Cusco: Sacsayhuaman - Day 6

On the morning we were to leave Aguas Calientes, we woke at 4 am (what was that about a holiday?) to catch the 5:30 am train back to Ollantaytamo. The train station should have been obvious, but there was construction (in a town that has probably doubled in size in the last 2 years). The concierge at our hotel told us,

“You can’t miss it. Go along the train tracks then turn left.”

At 4:45 am, after a hurried breakfast, we trailed through the darkness along the train tracks. It started to rain, so we had to haul out our rain jackets and cover our 2 (very big) packs. We kept following the tracks and soon left the town behind. Eventually, we could see that we were not coming to the train station, so we asked the one early-morning worker we found for the station. He looked at us as though we were crazy and told us to go back to town and climb up the stairs to the left of the tracks just as one leaves town. Groan. By this time, it was after 5, so E.J. picked up Boo and I her bag, and we raced back to the stairs. When we climbed the stairs (yes – more stairs), we were met by a maze of market stalls. A few vendors were just starting to set up for the day. We ran through the dimly-lit stalls, panting, “Estacion?” every minute. Surprised Peruvians would point in the direction we had to go. Left, right, straight, left, right – what a nightmare! Finally, we were directed through a dark alleyway that opened up onto the well-lit station. What a relief to see that the train was still there! They took our tickets, pushed us on the train and it left as we were finding our seats. The journey was dark, rainy and overcast, obscuring the marvelous scenery we remembered from our trip in, so we grabbed the opportunity to sleep.

Arriving in Ollantaytambo, we walked the 2 minutes to the bus station and jumped on the first bus to leave for Cusco. We were in Cusco by 9:30 am. On the way, we noticed more of the scenery. The houses were made of stone and mud, or more commonly mud bricks and mud mortar covered by plaster. Most houses were built around a courtyard, forming something like a complex. I also saw donkeys, sheep, and alpacas. We saw farmers plowing with oxen and a hand directed plow. Others went behind and sowed seeds (quite the Bible illustration). We learned that Peruvians boast of growing 200 varieties of corn and 400 varieties of potato.

In Cusco, we left the bus in a large square next to a church and we had to figure out where to go. Fortunately, the streets in the old town did have names. We made our way along the cobble-stoned streets to the Places des Armes, where the cathedral and church dominate. There were many Inca walls in this section of the town – huge blocks placed together so no mortar shows. The streets and squares were lined with tourism shops – tours, souvenirs, restaurants, hostals, etc. People constantly were hawking this service or that or trying to give one a card for this or that place. Artists came up as soon as we stopped so they could show us their work. We were constantly saying, “no, gracias.” Beggars were also in evidence.

We finally found our hotel buried in a courtyard set in from the street. There was no sign other than one advertising, “Fotos, etc.” There was a barred gate blocking the entrance to the hotel, with a speaker to communicate with the front desk. We had to explain who we were before they let us in. In the hotel, they sat us at a table in a formal drawing room (not the best idea with a 3-year old), served us tea and gave us registration forms to complete. Then we were led up stairs to the second floor where we once more had a room with squeaky, wooden floors. Our below-stairs neighbour had quite a thing or two to say to us after one morning of Boo doing her usual morning antics in our room. E.J. and I liked the room because there was a double bed for us and 2 singles for the children. Scooter liked it because there was a TV right by his bed.

We asked the receptionist where she would recommend we go to lunch. She told us of a popular place in the San Blas area. The restaurant was very American – it could have been anywhere in the Twin Cities area. We made Scooter drink a glass of milk. It was full cream milk and he could only drink half of it (complaining the entire time). E.J. and I tried some of the local dishes. They was good but pricey.

Afterward, we started going up towards Sacsayhuaman – the closest set of Inca ruins to Cusco. I knew the ruins were on top of one hill behind Cusco, so we found a flight of stairs and started climbing. I almost had a mutiny on my hands. As it was, it was only Boo who lay on the ground screaming her refusal to climb another stair. E.J. limited himself to dark mutterings about “Incas and their stairs.” Scooter constantly suggested turning back and watching TV in the hotel room. Needless to say, our climb was punctuated by many rests. The stairs went up and up without a break. They were in the direct sunlight and we had no sun block or trail mix (for bribery). We did tell the children that they could watch TV in the evening if they climbed without complaining – this bribe required constant repetition. The staircase cut straight through a poor section of town. There were houses all around, climbing up the hillside at steep angles. A sea of reddish tile roofs swept off into the distance as far as the eye could see. We passed one man sitting on the stairs and soaking his feet in a basin of water. We saw several dogs and 2 strange-looking chickens with feather on their legs and a punk hairdo on top. These sights kept the complaints at a minimum for at least 10 steps each.

When we arrived at the top, we were off by about 500m. We had to walk along a road and then through a field to find the ruins – truly the back way. The ruins were some of the most magnificent we saw in Peru. Machu Picchu was well-preserved but these ruins were more grand. The stones were huge – 3 or 4 times taller than a human at times. What was left of the once massive Inca city was mostly the fortress walls – zig zagging along the top of the hill. Looking at them from above gave you an idea of what they must have been like when whole – a mighty fortress and citadel rising up on a hill above Cusco. They say the ruins we see are only a quarter of what the city was. Many of the stones were taken down to Cusco by the Spanish when they destroyed the complex. They tried to destroy it as much as possible, I suppose, because it symbolized worship of a false god and unity and power for the Incas. It must have been demoralizing for the Incas to see this bastion of their religion and Imperial might torn to the ground. The battle to take it was certainly long and bloody.

On the other side of a green area next to the ruins rose curving volcanic rock. Climbing this was what gave us the great vantage of the fortress walls. On the other side of the volcanic rock was an almost complete circle of low stone wall circling a flat area. It looked like an arena. There were baths to one side with more examples of the Inca’s splendid water management. The children especially enjoyed sliding down the volcanic rock where it has been worn smooth and slippery by thousands of bottoms during centuries of festivals on this spot.

Just as we were leaving, we found a maze of tunnels dug into the dirt and rock. One was quite long and pitch black. Others led though neat cave systems. The children loved that area too. It was a bit hair-raising for E.J. and me through, because the children could fit through all these small spaces, leaving us behind. Then we wouldn’t know where they were, though we could hear their voices. I didn’t like the idea that we couldn't get to them quickly if they needed us.

Finally, after 5 pm, we found the usual, main way down the hill into Cusco. It was a wide boulevard of stairs descending at a gentle, gradual decline. Boy, did I receive dirty looks from my family for leading them up such a tortuous climb when this one was the alternative.

We walked around the Places des Armes and then found a McDonalds for Scooter. His wide-eyed shock upon realizing where we were to dine was a true indication of his joy at this great treat. Boo enjoyed (and still enjoys) the happy meal box and the toy (that speaks in Spanish). When we returned to the room, they watched their reward – Cartoon Network in Spanish. Boo wondered why she couldn’t understand Dora or Ben Ten. Scooter handed E.J. the remote so he could change the language. E.J. hooted and laughed at that one. In the end, though, it didn’t matter – all three of them were glued to the TV for the next 1 ½ hours!

I had to go down to the front desk and sort out our bus tickets we needed to go to Puno in 4 days. The tickets were supposed to be waiting for us when we arrived at the hotel, but they weren’t. When the front desk called the bus company, they explained that they were having problems with the route, but they were sure it would be sorted out in 4 days, so they would deliver our tickets to the hotel while we were in the Jungle.