Cusco, Peru

Our last big trip before we go back home was to Machu Picchu!!! We figured that since we're so close to Peru we had better go. (Even though it probably would have been cheaper flying from the USA than from Ecuador, believe it or not. We've discovered flights from Quito can be expensive. To get to Brazil from Quito it's cheaper to first fly to Miami! But anyway...)

Machu Picchu is a place we've dreamed of going for several years now, and it's one of those places that is a must-see before you die, so it was totally worth it. We saw so many incredible things and I think we have around 700 pictures, so I'll have to break up the posts and choose just my favorite pics.

First: Cusco, Peru.

To get to Machu Pichu you must go through Cusco. We flew there via Lima. Our first day we took a tour around Cusco. It's situated in the Andes Mountains, about 1,000 feet higher than Quito. It's much drier which means it's dustier and browner than Quito, and it gets really cold at night. It was also quite touristy where we were, which was a big turn-off to us. People come at you at from all directions trying to sell you things or trying to get you to take a picture with them (people want pictures of the locals in their traditional outfits), and people from restaurants shove menus in your face to compete for business. But I guess tourism is probably their biggest insdustry.

First stop was the Plaza de Armas to see the Cathedral of Cusco. It's HUGE, but we couldn't take any pictures inside (it's the church on the left).

Next we went to the Coricancha Temple, or Temple of the Sun. It was a famous temple in the Incan times, and the surfaces used to all be covered in gold. At this temple you can see how perfect the Incan stonework was. Their stones were carved perfectly straight and smooth and fit together perfectly without the use of any cement or mortar, and they have STILL withstood fires and earthquakes after all these years!

Then we went to Sacsayhuamán (or Saqsaywaman), a walled fortress just outside of Cusco. The joke all the tour guides make is that it's pronounced "sexy woman." It is a pretty good way to remember it though. :)

This place is believed it was used by the Incans to protect the city of Cusco. The zigzagged outcrops are said to be the shape of the mouth of the puma. Here we could also get a good sense of the Inca's incredible stonework! All the stones are so smooth and fit together so perfectly, plus the edges are rounded and all the walls tilt inward slightly. These details may be part of why the walls have lasted so long.

We gave in and payed this woman to take a picture of her. Isn't she so cute with her llama and colorful clothing?! All the indigenous women wore bright colors like this.

Last stop for the day: Tambomachay, popular for its fountains. Our tour guide said if we washed our eyes in the water then our eyesight would be healed. Josh tried it, haha. I think I'd rather just get Lasik.