We booked in and Brennen went looking for a Macchu Picchu tour to leave the following day, while i waited for him in a restaurant near the plaza. While i waited, a bloke about my age, claiming he was from Brazil came up with some sob story about needing to get in contact with his girlfriend, and how he just needed two dollars to use the internet, (the internet is 1 sole for half an hour). I could tell immediately that his story was bullshit, and i was helped by his junky looking scabbed up arms, and lips, and so told him no. He asked me why i wouldn't give him the money, and looked at me like I was some huge asshole. Maybe i was. But we saw him later at around 10am walking around the plaza with a beer in his hand aggressively asking others for money. Strange, because there are cheaper places than Cuzco to be a drunk.
Not many agencies were open in Cuzco because it was a Sunday, but Brennen eventually found a one day tour for US$165 which included the train ride, a guide, etc. He came to meet me for breakfast, and we headed together to Qorikancha, an Incan temple which the Spanish built a church on top of, via the Incan walled Loreto alley.
But again, because it was a Sunday, it wasn't open until 2pm and we were there too early. So we walked around the block and ended up sunbathing in a park nearby for an hour or so and watching families with their pet dogs enjoying the day. We eventually left the park and booked (with great difficulty) a trip to the sacred valley. The agency we went to was hopeless. It took Brennen about 25 minutes to pay for the tour using his visa card, and he was the one who eventually plugged the numbers in to make it work. We should have gone somewhere else based on their visa payment inability, because they made a huge mistake later...
We returned to Qorikancha, but the line was way too long for us to be bothered waiting, so we headed back to the hostel and played an epic game of Rummy for the rest of the afternoon to see who would sleep in the double bed that the room had. Brennen won. Frickin' Americans.
The next morning I woke to Brennen's Macchu Picchu alarm, but headed back to sleep for a couple more hours before getting up and catching the public bus up to Tambomachay, some Incan ruins about 8kms out of town. They were smaller that i expected, but were nevertheless impressive, with redirected waterways that are still functioning today.
The ruins of Tambomachay
It didn't take long to see all of Tambomachay, and i left the site and crossed the road to Pukapukara, which also didn't take too long to see. It's name means 'red fort'in Quechua but according to the Lonely Planet, it's more likely some sort of old hunting lodge or hotel or something.
After that, i walked back down towards Cuzco, following the main road. There was a short-cut i could have taken across a field which would have saved me at least 15 minutes, but i didn't take it because i wasn't entirely sure where the next ruins were. Eventually, after walking for about an hour and passing some eucalyptus plantations, i ended up at the ruins of Q'enqo. They're more natural than the other ruins, with altars and steps carved into the surrounding limestone formations. The book says there are elaborately carved animals on a boulder at the top, but the top had been roped off and was out of access so i couldn't see them.
Then it was on to Sacsaywaman. I stopped for lunch along the way and while i was waiting, a young Peruvian guy entered to have lunch too, asking me if i believed in 'the energy'. I didn't quite understand what he meant, so i asked, and he clarified that he meant the energy of Mother Earth. Loony alarms started sounding in my head, so i politely told him i didn't believe in much, and he smiled at me with a mouth full of gold rimmed teeth, and that was the end of the conversation. I finished my lunch and continued on to Sacsaywaman.
Sacsaywaman is easily the most impressive of the ruins around Cuzco. It's huge and some of the rocks they've used must weigh A LOT. It's very difficult to understand how it was possible to move these rocks over 500 years ago when the place was built.
I climbed a hill to get a good look at it all, and stumbled across Senor Crazy again. He told me his name was Unu (which means water in Quechua), and that he was studying to be a Shaman like his father. Apparently, he lived at the top of the snowy mountain that can be seen in the distance from Cuzco and visited the town every three days. Suuurrre... Then he explained that was going to help his dad conduct a mass meditation session later in the evening, using a root from the jungle which allows a person to 'see themselves'. I think he'd probably been doing a a little too much 'seeing himself'...
But he was nice enough, and offered to show me a special area of the ruins for no fee, so i followed him down the hill to an area he called a sacred site. He told me hold my hands in a special way, palms up and thumbs out, and to close my eyes. I was skeptical, as i can't help being, and when i closed my eyes, i didn't really close them to make sure i knew exactly what he was doing. He told me to take 6 deep breaths, and feel the wind around me. I certainly felt the wind.
When i was done, he told me to open my eyes and take a seat. He told me to hug my girlfriend the next time i saw her, because she was going to need it. He also told me i had a very good energy, but that i needed to open my mind more to different possibilities. Finally, he told me i was going to meet some very nice people in Cuzco tonight...
Then he told me to stand again, and asked to see my navel. He stuck his finger in it and told me it was very good. I'm pretty happy I've got a good navel. Not entirely sure what constitutes a bad one though - they're pretty similar on everyone. I'd actually say mine would be below average. It's kinda hairy and chubby, and gathers a fair bit of fluff during the day. But hey - according to him it's a good one, so i'll take that. With his finger still in it, he asked me to take 3 more deep breaths, with my eyes open this time, and when i was done, he told me to head through a gap in the wall to a cave so that i could get in touch with Mother Earth (Pachamama in Quechua). Then he promptly disappeared. Nuts, but nice. I headed to the cave, and then did some more wandering around Sacsaywaman.
Sacsaywaman
A wall at Sacsaywaman with grid marks to show movement of the stones
Sacsaywaman again
Sacsaywaman
The view of Cuzco from Sacsaywaman, with Unu's mountain home in the distance.
I headed back to town via the stairs to Cuzco and took a wandering walk to Plazoleta San Blas, and a number of small streets around it. It was nice. Cuzco has some very pretty parts.
I saw this sign and thought it was funny.
One of the pretty streets on the way back from Sacsaywaman
Brennen still wasn't back by the time it started to get dark, so i headed home to get some warmer clothes, and then headed out to a reggae bar where i had a couple of beers and updated my diary. I overheard an Australian accent and when i went to get another beer, the barman asked me where i was from, and then proceeded to introduce me to the owner of the accent. His name was Cam Chrome, he was 32 years old, and he used to work in staging at Channel Nine in Melbourne. He started an environmental science degree when he was around 27 years old, and now works in energy. That was a little too weird for me. We had such similar histories - and now he works in 'energy'. Unu... Crazy, but so-far correct.
I headed back to the hostel with the key to meet Brennen, and played a game of pool with Dante, the owner of the hostel. There i met an ex-tour guide called Martin, who was living at there. He knew a 'shit-load' of English slang and now worked for an advertising company. He was a very cool guy who said he used to have long hair dyed different colors, but now had to wear a suit and tie. He explained to Brennen and I the idea of Pachamama - spirits or gods in all objects. Gods for each mountain, for each forest, for each river etc. I opened my mind, it was a nice conversation and he was a nice guy. Unu - correct again.
We woke early for the tour the next morning and waited out the front for an hour, but it never came. We went to grab some breakfast and then headed to the tour agency to complain. She told us they'd been looking for us, but couldn't find us. She said we could do the same trip the following day, but asked us to meet at the agency instead. Pfffft... Idiots.
We headed around the corner and finally made it into Qorikancha, an Incan site which forms the foundations of the Iglesia de Santo Domingo. There was an art exhibition upstairs which was included with the entry fee and it was interesting, despite some works i thought were very silly by two Brazilian artists, Carol Lisboa y Thiago Godoi. They basically consisted of books with blank pages. Hmmmmm...
We relaxed for much of the rest of the day, not having anything planned due to missing the sacred valley tour and did some administrative type things such as booking a ticket to La Paz. We had a few beers at Los 7 Angelitos that night (a nice little pub with live music), after an extremely average, yet expensive Indian dinner at Korma Sutra near Plazoleta San Blas.
The next morning, we woke early and walked to our tour agency, which then walked us back to a plaza closer to our hostel and told us to get on a bus. We waited on the bus for a while as more people got on, and then did some driving to pick up some more people. Eventually, we went to get some petrol, from the petrol station that is immediately opposite our hostel - an hour after we arrived at the agency. I felt slightly annoyed that they couldn't find us the previous morning seeing as we told them the address, and they seem to stop right outside it...
Our tour guide was bilingual in English and Spanish, but for some reason, his accent sounded Russian. The first stop on the tour was Pisac, an impressive ruin on a mountain next to a valley, with a colonial village near the river, and an Incan fortress above. We didn't have a great deal of time there, and had to find our own way to the top for views of the valley, but we eventually did and spent a couple of minutes taking it in before we had to descend and get back on the bus.
The Ruins of Pisac
View of Pisac from the top
Stone work at Pisac
We had lunch later in Calca for four soles each (while the rest of the bus was encouraged to eat for 20 soles at a restaurant associated with the tour). The old man who served us our sandwiches was very nice and friendly, and afterwards i bought a packet of 'Kraps' for the bus. I explained to him what Kraps means in English, and he had a good laugh about it.
Packets of Kraps.
The next stop was Ollantaytambo, an Incan city that has been inhabited for the past 700 years. Again, i felt rushed here, and the amount of other tourists present was absolutely staggering. It was quite impossible to get a good view of anything because of everyone else. We didn't have time to climb to the top. If you were really keen on seeing it more tranquilly, you could probably stay the night in the town, and take your time on the ruins when the tour buses aren't there. Or even make your own way there from Cuzco during the day.
View of the town of Ollantaytambo from the ruins.
Ruins of Ollantaytambo.
The next stop was Chinchero, a pretty little town with some more Incan ruins, and again, a church that had been built on top of them. We saw a traditional display of works from some women including washing and dying of some wool using natural soaps and dyes. It was totally designed for us tourists.
View from the bus on the way to Chinchero
Another photo from the bus window.
The women show some of their weavings.
Two kids on a carved altar in Chinchero.
Chinchero's church by night.
The town of Chinchero as night starts to fall.
As we left, Brennen bargained with a local for a big warm blanket and eventually got it for 40 soles. Some Chilean girls on the tour were impressed with the price. We returned to Cuzco and that night we had dinner on the street nicknamed gringo road, and some drinks afterwards at Mama Africa. In the meantime, about 100 people asked us if we wanted drugs, and i got a little pissed off. Some of them did it immediately in front of the police. We asked Martin later if it was dangerous to buy drugs in Cuzco, and he said that tourists are often approached by the police immediately afterwards purchasing drugs, and made to pay heaps of money to stay out of jail. One guy asked me where i was from, and i told him Australia, and he said 'Oh, Australia. I know what you want.' I got the shits, and told him in a very loud voice, i didn't want drugs, and he said he was sorry, but that i was Australian so it's just expected i would be buying drugs. I felt like punching him in the head.
The next morning, we saw Martin who was just heading to work. We asked him about somewhere cheap to have breakfast, and he told us about the central markets and directed us towards it. We found a place for breakfast, and i had two coffees with milk, a huge fruit juice (like a litre's worth) and two sandwiches for 8.5 soles. The girl who served us the juice had skipped school to work that day, and stood on a chair behind her stall with her back permanently bent. We asked if her back hurt, and she said yes, but that 'work is work'. We walked around the market for a bit, and saw some interesting stuff, and then headed back to the hostel to play cards and wait for the bus to La Paz. We left Cuzco at about 10.30-11pm...
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