08-05-2006 First Day in Cusco

Early in the morning, our group headed to the airport to take a StarPeru flight to Cusco. Taking a little more than an hour, the flight took us over the Andes mountains, which was too short a visit to get enough of them. Our adventures in Cusco started with a walking tour of the town square, which was wonderfully close to our hotels. A large cathedral, second church, shops, cafes and restaurants all centered around the square, making for a great place to spend mealtimes and for shopping with friends. Later we hopped on a tour bus to visit a few of the fun points interest that made the landscape around Cusco.
Our first stop was at the Temple of Water. There we got our first real taste of just how high up we were, because it took only about half a dozen good steps to feel short of breath. We were greeted by large ancient stones intically placed together to form fountains that still flow today. We wasted no time in getting together to take pictures of odd poses and wash our faces in the lucky stream. Along the way we also met our first lamas and got started in bargaining for hand-woven wares that would keep us warm in the already chilly climate.
Our next stop was at a place called Saksai Waman. It was a great terraced fortress-like structure built into a hill. Its giant stones were placed fantastically by the skilled ancient Incas and were fun to climb onto and look out from at the surrounding landscape. One of the biggest stones was believed to be a source of vital energy from nature. We all took turns to stand near it with our hands out, meditating and absorbing its ancient power. Some of us said that they felt the Incas might.
--Matthew Pd.