day146

Day 146     November 6, 2000

     We made a day trip visiting places north of Ayacucho. We were charmed by the quaint, sun-washed (and very small) town of La Quinua. La Quinua is celebrated for its ceramic arts and every home has a piece, usually a miniture church, cemented to its roof. Judging by the visitor?s log at the small museum (ceramic, of course), we were the first tourists in a long time. Here we finally ate cuy. It does, of course, taste a little like chicken (dark meat). Unfortunately, ours was served whole which was more reminder than we needed that we were eating a guinea pig.
     We also visited the ruins of an important city from the Huari culture. Built over 1,000 years ago, only thick, stone walls remain. That was about it. Well, that and lots of surly goats.
     We took the overnite bus to Andahuaylas which was notable for the following:
          1. The heavily armed guargd who rode with the driver
          2. The several inebriated passengers who provided the evening?s entertainment
          3. Seeing the Southern Cross constellation
          4. The unbearable cold

Hotel -$0, Food -$12, Trans -$15, Tour -$3, Random -laundry -$6, supplies -$3     Total -$39

Day 147     November 7, 2000

     We arived in Andahuaylas before six a.m.. We quickly discovered it is not a tourist town. Most people treated us with suspicion, if not hostility. Our breakfast was inedible (some type of rice dish that looked and tasted like grub worms). Then, we found the thermal baths, which were supposed to be our reward, closed. Not a good start and it wasn?t even 8:00 yet. We also still had twelve hours here until our overnight bus to Cusco.
     Our guidebook had briefly mentioned a ruin an hour away so off we went. Sondor proved to be an impressive surprise. The Chankas built this mountain temple and dedicated it to the sun god. It is perfectly aligned for the solstices which were used in agricultural planning. We took out time to enjoy the view of snow coovered peaks above and Lake Pacacha below.
     We decided to walk down to the lake. It was much farther than it looked, but provided an interesting look at the community. Men were in the fields tending to crops of corn and potatoes, women were on the lake shore cutting reeds to feed the cows, and uniformed children were returning from school. The homes were very modest and of adobe.
     While waiting for the bus back to Andahuaylas, we stopped for a coke. The store owner was gregarious and friendly. The only part of the conversation I didn?t enjoy was her telling us how dangerous the road is to Cusco and that a bus had recently gone over the cliff (killing everyone including a Gringo tourist). I decided to wait to translate this story for Lady until we did arrive in Cusco.

Hotel -$0, Food -$10, Trans. -$17, Tour -$1, Random -shoe repair -$.10, internet -$1     Total -$29

Day 148     Novemeber 8, 2000

     The road was horrible -carved into the mountain, dirt, about one and a half cars wide, two-way traffic, and a long way down (of course, no guardrails). Luckily, it was a perfectly clear night with lots of moonlight so I had a great view of the danger.
     Anyway, we finally arrived in Cusco. Incredibly, at 5am we had to defend ourselves against hotel hawks and taxi drivers. We walked to our hotel and promptly went to sleep. For what was left of the day we ran errands, shopped at tour companies, ate Gringo food, and went to the movies.

Hotel -$9, Food -$13, Random -internet -$1     Total -$23

Day 149      Novemeber 9, 2000

     I didn?t want to like Cusco. It has too many tourists, outrageous prices, too many hawkers, too many pickpockets. All true. Yet, we couldn?t help ourselves. Cusco has an important, tangible history, ornate churches, eclectic arts community, real energy, and it is stunning at night, especialy the illuminated Plaza de Armas.
     With our tourist passes in hand (expensive but good for most sites in and around Cusco) we bused to the highlands above Cusco to explore Incan reuins. We started at Tambomachay (water temple), then walked down to Puca Pucara (traveler?s lodge with the best mountain view), Qenqua (carved limestone temple) and ended up at Sacsaywaman.
     Sacsaywaman is enormous. A temple and fortress, it has stones as big and wide as 15 feet (and 100 tons), each put together so finely, that it is impossible to slip a piece of paper in between them. Here also are stone thrones, a carved tunnel system and even a stone sliding board. Sacsaywaman was the site of a fierce battle in 1536 between Pizarro and Manco Inca, culminating in the final conquest of the Incas.
     Cusco?s international restaurants are another plus and we chose sashimi for dinner. Yes, I remember saying Lady was crazy for doing so in Guatemala, however, after cuy, raw fish sounded appetizing.

Hotel -$9, Food -$23, Trans -$1, Tour tickets -$20, Random -book -$9     Total -$62