Cusco, Days 6 & 7 (Saqsaywaman)

On my sixth day in Cusco, I decided to switch hostels. Pisko & Soul was wonderful, particularly my hosts, Pedro and Eduardo, but other than my roommate and I, everyone was in a couple so it was a bit difficult to find people with whom to see the sites. With that in mind, I switched to Pariwana just south of the Plaza.












Pariwana features lovely courtyard, large bar/cafe, and brand new lounge/computer room, making it an ideal place to meet fellow travelers, like Zuzanna from Slovakia and Marcelo from Chile.





I did little that first day in Pariwana, but I did go out that night with my roommate Ian, a Canadian journalist for a mining trade magazine, who would leave the next day. We had a few drinks in an out-of-the-way local bar, then made it an early night, both of us feeling rather tuckered out.

The next day, I decided to check out Saqsaywaman, a set of Inca ruins one mile outside of Cusco and the site of a battle of the final revolts of the Incas against the Spanish. Before I did, I lunched at Jack's, an Australian-owned tourist haunt, with dishes savory enough to merit the only wait in Cusco. ITypically I try to avoid the more notorious gringo spots, but doing so in Cusco has proven difficult; besides which, having been recently sick, I craved healthier fare than offered by most Peruvian restaurants.) The upside of waiting in line was being invited to sit with a fascinating couple, Sarah, a sculptor from Australia, and Miguel, a fisherman from the jungles of Iquitos, Peru. They had met during her first trip to Peru, as he assisted a local shaman with administering the hallucinogenic huanasca to her and other travellers. Now, they are carving out a life together across two continents. Truly amazing.

I took my leave from Sarah and Miguel, and headed toward Saqsaywaman along a short but surprisingly steep and taxing route, culminating in a lovely view of the city.





All that remains of Saqsaywaman, pronounced comically as "sexy woman", are a few terraces and walls, the latter of which were constructed with gigantic stones not found in the area.
























At the lookout point at the top, a spectacular view of Cusco awaits, with the Plaza de Armas right at the forefront.











My good luck Buddha enjoyed the scenery.





As I left, I was greeted again by the most common sight in Peru: dogs, in this case, pestering a poor llama-- another very common sight.





That night, we weathered a storm, an apparently common occurrence in Cusco, which I had yet to witness. The Pariwana bar nearly brimmed over with folks foregoing the outside night life because of the rain. I spent the evening in conversation with Zuzanna, Marcelo, James (another roommate, this one from England), and Liz, also from England. Marcelo and I decided to tour the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu together over the next three days, and James and I discussed the possibility of tackling Colca Canyon over the weekend. We shall see...


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Location:Meson De La Estrella,Cuzco,Peru