Cusco, Peru

From Copacabana we took the bus all day long back up the coast of Lake Titicaca through Puno and onto Cusco. Cusco is a very large city situation and occupying an entire valley. The houses especially evident at night with their light twinkling the valley rising up into the surrounding hills. On top of one of the hills is the light up statue of Jesus painted a bright light, just next to him on another hill are ruins of an Inca Temple that have stone work that a very skilled mason would be envious. The stones at this ruins site called Sacsayhuaman are up to 20 feet high and are interlocked so tightly that you could not even slip a piece of paper between them ... no mortar what so ever. Down below the city is active with more and more cabbies flowing through the streets. In the central part of town surrounding the Plaza de Armes all the streets and sidewalks is cobblestone that adds so much to the entire experience of an ancient city that has survived numerous earthquakes. The streets are full of touts selling paintings, handicrafts, shoe shines, massages, restaurants and of course trips to all over the Sacred Valley. The area from Cusco to Machu Picchu is called the Sacred Valley due to the ancient trails of the Incas to the temples and house of kings. Cusco self-titled historical and cultural capital of South America. Thus far in Cusco we have toured numerous museums, ruins, a statue of an Inca King that is on top of a 9 story tower, a cultural dance show and among others one of the beautiful churches we have ever seen El Cathedral which is the centre piece of the Plaza de Armes. Inside the Cathedral every wall is covered with massive paintings depicting Christian events tied together with ancient Quechan traditions with local stories. The stone work for the pillars and central domed roofs are just magnificent. Each nave of the church has wooden door ways that are at least 50 feet tall and each of two doors 10 feet wide. Inside the doors are alters carved out of wood and covered with 24 karat gold leaf foil and there are at least 12 of these not including the central alter that is covered in 2000 kg of silver plating. We cannot forget to mention that the food in Cusco has been unforgettable... with all the tourists that visit this city each year there are so many restaurants to choose from that makes every meal a hard decision on where or what type of food you want to eat. Despite numerous attempts for both of us to make excuses not to do the Inca Trail ... we have decided to have a go and make the 45 km trail to the ancient city of Machu Picchu. Cusco continued on next blog entry.