Cusco, Peru ..."No Gracias"
What can I say about Cusco, other that it is a pleasant, beautiful city but crawling with tourists in a slightly overwhelming way. I have stopped counting the times I have had to say "no gracias" to the numerous street vendors that try and sell anything from postcards to massages and finger warmers. No Gracias...pleaaase!
Other than that it is definitely GringoLandia all over again. Cusco stands tall at 3300 metres and boy don´t you feel it. It took me a good two days to stop feeling light headed, for the headaches to go away and to be able to walk a few steps without feeling exhausted and out of breath.
Having explored the city and the numerous artisanal markets I felt it was time to leave the city and discover the breathtaking beauty of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Everything here is Inca-related. You can find Inca Cola, Inca Food, Inca Hotel, Inca Clothes, Inca tea...well you get my point.
The Sacred Valley of the Incas is located close to Cusco in the Andes. We visited Pisac, a small village famous for its market (which we didn´t see as it) and its ruins. The visit involved a strenuous (well i thought it was) hike where we could see numerous agricultural terraces constructed by the Incas.
We then moved on to Ollantaytambo where we saw some more ruins (yes I was completely ruined-out by the end of the day!) where supposedly an Inca emperor was able to defeat the spanish in a key battle.
It has been interesting to learn about the Incas and how the Spanish came along and pillaged the entire country. It has also been frustrating to learn that there is very little written account of the Inca culture and most of what we know today is based on Spanish colonial accounts. Slightly subjective I may say.
It has also made me realise how much the (old) Egyptians rock. So here´s a big up to the Pharaohs for writting stuff down and for doing amazingly cool stuff a good 1000 years before the Incas. Ok, maybe I am just feeling a little proud of my ancestry right now.
Next stop: Machu Pichu!!!
Other than that it is definitely GringoLandia all over again. Cusco stands tall at 3300 metres and boy don´t you feel it. It took me a good two days to stop feeling light headed, for the headaches to go away and to be able to walk a few steps without feeling exhausted and out of breath.
Having explored the city and the numerous artisanal markets I felt it was time to leave the city and discover the breathtaking beauty of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Everything here is Inca-related. You can find Inca Cola, Inca Food, Inca Hotel, Inca Clothes, Inca tea...well you get my point.
The Sacred Valley of the Incas is located close to Cusco in the Andes. We visited Pisac, a small village famous for its market (which we didn´t see as it) and its ruins. The visit involved a strenuous (well i thought it was) hike where we could see numerous agricultural terraces constructed by the Incas.
We then moved on to Ollantaytambo where we saw some more ruins (yes I was completely ruined-out by the end of the day!) where supposedly an Inca emperor was able to defeat the spanish in a key battle.
It has been interesting to learn about the Incas and how the Spanish came along and pillaged the entire country. It has also been frustrating to learn that there is very little written account of the Inca culture and most of what we know today is based on Spanish colonial accounts. Slightly subjective I may say.
It has also made me realise how much the (old) Egyptians rock. So here´s a big up to the Pharaohs for writting stuff down and for doing amazingly cool stuff a good 1000 years before the Incas. Ok, maybe I am just feeling a little proud of my ancestry right now.
Next stop: Machu Pichu!!!
