October 21, 2007
From SATA-Peru-2007
This day started early for the six of us who went with Manuel for a long hike in the mountains outside the valley of Cusco. Our goal was to see and explore many of the Incan ruins in the nearby area. We left around 8 a.m. sharp after a quick breakfast and made our way up to the road that runs by Cristo Blanco. Our first stop was Qengo, which is reached by following the road leading northeast out of Cusco for about 2 km. Qengo is not exactly ruins, but rather an example of the Incan hallmark, which is a great rock carved in situ (in place). The rock is made of eroded limestone, but Qengo is also a shrine and inside its caves you can see large niches and what looks to be an altar. From Qengo we made our way to the temple of the moon (templa de la luna). At this site, we checked out an amazing cave used for ritual offerings before heading to the top of the site where we saw an Incan sundial as well as two traditional Incan sun altars. From the temple of the moon we walked a few kilometers up to the road and then followed the road to the sites of Puca Pucara and Tambomachay. The first one we checked out was Puca Pucara (red fort), which stands to the right of the road and is about 6 km past Qengo. It is misnamed because it is not actually a fort, but rather a tambo, which is a kind of post-house where travelers were lodged and goods and animals were temporarily housed. It is thought that Puca Pucara was the hunting lodge of the Inca Pachacuti. Tambomachay, the last site we explored, is known as the Inca’s Bath because it is a preserved example of a site for ritual bathing and possibly a water cult. The Incans saw water as a principal element of life. At this site, a spring emerges from the hillside and the Incans put in into a series of three waterfalls. The mystery of this location is the spring itself, because no one is quite sure where it comes from, but it is assumed it comes underground from the opposite moutains. From Tambomachy, we made our way up to a point that is over 4000 meters and then back down towards Cusco. On our descent we passed through a part of Sacsayhuaman, but didn’t have much time to explore. Hopefully we will have more time another day.
I immediately brought a Brahma upon returning to CBC because after 6 hours of hiking that was what I really needed. Manuel liked the idea and went to the store to buy a bag full of Cusquenas to go along with our lunch of Cuy (guinea pig). Cuy is probably the strangest thing I’ve eaten, just because I could see the little legs, and face. I thought it was delicious and even ate the brain just because I saw some of the Peruvians doing it. It certainly wasn’t the best part, but I’m glad I did it anyway. After lunch I rested as I read and prepared for my two tests coming up this week. After dinner, Darwin and Ricardo brought us coke and dr. pepper floats which were delicious and I watched the Red Sox advance to the World Series. It was a great, but exhausting day and I slept like a baby that night.
