Saturday March 7th. Awoke at 7:30, got some bisteak, rice and potatoes for breakfast and got the hell out of that S-hole. The drive to Cusco was an absolute dream. Warmth, sun, villages and people going about thier ways as they have been for centuries. It had a beauty that which I´ve never seen. In peace I floated along winding roads through this augmented reality.
I descended into Cusco 4hrs later. Flying Dog cancelled my reservation because I didn´t show up the night before. Loki was jammed full, so I got a hotel with a family across from Loki. My head was swimming from the altitude. I went to the park for dinner. It was good but an hour later (after paying SAS travel for the inca trail) I had sharp stomach pains which turned into a evening and night of hell. Food poisoning! There was a huge celebration in the Plaza De Armas for some feast day of San Franscisco. Fireworks, traditional dancing with costumes, music, the works. And I was shivering under my covers, wearing my thermals.
SUNDAY MARCH 8
I awoke during the night feeling terrible but took altitude pill and went back to sleep. Awoke feeling much better. Took clothes to laundry. Shopped for gifts. There was lots of dancing and a long parade going on. Reenactments of Incas and processions. Went to Regional History Museum (house of historian Inca Garcilaso de la Vega built over Inca ruins). More shopping and people watching. Inca walls are like, so cool. McDonalds! Fortress of Qorikancha. This was the center of the Inca world, where the church of Santo Domingo was built over it. There were 41 SEQES lines leading out from it over the mountains in different directions leading out from the fortress. Along these seqes were 328 WAKAS, or sacred points of interest. One for every day of the year?
Lots of photos because I forgot my video camera. Walked around a huge marked and came up to rest and write this. Gotta get my clothes and make some friends. Tuesday I start the Inca Trail for 4 days.
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