Some of these stone blocks probably weigh a Ton. Unlike the stone blocks in Egypt (used to build the Pyramids in Egypt) that were carried on the river Nile the Incas had to carry these up the mountains. That must have required a lot of planning and effort. A lot of these Structures are not completed (or) have been destroyed. One can thank the Barbarians (read Spanish Conquistadors) for that. How those bastards can destroy a culture / civilization / people, in the name of Catholicism is beyond me.
White Colonialists have killed more people, than any evil ruler one can think of. The British and the French in Asia & Africa, the Spaniards / Portuguese in South America and the 'Settlers' in North America and Australia have killed and destroyed more peoples / Cultures, than Hitler, Mussolini and a few other dictators combined. Sorry to digress. It always riles me when I come across magnificent places like this, only to find out that the culture is no longer surviving due to some colonial quest.
After spending an hour at the Pisac ruins, we got back to the bus. The way down to the ruins was worse for me. Since I was wearing sneakers and was not sure of the grip I was getting on the ground, I baby-stepped my way down from the ruins. We reached the Pisac market around 1:30 PM. Mauro led us to a place where we had an Empanada (Bread stuffed with Cheese & Onions). It was so delicious, that I had a second one. To wash it down, I had an Inca Cola. It was quite good. Mauro gave us around 30-Minutes to roam the Market and do any shopping.
I spotted some colourful wall hangings. The women here actually use them as shawls. I guess my degree of 'Westernization' forces me to call it a Wall Hanging / Decoration ! I was interested in 2 of these. One was of a softer fabric than the other. From an initial price of S/- 60, I finally paid S/- 45 (US$ 14). I would have loved to buy many more things. But the fact that I was currently homeless and had to depend on the good graces of friends to store my belongings, restricted my purchase to items I could carry with me on my Travels.
We left Pisac market around 3 PM and headed towards Urubamba. We were to have Lunch (!) at Urubamba. We reached Urubamba around 3:30 PM. Except for a lone member of our group none of us were hungry. I had some Ice cream for Lunch. We left Urubamba around 4:45 PM and headed towards Ollantaytambo. En route, Mauro explained how the locals use Cable Cars to cross the Urubamba River. We stopped at one of these Cable car crossings, and some of us experienced this kind of crossing, first hand. Based on manpower, literally ! If you want to cross from Side A to Side B, you yell out until somebody arrives on Side B. You can then get on to the Cable Car, while the Person on Side B, starts to pull the Cable. This process is done, until you reach Side B. You repeat the process in reverse, to get back to Side A. A nice experience.
We reached Ollantaytambo around 5:15 PM and headed directly to the ruins. These were Stone terraces cut into the mountainside. The ruins were on Top. Mauro explained the story behind Ollantaytambo. (Which means 'Resting Place of Ollanta') This is still an Inca town. The Walls and the Irrigation System still exist from those times. As the Sun was setting, I did not get great shots of the ruins. Barbara was right. The Sunrise should be excellent tomorrow morning. We spent around 45 minutes at the ruins, before heading to our Hostel for the night.
I got myself a room with 4 Beds ! Guess the hotel did not have any guests apart from our Group. This is a Charming hostel. (Hostal las Orquideas, Ollantaytambo. Phone: 084-204032) Even though the bath and toilets are shared, they are impeccable. I spent an hour writing my Travelogue, before realizing that someone was knocking on my door. It turned out to be Barbara. Apparently everyone had left for dinner ! We decided to join them in the restaurant. Barbara had brought her dog, Pukhi along with her. It was doing the Inca Trail as well ! (I am STILL sticking to my plan and heading back to Cusco tomorrow !)
We caught up with the others at the restaurant and ordered our dinner. During our dinner chat, some of the other group members were receptive to my idea of leaving the Hostel around 6:15 AM tomorrow to visit the ruins and observe the Sunrise. We would return back to hostel in time for breakfast. (Around 8 AM) That way, I'll be able to leave for Cusco around 9 AM, while the rest of the group starts on the Inca Trail around the same time.
We got back to the Hostel around 9:30 PM and I turned in after a bit.
|
Did not sleep much last night. Got up at 5:30 AM and was ready by 6 AM. Surprisingly, so were some of the other members of the group. We set off to the ruins at 6:15 AM. It looked to be a cloudy morning. Guess I will not be able to observe the Magnificent Sunrise over the ruins that Barbara had talked about.
The Village of Ollantaytambo was just waking up. We made our way to the ruins. There was no one there to check our tickets. We made our way to the top. We chatted for a bit, while waiting for the clouds to clear up and for the Sun to show-up. Around 6:45 AM, the girls decided to head back to the Hostel. I waited for another 15-Mintes before working my way down from the top. On reaching the bottom, I walked around a little bit and came across some Irrigation systems. (Probably dating back to the Inca Period). In all, I spent close to an hour here and shot an entire roll of film.
Got back to the Hostel and headed straight for breakfast. The rest of the group was already there. After breakfast, Barbara gave me specific instructions on how to get back to Cusco. The Bus (taking the rest of the group to the start of the Inca trail) arrived at 8 AM. After bestowing my good luck on everyone doing the trail, I headed to the village square / bus station. Found a bus heading to Urubamba and got in next to the driver. The fare was S/- 1 (30 Cents). The 'bus' is a Minivan. We left Ollanaytambo around 8:30 AM and reached Urubamba around 9 AM, dropping and picking people along the way. On reaching Urubamba, I noticed a person screaming 'Cusco, Cusco'. After confirming that it was taking the shorter and picturesque route through Chincero, I ran to the ticket window to get a ticket. I was assigned a specific seat on the bus. The fare was S/- 2.50 (Approx. 80 Cents).
The bus departed around 9:20 AM and within a few minutes was climbing the hills of the sacred valley. Much as I wanted to appreciate the beauty, two things kept me from doing so. The Cloud cover and my constant dozing. This was a Mini-Bus and it kept dropping and picking people along the way. We reached Cusco a little after 11 AM. I decided to walk to the hotel rather than take a cab. Thanks to some wrong turns, I turned a 5-minute walk in to a 15-minute walk.
The folks at the Hotel had no problem recognizing me (as a member of the GAP group) and gave me the same room. Picked up my baggage and had a shower. I was informed that my clothes (given for washing) would be delivered by 6 PM. Went to the Post Office to mail a few cards to friends and relatives. I followed this with an Internet session at a local kiosk, primarily to chat with my brother and to catch up on my mail. The Internet session for an hour cost me S/- 6. (US$ 2) By the time I was done with these, the time was around 2:30 PM. Had some pastries for Lunch !
Returned to the hotel, did some writing before setting out again around 4 PM. Took pictures of the Cathedrals in the Main Plaza. Walked around a bit more in search of a Bookshop carrying English books on the Incas and the ruins. Though I did find 2 books, including the Hiram Bingham book, the price that was being quoted (US $35) prevented me from buying them. I was not looking to spend that kind of money. Got back to the Hotel, picked up my Tripod and headed to an Asian restaurant for dinner. The food was bad and though I hated it, I nevertheless ate as much as I could, since I did not want to Starve. After dinner, I headed to the Central Plaza to take some Pictures of Cuzco by Night. After spending an hour taking pictures, I headed back to the Hotel. I will have to plan a light schedule tomorrow.
|
Got up around 9 AM and was ready by 10:15 AM. Went to Santo Domingo (located close to the Hotel). This was an Inca Temple to the Sun God. Most of the Original Stonework is preserved. It was excellent. The Entrance fee was S/- 3 (US$ 1). It's well worth it. After spending an hour here, I headed to the Post Office to mail some more cards and continued onto the BIG FOOT (the local operators of GAP Adventures) office. After confirming my Train / Bus trip to Macchu Picchu tomorrow, I booked myself on one of their half-day city tours costing S/- 20 (US$ 6). I had lunch at yet another Vegetarian restaurant and came to the same conclusion. The food was horrible. The folks here simply lack the imagination to COOK some vegetarian dishes. Got back to my hotel by 1:30 PM and waited for the BIG FOOT tour bus to pick me up for the city tour. The Bus arrived on time (2 PM). After spending another 15-20 minutes picking up various other participants of the tour, we headed to our first stop on the tour: Santo Domingo ! Since I had been there, I joined a trio of Norte Americanos and went to the Santo Domingo Museum instead.
The Museum had a good collection of artifacts from the Inca / Pre-Inca period and we spent around 25 minutes there. The tour then headed to the Cathedral (in Plaza de la Armas). No Photography / Video allowed in the Cathedral, period. The guide droned on alternatively in Spanish and English (This was a mixed group) for almost an hour. Needless to say, my attention span was shortening by the minute. I had embarked on this tour, with the notion of learning / observing more about the Inca / Pre-Inca Culture and Civilization. These edifices built by the Genocidal Maniacs (read conquistadors) to propagate their beliefs, hardly interested me.
We left for Saqsaywaman (the first of the 4 Inca ruins we were to visit) around 4 PM. It was a 20-minute drive from the city centre. This is another well-preserved structure that is a must see. Some of the huge stone blocks here weigh more than a ton. Since we were 300 metres (1000 feet) above Cusco, it was a bit cold here. After spending around 45 minutes here, we headed to Q'enqo. It was getting dark and we were hardly able to see anything here. By the time we reached Puca Pucara and Tambomachay, it was pitch dark. We could hardly see anything, let alone take pictures. For the first time during this trip, I was MAD.
I had really wanted to see these ruins more than the Cathedral. If we had switched the route, where we saw the ruins first (before Santo Domingo & the Cathedral), we would have been able to see al these ruins in Daylight. Since all the folks stay in Cusco, even if we did not see the Cathedral and Santo Domingo (as part of this tour), we could have done that on our own, since they are located in the City centre. The $10 tourist pass covers all these ruins and it was punched out. Therefore, I'll have to pay again to see these ruins (which I definitely wanted to do). Will have to complain to Barbara and Bigfoot and see where it gets me.
I decided to have a decent dinner and headed to the Vegetarian restaurant we visited on our first night in Cusco. (La Waca de Cristal) I had some Vegetarian soup and some food. Good, simple food. The folks there recognized me. |
|
