Cusco

From Huanchaco, we flew to Cusco to spend three days acclimatizing at 11,000+ feet. We stayed at the Palacio Manco Capac. It was beyond charming, and there are some Inca walls on the actual grounds.

Entryway courtyard

Standing in the same spot, and looking to the right. This was our room.

The view off of the balcony. The trees are eucalyptus, and gave off a mild aroma. The hotel was surrounded by eucalyptus.

Also from the balcony. There are a pair of alpacas that hang out in the wooded park area across from the hotel.

The headboard on our bed. It hearkens back to the 1500's conquistador era, during which time this would have been considered subdued and reserved.

Cupid watched over us. It was cool.

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Sacsaywaman

The remains of an Incan fortress, Sacsaywaman, are a major site of interest to visitors to Cusco, and as it happens they were a short walk from our hotel. Constructed around 900AD by a pre-Incan civilization, the fortress was considered vital to the defense of Cusco, and was enhanced substantially by the Incas.

The stones were "sanded" into shape for a perfect fit, and were set without mortar. Spanish chroniclers marveled at the construction, noting that not even a very thin knife could be fit between them.

How is Sacsaywaman pronounced? Well, "sexy woman" is pretty much how. If you can remember Steve Martin's "Swinging Czechoslovakian Brother" sketch with Dan Aykroyd, and imagine him saying the phrase "sexy woman" in that accent, that nails it dead on.

It was hard to keep a straight face asking people questions about the site.

Three tiers of defense. These walls are more than twice the height of a man.

This picture is taken from a rise opposite the defensive walls. A tour group walks along the shallow valley in between

As tour groups started walking along the walls of Sacsaywaman, I also noticed a group of 15 or 20 alpacas walking along ahead of them, munching here and there as they were effectively herded by the slow-moving tourists. Julia and I walked out into the space in front of them and just waited for them to stroll by.

 Rhiannon

A small group broke off to inspect Julia

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Pachapapa

We had lunch back in the heart of Cusco, at Pachapapa (meaning "Father Earth"). We started off with a couple of drinks. Some house variation of a pisco sour, and a mule with house-made ginger ale.

We ordered a couple of appetizers, and waited, because our main course was roast cuy, which takes an hour. While we sipped drinks and noshed, we listened to the mellifluous tones of Andean Harp Guy.

To the right of the harpist was a domed, wood-fired oven, in which many of the foods served were cooked, including roast rodents.

At long last, our sought after cuy arrived. It was brought out on a bed of chilies, to be photographed, which apparently is a thing.

Eat me.

After being digitally recorded for posterity, it is taken away to be quartered before serving. The diner is offered the option of having the head and legs removed and left behind. Fie upon that!!

Ready to party

Cuy is quite tasty - kind of somewhere in between gerbil and prairie dog. I considered it somewhat tedious to eat though, in a manner similar to quail. You kinda gotta want it.

Cuy cheeks are tender and succulent

A slab of chocolate mousse-like stuff made for an excellent finish.

Eat me too!!

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We went touring and stopped off in the town of Chinchero to check out some alpaca goods.

'Sup?

Want another picture of cute alpacas? Happy to oblige. Never gets old.

The establishment we visited, in addition to having lots of cool alpaca wool items for sale, also had a presentation on some of how the wool is (or used to be) processed.

The wool is washed by... washing it.

A variety of organic components are used to dye the wool in a panorama of shades.

Though we actually saw wool being simmered and dyed using these components, it would not surprise me in the least if these methods were no longer in use. Even if that's currently the case, it was still cool to see how it used to be done.

The cochinillo (carmine beetle) lives on/in prickly pear cactus, The lump just above the middle, in the center, is one such

Crushing the beetle and adding moisture renders a rich red pigment

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The Salt Pools at Maras

Near the town of Maras is a saltwater spring. This spring is diverted into a series of shallow pools, where salt is produced and collected.

This picture was taken from the road, up the mountainside from the salt ponds. The spring arises on the left, and the leftmost salt ponds have been in existence for salt production since the times of the Inca

Over the years, ponds have continued to be added, with different families owning different pools

The pools are roughly one inch deep. Salt is collected by hand.

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Back in Cusco, we had a mid-afternoon supper at Cicciolina.

You know that whole "Mexican Coke" thing? Made with real sugar - no corn syrup. Same thing in Peru. Bliss.

Alpaca carpaccio, with beet and potatoe chips

Beef consommé

Mild chile risotto, with seafood. Calamari, prawns, and some other kind of mollusk

Alpaca fillet in cream pepper sauce, asparagus, roast balsamic tomatoes, yuca souffle

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Looking down from near our hotel, this is Cusco's central square, the Plaza de Armas. It has not one, but two cathedrals, built by the Spanish - one was the "main" cathedral, and another was built by the Jesuits, presumably to taunt the main cathedral as part of their (eventually successful) master plan to get kicked out of Spain.

There are lots of things to do in or near the Plaza de Armas.

See a statue of Pachacútec, royal Incan dude.

Get your picture taken holding an enthusiastic lamb

Eat at KFC. Originally, I turned my nose up at the mere thought, but then I heard they served cuy. I would have liked to compare original recipe with extra crispy, but events conspired to prevent our trying it out...