Cuzco: The capital of ancient America

Our first stop is Cusco; it was above 3000m elevation, so we were a little tired walking in the city.  I lost sleep completely the very night, and partially the second night.

Anways, it was very European like.  The streets, the colonial buildings, etc.  However, there were ancient American elements hidden in many corners.  Many of the buildings were build upon Inca foundations; many walls were from Inca era; and local catholic arts show traces of native American culture.

Everything was pretty much around Plaza de Armas, the main square.  Surrounding it are the Cathedral, the Companion de Jusus, and bunch of other colonial era buildings.  The square is actually prettier than we expected.  Photos don't really justify the atmosphere.

The main street, Avenue del Sol, streches from the square thru the business/commercial district, into the poorer surrounding areas.

Along the way, there is Santo Domingo, a Catholic building on the site of an ancient Inca political and religious center.  Yeah the Spanish conquistadors like to do this sort of things.  Mexico City has another example of such act.

We pretty much just wondered around all day, taking in the surroundings, gathering info about activities around the area and of course, the Inca Trail hike.  We had ambitions but fate was against us.  The one thing we really wanted to do was the Classic Inca Trail hike.  Booked.  Fully booked for the next few months.  Most people made reservations for this months ahead.  There were alternatives, but nothing really impress us too much.  We decided to just take the train to Machu Pichu and do our own Sacred Valley tour, rather than joining a tour like most people.

I think at the beginning of the trip, the worst part was orderring food in the restaurant since we don't speak Spanish and most of the locals don't speak English.  But we toughed it out.  Learned a few words from the dictionary and we tried our best.

One of the most impressive food we had on this trip was ceviche.  A local guy recommended this restaurant, supposedly serves the best and fresh ceviche in town.  We were so impressed with the taste, the service, and the portion of the meal that we went back again a few days later.