Back to Cusco

After my friend returned to Calgary I was back to the single status traveller. I got back to Cusco for a few more days to wander around the city and see the sights. Although we had recieved about a 2 hour tour on our first day with KIA, I remembered very little of the tour. Jet lag and the high altitude prevented much information sticking.
I decided to stay at a "party hostel", in hopes of meeting some fellow travellers headed south, as well as Cusco prices were quite expensve. That was the first and last dorm I will stay in for the rest of my trip.. mistake learned. Fortunatley my night-status nursing career has taught me to sleep anywhere, and through anything. With some ear plugs and a facemask, i was able to get a few more than 3 hours of sleep..
The hosel offered breakfast which is always a plus. It was also located only 2.5 blocks from the Plaza d e Armas , which is the main square, and the only thing I recalled from the first tour. I fell into the typical Kelley travel pace, and began to wander about the city, not realizing I was headed in the opposite direction of the Main Square.
What led me in my direction was a church that I thought may have been the Plaza, and I only consult maps when I am completely lost. While trudging up a hill I came across a local market set up with tarps to identify each "shop". A similar ratty blue tarp was then layed out on the ground to showcase each shopkeepers wears. Litterally every item one could think of was being offered to any available taker. New and used shoes, baby clothes, fresh fruits, hats and full down jackets, tools, hammers, wheelbarrows that had previously been used for cement mixing, cooked street vendor foods, links of chain dripping with oil so as not to show thier rusted status. Missing a bathroom tap, or want an old stainless steel sink... or maybe an old full singer sewing machine in perfect condition; this market had it . My favorite was the base and lid of a blender, but no actual glass blender. But I am sure you could wander down a few stalls and find one that would fit. When I came across the meat that was sitting out under the tarps out of direct light of the baking sun, I was reminded again of Africa. The disticnt smell of blood and meat rotting.
After the street market I proceded around town wandering through a cacophony of twisting roads so narrow, you have to hug the wall when a car drives down. Large looming churches, monastaries, a slew of tourist markets selling alpaca sweaters, scarves, shawls and everyother form of clothing, braided bracelets, silver charms and rings, pictures and drawings, pottery, and rain sticks. I could not take more than 2 steps with out some one offering me some type if nick-knack or a massage, or tourist package. After a while it became a bit much. I escaped to Paddy´s an Irish pub that over looks the Plaza, away from the haggling vendors. I ordered a Cusceña my favorite local beer and sat back and watched the chaos below me.
The next day I decided to visit Saqsauhuaman, an old Inca ruin just above the city of Cusco. Gringos call the place "sexy woman" as the name sounds quite similar.
The hike was much more intense than I was anticipating, apparently I had not quite acclimatized yet as Cusco was the highest elevation I had been to at that point. My one previous day in Cusco wandering the streets had not adequately prepared me for my hike. When I finally arrived after pretending to consult my map for numerous breaks allowing my heart to catch up, I was standing on a large hill looking over the whole of Cusco. It was a pretty spectacular sight. I wandered around the grounds following Spanish speaking guides, picking up no inforamtion. The boulders that make up the ruins are alarming in size. They are the largest stones in any prehispanic America, and are so perfeclty placed together one cannot fit a piece of paper between them. Sadly when the Spaniards discoverd Saqsayhuaman, they tore down the Inca city using the stones in thier own construction of Cusco. All that remains are the stones that were to large to pull down. The site is impressive with some of the stones over 6 meters tall. Some believe that the city was shaped like a Pumas head. The ruins of the city stretch throghout Cusco, and although less known than Machu Piccu, where the famous Inca ruins were only a small village, Saqsayhuaman, was a whole city, with temples, villages, markets and stores.