Cusco

It is a lazy Sunday at the end of the rainy season - a good time to catch up on our time here in the capital city of the Incan empire.

Qosqo as it was known to the Incas means "naval" in Quechua, the indigenous language of this region.  Situated in a beautiful valley at 3300 meters, Qosqo was at the center of the expansive Inca empire that extended as far north as Quito, Ecuador and as far south as Santiago, Chile.  An extensive road network connected the far reaches of the empire and included the famous Inca Trail to Machu Picchu as well as many other pathways, many of which still present themselves as well-bordered and distinctive trails.

Of course, we knew very little of all of that when we arrived.  Mainly, we chose Cusco based on the many favorable recommendations of friends and people we met along our travels; and because we wanted to learn Spanish.  We had heard that in all of South America, Peruvians speak the clearest and purest Spanish.  Since we are mountain oriented people, we chose this mountain location rather than the big city, coastal environment of Lima.

School!  It has been years since I have been in a formal school situation.  I discovered quickly that it took some getting used to when I was not always keen about the assignments I had to complete each day.  After some gains and many frustrations I settled on private lessons because I learned I was pretty content to listen to my four or five other classmates as they spoke providing me cover so I didn't have to speak.  It is hard to learn a spoken language without speaking and I can no longer hide when I am the only student in the class.  Lucy, on the other hand, seemed to have no problem jumping into conversations, improving her speaking ability rapidly.  We included the kids in language school also but Charlie developed an "on strike" posture when he discovered his only classmate was his brother.  Aidan reluctantly is hanging in there though he doesn't believe how much he will benefit from this education when he returns to school in the States.

After so much day-to-day travel in New Zealand, Chile, and Argentina, we have settled into home life here.  Out typical day starts with a 20 minute walk through colonial streets of Cusco to school, after which we stop at the local bakery and market to pick up our lunch fixings.  Though we live at 11300 feet, Peru's location in the tropics provides it with ample sun, warmth, and rain to grow wonderful vegetables, avocados, mangoes, and many other very tasty treats.  We haven't suffered from a lack of food diversity.  In fact, Peru seems to be leading a culinary awakening in South America.  Since we like to cook and eat, we have enjoyed the diversity very much.

So you don't think we are only living an academic life, we have also been exploring the local and more distant areas around Cusco.  In a short twenty minute walk above our apartment, we can arrive in several different and lovely places.  In one direction, we arrive at the ruins of two different Inca temples, thought to provide places of purification for pilgrims before they entered the holy city of Qosqo.  In another direction, we arrive at Saqsayhuaman - the massive fortification and religious center that rivals Stonehenge in its architecture.  When the Incas laid out the plans for Qosqo, they envisioned the shape of a Puma, one of their revered animals.  Located above the city, Saqsayhuaman represents the head of the Puma, with the body formed by the city below in the valley.

When we wish to expend less energy we walk 15 minutes into the center of Cusco, to the Plaza de Armas and can appreciate the long history of the Inca and Spanish colonial presence; as well as find restaurants, museums, shops, and anything else we've needed while here.

About a month and a half ago, we traveled to the village of Paruro, about 2 hours south of Cusco.  Though we thought we were having a fine time in the city, it was nice to get out of the city to the countryside.  Paruro is a rural village situated several valleys away from Cusco.  We participated in village life by helping to make chicha, a fermented corn drink that was very important to the Incas, baking the local style of bread, helping to harvest choclo (corn on the cob with huge kernels and very different from Olathe sweet corn), and enjoying a traditional meal of Cuy (guinea pig) and a few of the 3000 varieties of potatoes grown here in Peru. We came away with a very different view of Peruvian life than we had formed during our time in Cusco.

Over another weekend, we joined with our dear friends Nathalie and her children Killia (Quechua for Moon), and Qori (Quechua for Gold) heading out to the country, but this time in an entirely different direction.  Unfortunately Rusbell, Nathalie's husband, was drawn away by business and couldn't join us.  We headed west to the Apurimac River Canyon.  Even though we are located fairly south in Peru, the Apurimac River is a tributary of the Amazon River, which begins its journey to the Atlantic Ocean way in the north of Peru.  The original plan was to travel by horse and foot to a lodge located in an isolated valley where we would have to the opportunity to observe Andean Condors flying overhead.  Like its smaller cousin the California Condor, the Andean Condor has struggled for its survival due to habitat loss throughout the region.  As we made our way up the dirt road to the staging area for the horses, we were thwarted by one of the numerous landslides that occurs during the rainy season.  We made the best of the the delay with a hike up a ridge that afforded us a memorable view of the Apurimac River canyon, cut deeply through the mountains directing the river northward toward the mighty Amazon.  The next day we made our way around the landslide, and after 7 hours of horse riding and hiking over 14000 foot ridges where we saw nobody, we arrived at the lodge.  We all enjoyed the solitude of the place and mark this area as a place to which we would definitely return if we ever have the chance to come back to Peru.  We made our way back to civilization by the same method of horse and foot, again having to divert around another landslide.  With sunshine and clear skies, the view of the surrounding Andes Mountains made the journey go quickly.

We completed our most recent adventure just this past weekend.  Joined by our friend Kari, who came to visit us for two weeks, we spent eight days trekking through the mountains northeast of Cusco.  The first trail, called the Salkantay, is an alternative route used by the Incas to access Machu Picchu.  For the first five days, we walked through cloud forests and over a 15000 foot pass, past the third highest mountain in Peru, Nevado Salkantay.  We arrived in Aguas Calientes, the town on the Urubamba River at the base of the high mountain ridge where Machu Picchu is located.  After visiting Machu Picchu and contemplating the fantastic 360 degree view of mountains and the intricate architecture of the extant structures, we trained to Ollantaytambo for the second part of our trek.  Ollantaytambo is another Inca pueblo and retains much of the original town plan as devised by the Incas.  While preparing for the next three day trek, we spent the morning looking about the ruins and enjoying the ambiance of the central square.

Our next trekking goal was the pueblo of Lares, located on the the other side of another 15000 foot pass.  As we started our trek climbing up through small villages, the valley above us were green and vast.  The only people we saw for the next two days were llama and sheep herders, living in small stone huts with thatched roofs.  The valleys were massive, the mountains stretched as far as we could see.  We greedily and happily absorbed the solitude, the most we have had during our entire time of travel. 

Lares is located at a junction of roads leading both up to the highlands and down to the jungle.  As a result, the market is filled with colorfully dressed villagers and their goods from both locales.  At once, we saw mounds of potatoes and choclo from the highlands, as well as fruits and other jungle produce.  Such diversity in one place!  We also had the pleasure of finishing our trek in the Lares hot springs.  It is true luxury to be able to soak in hot water after walking for several days.  After such a fine ending to the trek and despite the allure of the market and the hot springs, we drove back to Cusco over yet another 15000+ foot pass cut by deep and tumultuous rivers.  After settling back to our apartment for a couple of days, we said good-bye to Kari, sending her off with memories of eight days of trekking and tours through many of the museums and ruins here in Cusco.

What's left for us?  With several weeks remaining here, we get to go back to school, visit with the friends we have made, make a few more tours to the Sacred Valley of the Incas, and contemplate our next stop in Ecuador where we will visit Quito, the equator, the Galapagos Islands, and a highland village where we will live and volunteer for the last two weeks of our stay in South America.  Of those adventures, stay tuned...