Our first flight to Cusco is on a prop plane and it is a very spectacular flight between 20,000 foot high snow capped mountains. Later flights are on jets and are not as interesting, but window seats are still very desirable. Cusco is about 10,000 feet high and the air is quite lacking of oxygen; it is also very cold at night. We stay at the small Hotel Virrey on the Plaza de Armas. They are equipped to take care of the altitude and cold with oxygen bottles available, and hot water bottles every night in the bed!
Our trip to Cusco in ‘71 is for 5 nights, and two days and one night of this is in Machu Picchu. In ‘73 the missed Amazon cruise gives us another 5 nights in Cusco that we thoroughly enjoy. Everywhere you walk there are interesting sights of Inca and Colonial construction, and the lack of oxygen makes it advisable to move slowly and rest often! We do this, but Glenn still gets sick and we lose a day of both trips.
The Plaza de Armas in Cusco is a nice place to sit and watch the natives in colorful costumes go by. Each village has a different costume, and all wear it. Children come and sell you metal figures of llamas. La Compañia church and the Cathedral are on adjacent sides of the plaza; both have lots of gold in their altars. Many of the Cusco colonial buildings are built on Inca foundations, and the Inca construction resists earthquake damage better than the colonial. The church of Santo Domingo is built on the darker mortarless Inca Sun Temple stones.
The shopping is good; the Peace Corps has helped the natives set up stores to sell their handicrafts, and the native markets are also good places to buy. Their colorful weaving is very beautiful and long lasting. We buy a nice hanging of a llama picture made of soft llama skin.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment