Off to Cusco… goodbye Puño.

On the road again… and what a beautiful road. Snow-topped mountains, mid-high green hills, valleys of stone walls fencing in gentle domesticated animals; tended to by local shepherds. Add in an occasional field of haystacks next to a lake or river with cows, and you just can’t get any better than this. Life….

And we are going higher. Oh my, indeed the air is getting thinner and Lori is getting a bit dizzy. Suave, suave, Lori. Drinking lots of water and tea and pushing myself, not to continue, but to slow down. A hard challenge for me, as I want to run, jump, climb on things and blow bubbles…. But, I am appreciating the limits that less oxygen can put on a body. So suavecito it is….
We made it to 4,335 meters or 14,223 feet, which is 2.7 miles above sea level. And to think I got a nosebleed in Denver. 1 mile is nothing now! lol. The mountain with snow behind me is called Chimboya and was sacred to the Incas and remains sacred today. Many people leave three coca leaves or other offerings here for blessings and gratitude. I did it and wished a blessing for all of us and those reading this. And tons of gratitude!

Now to where Lori could get lost for days. My first Inca temple and village ruins. Welcome to my heaven. Built by the Incas over 600 years ago with nothing but rocks for tools. Smaller rocks hitting huge stones to carve bricks that fit together without mortar. You could not pass a piece of paper through these temple rocks. Amazing. I want to stay and study the architecture and construction! Would the group miss me?

The row by the church is so straight that around the Summer Solstice (Dec) the sun aligns perfectly with the temple row and marks the Inca year. I added a picture from the internet for demonstration.

The aqueducts are original and still bring water to the village. Amazing. The circular buildings were actually silo-type storage. A vast number of them for a community of around 200. Life was abundant; or conquering was a profitable business….

Yes, I took too many pictures for one page. See part 2 of my great day!Leggi altro