Thursday, March 21 - Wednesday, March 27
Cusco
We spent a restful week in Cusco. It’s a very walkable city and we took advantage of the warm, sunny weather to explore as much as possible.
We visited the Museum of Plants & Herbs which exhibited the history of Coca, Ayahuasca, San Pedro Cactus and other herbs indigenous to the Peruvian highlands and Amazon region. One room was full of paintings done by an artist during and after his experience with Ayahuasca and they were hauntingly beautiful. If you want an idea of what they look like, see Carlos Santana’s album cover for Shaman.
Saturday, we took a one day trip to Machu Picchu via van, train and bus. The train trip was along the river and valley floor through the jungle. I got a crick in my neck looking up through the roof windows at the towering mountains. At every turn the scenery was more spectacular than the previous. I kept saying to myself “Wow!”
Mike and I arrived at the site early and walked around by ourselves for a few hours and then met up with a guide who gave an exceptionally good explanation of Incan history, architecture and engineering. No description that I could give of Machu Picchu would do it justice. It’s understandable why it became a USESCO World Heritage Site.
On Palm Sunday, the plazas were filled with families listening to music, participating in carnival games, and having picnics. I took a walk through the central market where every kind of fruit, vegetable and meat were on display, and available for purchase. (I didn’t think you would want to see the llama heads and skinned guinea pigs.)
Monday we were walking back to the hotel and came across a procession celebrating Senior de Torrechayoc (see the photo).
Wednesday, our last day in Cusco we went to the San Blas neighborhood, an artist community overlooking Cusco.
Tomorrow, Thursday, March 28 we head for Ecuador.
