours to dance, sprinkle with flower petals and wear leis, harvest some broad beans, eat quinoa soup and guinea pig plus potatoes fresh from the ground oven – I got the added bonus of additional protein with fresh roasted grubs in the spuds I tried to peel without burning my fingerprints off. We gave away pencils and colouring books to the young children before having the ladies in fits of chesty laughter when we asked them to pull a face for the group photos.
Line of the day goes to Ivy – while in the field she asked if you could eat them raw. All we could see was the toddler she was entertaining, wrapped in a shawl on a lady’s back…not the raw broad bean she also had in her hand. We know Ivy loves kids but that’s love gone too far.
Onward to Ollantaytambo took us through stunning mountains and lakes, patchwork crops, past the city of Urubamba and her many decals carved out of the mountains overlooking town and finally over the jarring cobblestones of OTT. Took a short walk around town, took in views up to extensive ruins on the mountain side which appear to be shaped like a llama if you chew enough coca leaves, enjoyed excellent food at Hearts Cafe, lemon pie and hot chocolate at the Coffee Tree and found a wooden walking stick from a very young and enthusiastic girl working in her mum’s tienda. Despite the large numbers of tourists filing through, for a small town Ollantaytambo is a charming place with a vibrant heart, quaint views down ancient, skinny stone streets and strong cultural links. And good luck getting change for large denomination currency.
