Cuzco and Machu Picchu

We have been in Cuzco for about two and a half weeks, living with a Peruvian family and taking Spanish classes here. It has been a nice change of pace to be in one spot for an extended amount of time, getting into a routine (2 weeks is the longest we have stayed put, since December) and challenging our minds a bit. The school we went to is called Excel, and is a well organized, tightly run place. We really liked our teacher, Lyda, and her teaching style. She pushed us, but not too hard. We have learned to speak in their 2 past tenses (preterite and imperfect) as well as the future tense. When we arrived we spoke solely in the present tense for everything. We also learned commands, which will be especially useful when we are teaching in Cajamarca. The school had a few excursions, so that we could use Spanish in the "real world". We went to an Inca museum one day, which was great but all we did was listen. One day we went into the campo (countryside) and made hornos (ovens) out of dirt and cooked potatoes underground. Unfortunately, ours was the worst one and it fell apart. And one day, to our chagrin we had to sing a song in Spanish in front of the school. While Drew had the job of yelling out "Vamanos!" at the beginning of the song, I revealed my unknown talent of playing air guitar in front of a crowd of bored students. We also spent an evening learning to salsa dance (Drew was indulging me), but couldn't get past the first spin move for the life of us. Besides learning Spanish, we learned that we are not talented singers or dancers, and lucky for you we don't have pictures.

Besides school, we have been living with a Peruvian family here. The father, Julio Ceasar is a Cardiologist and the mother stays at home. We haven't seen much of the mother because she has been in Lima with her sick father. There is also a housekeeper, Fortunata, who cooks and cleans with her two sons. The family also has an adopted 7 year old daughter named Liliana who we talk to and play with quite a bit. Besides the family, there are 6 other students living there, so the house is always lively and interesting. The experience has been comfortable and easy, a good balance between having our own space and having time with the family and students. We practiced our Spanish and ate well, and it was actually really nice to live in a real home and not eat in restaurants (which have proven to be dangerous in Peru).

Cuzco has been very festive and colorful during our stay. It is a beautiful town in many ways, with many churches and small cobblestone streets winding up the hills. All the houses seem to be the color of the earth, and looking out across the city you see a sea of adobe-colored homes, strewn with colorful laundry hanging outside. The people are a mix of indigenous and Spanish, and many women still wear the traditional clothing of the area; big skirts, round top hats, and always carrying a colorful satchel (or a child) on their backs. The city has been getting ready for their biggest festival of the year for winter solstice, Inti Raymi (celebrated on June 24). Everyday there seems to be activity in the center of town. A few times we have stumbled upon huge dancing parades, where groups of students are dressed in traditional clothes and dancing in the streets. The colors are amazing, so bright and vivid, and combined with the music, it feels like a true cultural experience. The festivities are part of their tradition done for themselves, not for the tourists. We also saw a huge float parade, with enormous sculptures of different people, animals, and other things (including Shrek). All this has added to our experience here in Cuzco, which has felt very vibrant and interesting.

The flip side of Cuzco is the traffic, the constant noise, and the smell of urine. Cars have the right of way (not the pedestrians) and it is a free for all. Imagine a line of grid-locked traffic, all honking their horns, and you'll have a good sense of the traffic here. Even though the traffic is bad, I think the drivers have a clue about what they are doing. The pedestrians on the other hand, are completely clueless, always walking out in front of you or stopping mid stride. Cuzco is a busy city and you have to be very careful with your belongings. Cuzco has the highest theft rate in all of Peru, but luckily there is little violent crime. We have gotten used to most of these things though, and it doesn't phase us anymore, we walk around people, we've stopped feeling alarmed when a car squeals by inches from our feet, we hold tightly to our possessions, and the urine, well I don't think you ever get used to that.

The highlight of our time here was visiting Machu Picchu. It is hard to explain the feeling that comes over you as you climb the stairs and get your first view over Machu Picchu, it is absolutely incredible. The site itself is amazing, but the landscape surrounding it makes the whole place feel very mystical and surreal. The ecosystem is a cloud forest, and the mountains are green with vegetation. There are tropical flowers, and butterflies and birds flying around. Unfortunately the most numerous animal is that of the human species. I would be lying if I said this didn't take away from the experience. You would be sitting there gazing out across the years, at a civilization of incredible power and mystery, and a large Texan woman with burnt cheeks and a big hat with "Machu Picchu" written across the front, would step in front of you scream at her husband and ruin the moment. It was impossible to get away from the other people and have a moment to ourselves. But alas, we are tourists too and we had to accept the fact that Machu Picchu comes as a package deal which includes Texans.


The history of Machu Picchu is very interesting. The Inca believed they were the first people, born from the Sun. They built Machu Picchu as the last of many sites along the sacred valley and it is full of the symbolism and spirituality of the Inca. They worshiped nature- the sun, moon, stars, the mountains, and the animals. All of this is apparent in the construction of Machu Picchu, where you see the shapes of animals in the rocks, sun dials made out of carved stones, and their own representations of the mountains. What is really amazing, is how they built this city right out of the side of a very steep mountainside. The Inca are known for their architectural design, it is an art. Their construction is flawless- huge rocks, cut at different angles and rubbed smooth so that they fit perfectly together, almost seamless. There is no need for cement, because the blocks are like a puzzle, all holding the others together. You see these things and begin to understand their society. You can imagine people living there, working there, and you understand that the Incas who populated Machu Picchu were highly intelligent, strong, and spiritual. We learned that the society always took care of each other. If one woman lost her husband and had kids to feed, others would help her. Nobody would go hungry. In Quechua (the language of the Inca), there is no word for possession or ownership, because everything is shared. In a way, it is an idealistic way of life. The height of the Inca Empire only lasted a little over 100 years, but their decedents are a large part of the Peruvian life today. The history and culture is intricately woven in today's society.




We climbed up Wayna Picchu, shown in the background of the classical view of Machu Picchu. They only let 400 people climb this each day, and we were lucky to get the chance. It was a steep climb, but gave us views over the site. Supposedly, MP looks like an upside down condor from this view, but I couldn't quite make it out, can you? We found a small area to ourselves and had lunch overlooking Machu Picchu and the surrounding mountains and meandering river below. We had a scary descent down the slippery, steep stairs but made it out alive.


We also had the chance to visit some other Inca sites near Cuzco. One place in town is called Qoricancha, and is interesting because it is an Inca site that was covered by a Spanish church. In 1950 there was a huge earthquake that destroyed the church, but Qoricancha was unharmed. Today both structures are there, reflecting both cultures. We spent our last Saturday walking to four sites, but two stood out. One called Qenqo was a strange place of carved tunnels and underground tombs. The other called Sacsayhuaman (pronounced like "Sexy Woman") is a large site with enormous rocks, again perfectly cut and fit together. It is hard to imagine the Inca creating these places with man-power alone!

Now we have made it to Lima, the capital city of Peru. We are staying with Norma's sister and husband here (whose parents we stayed with in Bolivia). We head north in a few days, for some beach time and then to meet Kelly and Skyler in Cajamarca to make our next ebook! Give us a shout out if you are still with us, we love your comments!

Love, Erin