On the last post, I had just returned from Easter Island. There were simply not enough days to fulfill my plans to go to see the famous Nazca Lines. These Lines and Figures -- on the arid coastal plain of Peru (visible only from the air, and mysterious once again as to their historic and cultural intent) PLUS the Sacred Valley Of The Incas posed too much of a challenge. Initially, I had not intended to visit Cuzco – the Capital of the Inca Empire – thinking I could access Machu Picchu directly from Lima. Not a chance. Nazca will have to wait. Whereas La Paz has become my favorite base, Cuzco is the gem of South America and now my favorite city here. Since I am days behind (blogsite hijacked and password trifled with) I will be brief.
Cuzco has been designated a Unesco World Heritage Site. Not points of interest … the entire city. When you see it, you immediately know why. The Inca architecture and culture have been preserved here as much as possible. The Colonial Baroque style which has followed is colorful and varied. The streets are impeccably clean. The cobblestone pavement is well maintained and unerringly free of potholes. Cuzco is alive with beautiful lighting, animated crowds, plazas, tiendas, and churches. Eight major cathedrals alone, dominate the central area surrounding the Plaza De Armas. Most of all, the people here are friendly and helpful. They are proud of their city’s special place in the pantheon of notable world destination spots and do all they can to enhance and preserve the image of it as “a welcoming place.”
Everywhere, you see Inca Stone. The multiple angled, impossibly tight-fitting cuts, the massive blocks serving as a base and interfitted with smaller but no less impressive pieces. In almost every building, these have been preserved, at least on the bottom floor. Above that, you get either adobe brick, or modern stucco. Wood construction is rare. Additionally making an impact are wrought iron railings, painted or shellaced wood balustrades, endless red tile roofs, and impressive drainage ditches in virtually every street going back to Inca design and construction. Cuzco is located a little below La Paz altitude wise. One pub, Paddy’s (in the corner of the Plaza De Armas), advertises itself as “the highest Irish owned pub in the world” at exactly 11,156 feet above sea level.
Cuzco is a great walking city. It is much smaller than Lima or La Paz, and most of what is worth seeing is centrally located near The Plaza de Armas. One special area, Cusicancha, is made up of a block of preserved Inca building shells, archeological exhibits, and artifacts. The visit is free (though, like everything else here, there is always a hand extended at the end for “whatever you think it is worth, Senor” – I think they know instinctively a traveler’s generosity is worth more than they could charge on the open market with prices that are actually advertised). It is a walker’s paradise. Overall, I spend two nights and a day here, examining everything with no particular order, no objectives, and time being of no concern.
Next, off to Pisac. This is the beginning of the Sacred Valley of The Incas. Perhaps 45 minutes north of Cuzco. An area the Inca Royalty used as their stronghold, their agricultural breadbasket, and Royal Highway. The view descending into the valley from the heights of Cuzco is simply stunning. You immediately feel the presence of an extra-sensory force here that makes you understand without words why the Incas considered this valley sacred. It is dominated by the Rio Vilcanota and above its placid waters, the endless green terraces that proved the Inca so industrious. We stop briefly at a silver jewelry manufacturing plant in town. The visit is irritating. Was it to show us the artisan process, or give us one more buying opportunity? Do they think we are nothing but shopaholics? Everywhere, it seems, we are run through gauntlets of tiendas, much like being herded through duty free shops at the airport on the way to your real destination.
Above Pisac, however, is an imposing archeological ruin without a separate name. This fortified complex was a secure base for the priest class – one of the first targets for the Spanish when they arrived in the 1500s. The most impressive engineered terraces seen to date, spread out below in semicircles below the hilltop ruin. I have also not seen that many shades of green in any other place other than Ireland. The graceful terraces were dug down to bedrock. Then, rock was piled as a base. Above that, gravel. A third layer (of sand) was added. The fourth level is comprised of topsoil, often imported from the river bottom. All through grueling, endlessly time consuming physical labor. In Inca society, you were either (a) Royalty – the few (b) of the Priest Class – the exalted (c) a farmer or responsible for food production – the necessary, and (d) the construction workers – the many. No work, no eat. As simple as that. You woke up at dawn and bedded down at sunset. Construction was omnipresent and never ending. Children worked also. On cliffs commanding the heights above the ruins at Pisac, were small caves or niches carved into the hillside. Inca mummies were stashed here. Over 3000 of them at one time were interred for all eternity … at least until the Spanish came. They robbed the tombs for the gold, silver, plates, and objects of value. Less than 300 remained before most were eventually moved.
Then on to Ollantaytambo. Yet another Inca hillside wonder. An Inca Fortress. It is named “Inti Watana Pasna Pagana.” The terraces here are steeper, narrower, and more impressive still. From a distance on the opposite side of the valley, they vaguely appear in the form of a llama. Below, near the town and river, there are pre-Inca and Inca ruins. The pre-Inca ruins are confirmed through their exclusive use of mud and pebble/small rounded stone walls. Elaborate waterworks, branch off from the river. Water was sacred to the Inca, and found its way into their temples in many forms most times. At the top, temples of the sun (always, astrology being a huge part of Inca culture) and moon dominate the skyline. Yet again, huge blocks of stone are set together so tightly, one cannot fit a scalpel blade between them. To the backside of the temples, slightly hidden ramps coming up from the river illustrate where the huge pieces which make up the sacred ground (quarried from slopes on the opposite side of the river) were dragged steeply uphill and set into place. It is reminiscent of the assumed methods for pyramid construction in Egypt. It makes one wonder … could they have somehow shared the same technology and building methods? Were the Inca somehow in contact with Egyptian ancestors? One thing is clear – the Incas were far better stone masons. Nobody supersedes the Incas as craftsmen of stone. Not even today.
On the opposite side of the Sacred Valley are more lush terraces. Even steeper than on the temple side. In addition, there is a clearly engineered likeness or face which the Inca call “Tunupa.” It is large enough, to fit on Mt. Rushmore. Not as clearly drawn, but obviously man made. Tunupa was the Inca God of production, or agricultural plenty. I can not help but think, Tunupa bears a striking resemblance to the evil simian antagonist who sought to treat Charlton Heston as a mindless zoo exhibit in “Planet Of The Apes.” The resemblance at least, is … well, see the photo (right column of this blog).
My tour group finishes the afternoon with a tour of … yes, more tiendas and street barkers … in the commercial sector of Ollantaytambo. Most of the group is to return to Cuzco. Armed with a daypack only, I am part of a small contingent taking the late train onward to Aguas Calientes – also known as the village of Machu Picchu these days. This, of course, is the ultimate destination of any traveler in The Sacred Valley of The Incas, and the Crown Jewel of Inca Civilization. I spend the time waiting for the train with new friends Theresa and Mario (from Ariquipe, Chile). We exchange basic phrases in English and Spanish, laugh often, and drink mate tea and chew coca leaf for two hours before the Backpacker Express arrives for our trip finale to one of the greatest known sites of antiquity in the world.
Next: Machu Picchu !
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