In Search of the Inca

Today’s, Wednesday’s, adventure was a hike to a site of some ruins just outside Cusco town called Sacsayhuaman. The first part of our journey was a steep climb of 295 steps … yes, I counted them all and cussed them all as I puffed and rested and puffed some more! Then a short walk over a slight rise to the entry gate and then guess what? Another 200 hundred steps but much shallower to get to the ticket office … oh joy!

Met a couple of youngsters on the way: the girl chatted to us in English … I was able to ask her about the abundance of a yellow flowering plant. It’s a kind of broom and is mentioned in a song ‘Flor de Retema’ which was composed in ‘response to the repression by the police that left twenty dead in the city of Huanta in 1969. Today the song is used in demonstrations and protests as a synonym of vindication of the Peruvian people.’

The climb was well worth it. It was great being above the town and it felt quite rural ,

.. the site covers a lot of ground so between visiting the ruins we were able to be away from the other tourists and just sit and watch the wildlife… birds and butterflies and soak up the very special atmosphere of the place. I started chatting to a local guide who told me a lot about the Inca sun worship and the belief that we should be kind to Mother Earth. We were there for hours and as it was well past lunch time we decided to skip it and go back into the town to yesterday’s restaurant for pudding. As you’ll see in the photos it did not disappoint!

We found another beautiful little plaza with a fountain ( and far fewer hawkers) where we sat watching the people.

We took a different route back to the apartment, still all uphill, but through an arty district of the town with called San Blas. It has pretty cobbled streets, galleries, coffee shops and restaurants. We will explore it more another time..