Emperor`s New Groove!

Now I know that I`ve been racking up my personal list of amazing cities in the world. Sydney, Prague, Athens, Rio, Buenos Aires, Paris, etc....but Cuzco is a small city that can compete with many of those cities any day. It has the best Plaza de Armas that i`ve ever seen! The backdrop is the Andes mountains with houses all up the sides. At night, the hills light up and the fun really starts. Despite it being bitterly cold in the evenings, one cannot help but go out to bust a move. There are a gazillion restaurants offering foods from Peruvian, Mexican, Italian, etc. So far in Peru alone I have indulged in guinea pig, alpaca (like a llama), llama, and peruvian ceviche!

We were only in Cuzco for two days before leaving on our trek. We spent these days exploring the city a bit, shopping, and dancing. The clubs are a wild blend of salsa, hip hop, 80`s, house, swing, and more! Its so pschizophrenic that i fell in love with the night life! So much so that we went out the night before our trek. I must admit we were persuaded by some Aussie friends. You only live once right!?! Haha...starting an Andean hike on less than two hours of sleep reminded me of how fortunate i am to be young and healthy!

At night, the hills light up and the fun really starts!

After our trek (which i will discuss in the following entry), we participated in much needed Peruvian massages. We also explored the nearby Inca ruins. Saqsaywaman (commonly referred to as `sexy woman`) was an old Inca Sun Temple. The Incas were very keen on using the position of the sun to discern the seasons. Every December 21 wet season starts, and every June 21 dry season starts. Peru has only a wet (summer) and dry (winter) season. Its their only two concerns because of their agriculture. Qèngo, Pukapukara, and Tamabachay are smaller ruins worth seeing as well. I was extremely excited to finally see a condor (the biggest freakin bird ever) perched on a rock. The Peruvians still follow the Inca belief of the three tiers of life. They even have a three tiered cross. Anyways the three levels are snake (wisdom), puma (power), and condor (intelligence)....underground, earth, and sky. Imagination is key to picture lakes, rocks, mountains etc all in the various shapes of these three animals. Its very humorous at times. I swear most of the time the `figure`looks more like a rabbit than a puma!

Well we also visited the huge cathedral in the Plaza de armas (full of gold craftsmanship) and the Koricancha (an old Inca temple). I must admit that we would have loved the whole days tour more if we weren`t still so exhausted....36 hours after our trek!! Even the massage on my calves was killer.

Anyways, Cuzco is a must visit. History and culture come a to life here. No text book i read in 7th grade could ever come close to this experience...ever. Beanies, gloves, and panchos are all the fashion too! The people are great. They are very proud of their heritage whether it be pre inca, inca, or after the spanish conquest because it all adds up to the present.