By this Author: kevindhodges

Cusco

A week ago we arrived in Cusco, the ancient capital of the Incan empire. With an elevation of 11,200 feet, Cusco (or Q'osco in Quechua) means "navel of the world." We spent the first few days acclimating and bumming around the Plaza de Armas, the central square.

On Wednesday, January 11 we took a guided city tour and saw the following sites:

La Catedral

Q'oricancha

An Incan temple that the Spaniards quarried and used as the foundation for a Dominican monastery and church.

Notice the three levels of stones: pre-Incan, Incan, and Spanish colonial. The Incan engineering has proven to be superior in sustaining the numerous earthquakes that have rocked this town in the last 500 years!

Saqsayhuaman

Pronounced "Sexy Woman," this is the religious and ceremonial section of Cusco that was home the final battle between the conquistadors and the Incans in the 1530s. Some of these stones weigh nearly 200 tons. The Incan capital, Cusco, was originally shaped like a puma with Saqsayhuaman as the head.

Quenqo

A nearby religious site devoted to Pachamama, "Mother Earth." This picture shows a sacrificial altar in a cave. Usually, black llamas were sacrificed because their color retained more heat from the sun and thus they were holier.

Puca Pucara

A pre-Incan guard tower used by the Incas for its strategic vantage point.

Tambomachay

A site used for water rites and worship of the water deity.

The Sacred Valley

Thursday was spent on a day long tour of the Sacred Valley, the area leading up to Machu Picchu. The following pictures show our enjoyment of the local culture, markets, vistas and the native corn-based beer, chicha!

Pisac

A mainly agricultural site (notice the terrace steps used for growing corn and other staples) that also houses thousands of tombs in the mountain side.

Ollantaytambo

Easily the second greatest archaeological site for the Incas (from our perspective) due to its beautiful placement, temples, fountains, granaries and huge images carved in the rock that dot the hillside. Some 300 distinct ruins surround the city.

Notice the face of the deity carved in the rock, best seen from the temple. His "back" was the main granary.

Check out the wind blowing from the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu at the temple of the sun of Ollantaytambo here!

Chinchero

Our final stop of the day, an agricultural town with some amazing views of the surrounding glaciers.

This tour, and the experiences we had, easily made it one of the best days of entire trip. Each site was more magnificent than the one before, and prepared us for our voyage to Machu Picchu!

Ica, a dusty town five hours south of Lima surrounded by sand dunes and irrigated fields of grapes and asparagus, is home to some serious fun.

The region is world famous for pisco, a distilled white grape liqueur that is served either straight up or mixed with egg white, lime, sugar, ice, bitters and nutmeg is the scandalously tasty Pisco Sour.

Pisco, and other types of local wine, is produced by both artisanal and industrial vineyards. Bodegas El Catador is one the best in Ica.

Using old-fashioned foot stomping and 150 year-old vats, this winery produces not just the typical translucent pisco, but lemon-flavored varieties and creme-style piscos (mixed a local root used by indigenous groups called maca).

After a tasting or two and a sleepy siesta, we spent the afternoon at a desert oasis called Huacachina. For a mere $12 each, we rode in huge dune buggies at speeds approaching 70 mph and sandboarded down 500-foot tall mountains of fine sand.

Despite a few tumbles, and some stowaway sand in our shoes, we had a great time in Ica. Next stop is Nasca to see the world-famous UFO runways: the Nasca Lines!

A week ago we were camping in idyllic Tayrona National Park, outside of Taganga, with picture perfect sunsets during the day and hurricane force winds blowing the tent over at night. We hiked out of the jungle in true adventurer fashion and rode motorcycle taxis back into to town, just in time to catch a 18-hour overnight bus to Medellin, a beautiful, modern, mile high city squeezed in between mountains. Near the main coffee growing region of the country and famous for it's transformation and nearly-perfect weather year round, Medellin is an amazing sight and a wonderful place to spend Christmas.

We have shopped at the mall, taken a cable car up the mountain in a residential neighborhood, and toured the botanical garden.

But mostly we have just taken some time to enjoy food, drink, and the customs that we miss most from home.

Like cookie decorating!

And loads of presents!

And eating till we collapse in a food coma!

Soon, we will head back to Cartagena for New Year's to remember, and seeing as how most of the locals head to the coast for their celebration, we will be in good company.

Before we move on tomorrow to Barranquilla, I thought it would be nice to post some assorted pictures from our adventures of the past week. When not seeking shade during the day at our hostel, getting lost in the labyrinth of cobblestone streets, or sampling local delicacies from street vendors like arepas (cheesy corn fritters), we have seen a few sights and done a few things.

Palace of the Inquisition (which thrived in the New World as well, apparently):

Ouch!

Notice the fifth rope, for guys.

Closed for the season.

Assorted sights around town:

???

Pegasus, Colombian national animal.

Fruit hat.

Finally, today for Liz's birthday, we spent all morning at the huge Fortress of San Felipe de Barajas:

Fallin'!

Stylin'!

Defendin'!

Smilin'!

Tunnelin'!

Now we depart for a delicious treat for Liz: sushi! We hope it doesn't involve torture.

And chess is still played in the city square.

These guys must have been hot.

But she was cool.

After a big night on the town Saturday, we decided to wallow in the mud at the Volcano Totumo on Sunday. It is, literally, a pit of mud:

And we got in it!

It certainly was one of the strangest sensations of my life. Men rub you down with the mud, women wash you off in the river, little kids take your picture. It's a family affair. But here we are clean as ever.

When life gives you a mud volcano, you make a tourist attraction out of it. Of course.