Marching to the Tune of Sacsayhuaman (Sexy-woman)

Cleft in the Qenko temple.

In our second day in Cuzco  we wanted to see some of the ruins just outside the city. There's a set of four of them that you can see by taking a taxi to the farthest one and then walking back into town for a relatively short 8km trek. First stop was Tambomachay. There, we hired a guide, Walter to take us through all 4 ruins. Tambomachay is a small water temple with a couple of working fountains and offering niches. Nothing too complex.

More pictures are in the Peru album.

After that, we crossed the street to Pukapukara. It was a fort perched on top of a hill that had sat at the crossroads of a few Inca trails and had a great view of any possible approaches. In its time, it acted to collect tarrifs on goods passing through and to serve as a first line of defense and warning for any forcing heading to Cuzco from that direction.

Our next stop was Qenko. This site was interesting because it was not just built of perfectly hewn stones, it was integrated into the rock itself. The centerpiece was a ceremonial alter in a cleft in the rock where sacrifices were made. Oh and in case you get any ideas, the Incans very rarely did human sacrifices. It's the Mayans and Aztecs who were famous for human sacrifices and a few of the early Peruvian cultures, like the Chimu practiced it. The Incans mostly sacrificed llamas, chica (fermented corn) and coca leaves.

Wall at Sacsayhuaman

Our final stop was Sacsayhuaman (pronounced roughly "Sexy-woman") that is just over the ridge from Cuzco  This site is absolute jaw dropping. It was the main fort for Cuzco  the capital of the Incan empire and it shows. The only parts left are the bases of the walls. The Spaniards demolished the rest to demoralize the Indians and to find stones to build their houses. They didn't get the base, well, because those andesite stones are absolutely massive. The tallest one is 6m high and the heaviest is 200 tons. It's just a little tricky to move those things. It's incredible that the Incans did it, especially since they didn't have the wheel. They considered the circle to be a sacred shape and so did not make anything in that shape except for religious items. To move the stones, they would use a system of ramps, logs, and small, round stones as a base and then get thousands of people to pull. These people were citizens, not slaves, because taxes in the Incan empire were paid by performing some work for the community for a month or two each year. They also didn't have steel to cut the stones. They cracked off big pieces by drilling small holes using bronze tools and inserting dry wooden sticks. They then wet the sticks and the hydro-static pressure broke the rock. They then did a rough carving with the bronze tools and the fine work was done using chunks of hematite, an iron bearing natural rock.

The fort of Pukapukara

After Sacsayhuaman we headed into town. Walter asked if we had tried Cuy yet, which is roasted or fried guinea pig. It's an ancient Peruvian dish, originally for special occasions. They only became pets later once the English aristocracy got their hands on them. We hadn't, but he recommended a place called Kusikuy, so we went there. It takes an hour for them to get the animal, kill it and prepare it, so we had some time to kill.

We decided to see the cathedral in the Plaza de Armas a block away. The cathedral was actually very interesting. It wasn't just another church. For one, they had audioguides (the first we've seen in South America!), so we had some context. Second, it is gigantic, with incredible carvings and architecture. It also houses many of the significant artifacts that the Church has in Peru, so there was a lot of historical context from when they were trying to convert the Indians to Catholicism  For example, there is a statue of Jesus that appears black as night. It became famous in the earthquake of 1650 when, as soon as the priest starting preying to it, the earthquake stopped. That earthquake leveled most of Cuzco  This helped to convince the Indians of the power of the Christian god. Since then, it goes on parade every year during a festival and people throw flowers at it. Those flowers have a sticky, sappy residue that, when the statue is placed back in the church, collects the soot from the candles. Originally, the statue was ivory white and now it is pitch black.

Cuy (guinea pig) for linner

Once out of the citadel, our linner was ready. We had the cuy, along with some tamales and an avocado dressed in a vinaigrette  First, I should talk about the tamales. They were the best either of us has ever tasted. They were light and fluffy, just like cornbread and yet, don't contain any flour. We talked to the restaurant and they said that it's a very simple recipe. They use white corn meal and knead in a lot of lard. The trick is to knead it a lot. When you think you're done, knead some more. Then, insert filling, wrap in a corn husk and steam to perfection.

The cerpiece of the meal, was of course the cuy. It came houmously presented with a little tomato hat, nibbling on a pepper and sitting on some potatos. They slathered it in a local spice, which often gets called Andean mint, but it really only has an echo of mint, like how arugula tastes like pepper. It really has it's own unique flavour, which can be a little weird. It's an aquired taste I beleive. The meat itself like a very gamey duck and there is relatively little meat for the quantities of bones. It was an interesting experience.

After cuy, we explored the area near San Blas plaza and ran some errands before returning to our room to handle logistics for tomorrow.