CUZCO - THE CAPITAL OF THE INCA EMPIRE

Sorry for the delays in publishing new posts, but we had a quite active period over the past week. After waving goodbye to the sea lions on the Galapagos, it was time to make our way to see the wonders of Peru. Due to a last-minute change of plan, we decided to just change flights in Lima instead of stopping to see the city (we will see it on the way back North to Colombia instead) and continue straight on to Cuzco.

Guayaquil – the largest city in Ecuador

The first step of this route was to fly back to the mainland and spend a night in Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador. Luckily the airport was close to the city centre so we could squeeze in a little sightseeing too. The highlight of a trip to Guayaquil has to be the Cerro Santa Anna, a lovely little hilltop full of colourful houses overlooking the harbour, which is the oldest part of the city. After climbing the 444 steps to the lighthouse or Faro on the top, we were rewarded with a fantastic view of the city, and the Guayas river. The Guayas has the largest watershed of any rivers West of the Andes, and empties 36 billion m3 of water a year into the Pacific Ocean – all we could see was that it was incredibly wide, (much wider than the Danube at Budapest although the latter carries twice as much water, and far wider than the Thames) and that there were lots of green ‘rafts’ of logs, leaves and grass also flowing downriver. Afterwards we continued down the riverside promenade, the Malecon, the proud of the city, which is a recently built nice green area for the locals to spend their weekends with friends and families. It used to be a run-down dockland, but it was redeveloped in 2000 and is now considered one of the most successful urban regeneration projects in South America.

Last-minute change of travel plans

As our initial research had indicated that flights between countries in South America were prohibitively expensive (although there are some good deals to be had on domestic flights), we had originally planned on taking the bus between Guayaquil, Ecuador and Lima, Peru; however neither of us was particularly looking forward to this 26-30 hour trip after our previous experiences between Colombia and Ecuador. We had accumulated quite a few British Airways frequent flyer miles through prior flights (but mostly through channelling our normal day-to-day spending to our Amex card), and we were lucky that LAN (British Airways’ partner in South America) opened up some seats on the Guayaquil-Lima route at the last minute. By using some of our points, we would only need to pay taxes and surcharges, which was barely more than the cost of a bus ticket. While we were at it, we told them to book us straight through to Cuzco, as that was again only minimally more expensive. Yay, 2x24-hour bus rides replaced by 2x2-hour flights, with a reduction in cost too!

Lesson learnt #1: Collecting Amex points and frequent flier miles is an art that takes a while to perfect, but it has saved us over £1100 and loads of time so far!

Cuzco in the rainy season

Arriving in Cuzco fresh and ready to explore the ancient capital of the Inca, the first thing that struck us was that it was 15-20 degrees colder than the Galapagos. We were expecting this to be the coldest stop on our trip (we hope Japan and China will be warmer by the end of March), but it was still a shock to the system.

The other weather-related downgrade was the fact that we arrived in the rainy season and it is constantly drizzling – in all honesty it feels like back home in London in spring! The constant rain was a bit of a surprise as we didn’t do our research properly and were expecting a quick tropical shower each day. So the weather did slightly dent our spirits, but looking at the bright side of things, this is the perfect opportunity to test our various layers and our waterproof rain jacket – and it feels much better having proper gear than a random 5€ poncho bought from a vendor (more on vendors a bit later)! The upside of the rainy season though is that there were a lot fewer tourists (still plenty to go around though, so the peak season must be very busy)!

The final point we had to get used to was of course the altitude difference, as Cuzco is 3000 meters above sea level, and the air is much thinner this high up. Everyone said to take it easy on the first couple of days to avoid altitude sickness, and the locals suggested to drink the traditional maté tea made out of the coca leaf. The locals consume it regularly, either as a tea or by chewing the leaves – you can even buy coca-flavoured candy! Of course the whole thing is legal in the region, as the coca leaf is a mild stimulant, and as far removed from processed cocaine as poppy seeds are from heroin, and its consumption is a tradition that dates back to pre-Colombian times.

Even a couple of days into our stay in Cuzco, we were still short of breath after climbing a few steps – which happened very often in a city build on a mountain!

Lesson learnt #2: The 5Ps: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance – it is definitely worth investing in proper rain gear for a 6-month trip, but next time it might be worth checking on the expected weather conditions before booking our flights!

History of Cuzco

Cuzco’s historic city centre is an incredibly picturesque medley of Spanish colonial and Inca architecture, which is reflected in its people and cuisine as well. The first time Renata saw an old lady in traditional Inca attire tying up her llama outside a shop while she was doing her groceries, she couldn’t take enough pictures – but we got used to them soon as it’s an everyday sight here!

First of all, a whirlwind tour of Inca history to put things into perspective if too much time has passed since your high school history lessons.

Cuzco was the capital of the Inca empire, stretching from the Andes in Ecuador and Southern Colombia all the way South to Northern Chile. It was considered the “centre of the world”, it was also the religious centre (however the temples were destroyed following the Spanish conquest), and also the meeting point for the trade roads heading off into the four cardinal directions (on the road between our hostel and the main square, we walked along one of them every day).

The Spanish conquered the vast majority of the Inca empire in a single year, between 1532-33; there were rebellions for the next 5 years and a small area remained independent until 1572, but overall it was a very swift conquest. Due to the importance of the city the Spanish found immense wealth in Cuzco, temples were covered in gold and silver and decorated with gems. The conquistadors destroyed the Inca temples and removed most of these treasures to either send them to Spain or to use them to decorate the Catholic churches that were built on the top of the Inca ruins. The Inca left no written records, so what we know of them is from second-hand sources such as the journals of Spanish missionaries or conquistadors – who were often biased or unable to fully understand a culture so different from their own (For example, the Inca had a very close connection with nature, they believed each individual mountain had a soul and temperament and could be communicated with; this pagan belief system was strongly discouraged by the Spanish).

However, the biggest tragedy for the Inca (and indeed all the Native American populations) were the diseases (such as smallpox, measles) unknowingly carried by Europeans. Over the generations, Europeans had developed partial immunity to these and were much less affected by them than the Inca whose populations were devastated. It is estimated that between 1520 (when the first contact was made) and 1572, less than 2% of the Inca population survived in some regions. The overwhelming majority was due to multiple disease epidemics, but was further worsened by enslavement, pillaging and destruction from warfare.

Descendants of the Inca (and other indigenous communities) are still alive today, and put a lot of effort into maintaining their traditions and language (we were told there are 47 languages spoken in Peru). Traditions and customs are kept more strongly in the villages, where there are still plenty of people who only speak Quechua; but students in Cuzco also learn Quechua in school.

Inca temples and architecture

We visited a number of Inca temples, including the remains of their main temple, the Q’orikancha. While the majority of the building was destroyed and built over by a Dominican church, you could still see the original foundation blocks. You could tell it was original Inca architecture, as they didn’t use mortar, cement or any adhesives between their huge stone blocks, and they still fit together so tightly that you couldn’t fit a sheet of paper between them. Spanish accounts tell us the huge garden of the Q’orikancha was plated in silver and gold, from llama and tree statues to the last blade of grass (none of which remains today unfortunately)!

Besides Inca ruins and the colonial facades, the major sights are the colonial churches and cathedrals. The Spaniards gave significant leeway to local artists throughout South America to develop their distinct flavour of art, and the Cuzco style is a well-known result of this. Catholic paintings were copied from the Spanish examples but were slightly adapted to local culture to help the indigenous population better relate to Christianity, so you shouldn’t be surprised to see the odd coca leaf, banana or papaya on paintings. The most famous picture in the Cuzco Cathedral is a painting of the Last Supper, with a roast cuy (or guinea pig, a Peruvian delicacy) at the centre of the table.

Also, one of the main emblems of the city is a black statue of Christ of the cross (it is covered in treated llama skin that has blackened over the years), dedicated to our Lord of the Earthquakes, to which Cuzcans pray to protect them from one of the principle concerns in the region. Smaller earthquakes happen every so often, and are factored into everyday life, however larger ones have levelled the city before. We’re not quite sure when to expect the next one, as our guide said they can be expected 400 years, as evidenced by the huge earthquakes in 1650 and 1950 (so according to his calculation there were 400 years in between), but we hope it is still some time away!

Llamas, alpacas and vicunas

The animals that everyone associates with the Andes are of course the llama, but in reality there are three types of fairly similar animals. Llamas are the largest, and mainly used for carrying loads (up to 35kg), but their meat is also salted and eaten by the poor, mainly in the countryside. Alpacas are smaller, and their meat is considered superior, so they are represented in most restaurant menus – I’ve found it a bit tougher than beef, but it can be very tasty if prepared well! Alpaca hair is used to make all the lovely sweaters and ponchos that are for sale where ever you look. We uncovered a case of false advertising, as “baby alpaca” is actually not from baby animals, but from the first shearing off the animal, when they are around 3 years old when the fur is much softer. The third animal, the vicuna, is the smallest and has the softest fur and is the most expensive of all. We were shocked at how expensive they were, a baby alpaca sweater costs £100 or more, while a vicuna scarf starts at £1000!

Cuzco Planetarium

One of the highlights of our trip to Cuzco was an improvised visit to a family-run planetarium on the outskirts of the city. We were told about the importance of astronomy in the Incas’ everyday lives, particularly in agriculture, as it determined when to sow and harvest their different crops. Their imagination saw different constellations in the sky (which is different in the Southern hemisphere to what we are used to up North), including dark constellations, which are combinations of cloud patches in the Milky Way and the lack of stars in certain areas. The most important of these was the black llama, the location of which they used to determine whether the rains would be late in a given year. During the dry season, the llama is drinking from the Milky Way, while during the wet season it is slightly above the Milky Way (and peeing on the Earth). The problems start if you can’t see the llama, that means the weather would be bad that year; scientists today speculate that this could have been their way of determining whether it would be an El Nino year. Besides the black llama Incas identified the constellation of a baby llama, a shepherd (looking after the llamas), a fox, a toad and a snake in the sky.

We were also given an explanation of how the zodiac signs work, and how what is visible changes at different times of the year, and in different hemispheres. Finally, we were shown some of their telescopes and treated to a view of the key stars that were visible that night – including the Seven Sisters (also known as Subaru in Japan, after which the car company was named, and where its emblem comes from), Sirius (the brightest star in the sky), Alpha Centauri (the closest star to Earth, only a couple of light-years away) and the Southern Cross (the constellation they use to point the way South, given that they can’t see Polaris, which always points to the North). It was a really special visit, and we were glad we decided to do the tour on a whim, I would strongly encourage visitors to Cuzco to not miss it! I even bought a small painting (by our guide) of the dark constellations of the Inca in the Milky Way.

Tons of touts

Of course, no account of a trip to most developing countries would be complete without an account of all the peddlers badgering you as a tourist. There are the more expected ones, such as the travel agency, massage, restaurant or trinket touts; however, the shear frequency in Cuzco was surprising – you can easily meet more than five of them in 20 meters; and beware of stopping in the central square to enjoy the view as everyone seems to think that it means you want to get your shoe shined! Naturally, the proper remedy is a smile and a firm “No, gracias”, but after a while that became too long to repeat and we mostly switched to “Hola” and walking on. Still, there were some particularly funny / absurd instances that are worth mentioning: There was the lady who tried to sell us a llama keychain figure for 2 soles (0.50€), and when we told her we didn’t want one, she offered us the opportunity to buy three at a discounted rate! Then there are the collective drivers (the collectivo is essentially the public transportation system here, where multiple people going in the same direction share a car/minivan/bus to save costs, however the vehicle only leaves when it is full) who shout “Ollantaytambo, Ollantaytambo, falta dos” (the destination, and how many people are still missing for the car to start). As a side effect you can’t hear anything at the “bus station” due to all the shouting drivers, and I’m not sure how many people decided “You know what, I’m actually just doing my groceries, but if you’re only missing two people to go to Ollantaytambo, I might as well hop on the bus and go there instead!”

Passports please!

Another cultural oddity in South America was how passports are required for a much larger scope of activities than we were used to. We were slightly surprised when we were asked for passports for a long distance bus ticket, but in the end it kind of made sense since buses are somewhat of a substitute for flights. Providing your passport at each hostel is tiresome, but we’d seen similar before. It started getting ridiculous when we needed to produce a passport each time we check in / out of a cultural zone / natural park – I bet you’ve never used a passport to enter a museum or go to the beach before either! And then we haven’t even started talking about needing a passport to rent snorkelling gear – and before you ask, photocopies aren’t good enough, we’ve tried.

Lesson learnt #3: Always have your passport with you, as you might not even be able to go to the bathroom without one (I wouldn’t be surprised if that was next)!

That`s it for now, hope you enjoyed this post. In the next episode, which is coming soon, Renata will have some amazing pictures from Machu Picchu!