RTW Day 3: Saksayhuaman

My third day in Cusco started late, as I had a pretty bad headache in the morning (could be soroche but more likely it was the cervezas with Antonio...). My plan was to do a huge hike north to a place called Tambomachay, but given my late start I decided to have a more tame day. I began with a plate of Ají de Guillana, and let me tell you it was goooood:

Peruvian cuisine is a mixture of old Incan dishes, Spanish and Italian style cooking, and a big Asian influence, especially Chinese and Japanese. And for some reason there are pizzerias EVERYWHERE. I'm not complaining.

My short hike took me up to some ruins just North of Cusco called Saksayhuaman. There is also a gigantic statue of Jesus called "White Jesus" (Christo Blanco) but I don't have a good picture. The ruins were pretty neat but I don't have a clue what they're all about.

Locals tell me the tour guides just make everything up, as archaeologists don't have an answer and the Incans weren't big on writing books. Kind of nice to make up your own story anyway.

After Saksayhuaman I walked another mile or two to another set of ruins at a place called Q'uenko. There were several buses of people there, but fortunately they all flocked to the other side giving me a chance to see the main hill in complete solitude. I spent about 30 minutes sitting on the hill overlooking the city. It was very nice and so far a highlight of my trip.

After Q'uenko I sort of wandered toward what looked like a small village and just followed random paths toward Cusco. There were plenty of interesting caves and side paths along the way:

Eventually I ended up on the home stretch of the Incan Trail into Cusco and got to see a beautiful part of town called San Blas. I also ran into a big gang of the many wild dogs that roam Cusco:

Walking back to my hotel I went through the main square, the Plaza de Armas, and as always was incessantly harassed by taxi drivers, people trying to sell cheap artwork, shine my shoes (really?), or give me a massage ("Mister, massayeh?? Massahey?"). It's kind of like dipnet fishing - everyone sits around bored and lethargic, but when the tourists start to run, all Hell breaks loose. This will stick in my mind as a defining trait of Cusco, for better or worse.

Dinner was a place called Urpi, nothing much to talk about other than I had a drink (I forget the name) made from carob root liqueur, fermented grape juice and egg whites. Mmmmmm. More hiking, food and drinks to come.