Tuesday the 13th of May 2003 – Day 84
Two nights with no sleep. No contest. I slept until 13.00 hours. After waking, I wandered around the town for a few hours. I met Peter, Sarah and Alex. They were going to see a free movie in a Pub (Mama Africas), so i joined them. Had a beer and watched Chicago – Didnt really enjoy it. For fans only. After that had another beer and went home wandering the streets.
Spectacularly cradled by the bold southeastern Andes mountains that were so fundamental to the Inca belief system, Cusco sits at a daunting altitude of 3,400m (11,000 ft.). The air is noticeably thinner here than in almost any city in South America, and the city, best explored on foot, demands arduous hiking up precipitous stone steps, leaving even the fittest of travelers gasping for breath.
Stately and historic, with stone streets and building foundations laid by the Incas more than 5 centuries ago, the town is also remarkably dynamic, enlivened by throngs of travelers who have transformed the historic center around the Plaza de Armas into a mecca of sorts for South American adventurers.
Cusco looks and feels like the very definition of an Andean capital. It’s a fascinating blend of pre-Columbian and colonial history and contemporary mestizo culture. The Incas made Q’osqo (meaning “navel of the world” in Quechua) the political, military, and cultural center of their empire, which stretched up and down the Andes, from Ecuador through Bolivia and all the way to Chile. Cusco was the empire’s holy city, and it was also ground zero of the legendary Inca network of roads connecting all points in the empire.
The heart of the historic center has suffered relatively few modern intrusions, and despite the staggering number of souvenir shops, travel agencies, hotels, and restaurants overflowing with visitors, it doesn’t take an impossibly fertile imagination to conjure the magnificent capital of the 16th century.
The stately Plaza de Armas, lined by arcades and carved wooden balconies and framed by the Andes, is the focal point of Cusco. After Machu Picchu, it is one of the most familiar sights in Peru. The plaza–which was twice its present size in Inca days–has two of Cusco’s foremost churches and the remains of original Inca walls on the northwest side of the square, thought to be the foundation of the Inca Pachacútec’s palace. Lots of touts (kids selling cigis, postcards, crap) will annoy you. Never 2 minutes you get approached. Also many guys trying to get you into a restaurant or pub.
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Cuzco – Peru
Taken on the 13th of May 2003
La Paz – Bolivia to Cuzco – Peru – Cuzco – The king is dead.. long live …. the statue on the main Avenue Sol. Cuzco or Cusco (Quechua Qosqo, population 300,000), is a city in southeastern Peru in the Huatanay Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the department of Cusco.
Cuzco is a high altitude city (~3400 meters/11,024 feet above sea level) of moderate size. Its name means “navel”, in the Quechua language. It was the capital and cultural center of Tahuantinsuyu, or Inca Empire. One legend states that in the 11th or 12th century Manco Capac founded Cusco. The granite walls of the Inca Palace are still standing, as are those of monuments like the Korikancha, or Sun Temple. Other great sites are the citadel of Machu Picchu and the fortress of Sacsayhuaman.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
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Cuzco – Peru
Taken on the 13th of May 2003
Peru – Cuzco – Girls on Film. Posed for 2 S. They annoyed the crap out of me until I took a photo. Cute kids though. After the fall of the Empire in the 16th century (1532) to the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, Spanish colonists invaded the city. Many buildings after that are of Spanish influence with a mix of Indian architecture, including the Santa Clara, and San Blas. Often, Spanish buildings are juxtaposed atop the massive stone walls built by the Inca.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
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Cuzco – Peru
Taken on the 13th of May 2003
Peru – Cuzco – Plaza Fountain
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Cuzco – Peru
Taken on the 13th of May 2003
Peru – Cuzco – same Plaza Fountain but at dusk with Orange Sky and a bird about to fly off.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
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Cuzco – Peru
Taken on the 13th of May 2003
Peru – Cuzco – Overview of town. You an se the main square to the ledt of the picture.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size