Cusco (sometimes spelled Cuzco), the place where most tours of the Peruvian Incan Empire begin. It sits high in the Andes at 11,200 feet and was the Incan capital city. Because of the high altitude, we arrived two days before our tour began to help us acclimatize. That was an excellent idea. To prepare for the altitude, we thought we might take diamox, but after reading more about the side effects, we decided to take some ginkgo biloba, and when we arrived, we drank coca tea almost every morning. I have no idea if those helped us or not, but after two days, we felt pretty good. The first night of sleeping was rough, but soon we were walking up stairs without stopping every step.
Each city has a Plaza de Armas (main square), and this large cathedral sits right in the middle of the Cusco plaza. If you linger too long on a bench, you will be approached by many vendors, all selling similar items from artwork (on real canvas!) and llama keychains.
The streets reminded me a little of Italian hill town streets with the narrow walkways or streets with building facades. You really do not know what lies behind the buildings until you walk through the doorways. This photo shows what used to be part of the water system in town, down small aqueducts in the middle of the street. This one is filled in.
Many of the buildings still use the original Incan foundations with their magnificent stonework.
You cannot walk far before someone wants you to take their photo with a llama, alpaca or just their traditional dress. This woman approached H who petted the very soft alpaca, then requested a tip. I figured that I ought to get a photo, and this is what I got.
In order to get up to San Blas, the bohemian artisan section of town, you must climb steps like these. It's worth it. We had a great meal in a little vegan restaurant there.
Here is another example of a narrow street.
Before our tour started, we went to a show to see folklorico dancing. The show was about an hour long in a packed auditorium with locals and tourists alike. This is picture of the band which accompanied the colorful dances.
This is the backside of the cathedral in the Plaza. It was built upon an Incan temple. When you go inside, you can see the original walls.
Here are examples of the Catholic arches with the Incan stonework behind.
More cool stonework in the cathedral.
Another example of the cathedral built upon the ancient foundation.
Here is a view of Cusco from the ruins above the city. The Plaza de Armas is in the center at the bottom.
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