We left Carahuasi early Thursday morning, headed towards our final destination – Pisac, Cusco, where we will relax for a few days. We have all had enough of riding around in the car, and I will need to get some work done in Pisac.
Our book –
Aventura 757 kilometers – recommended a stop in Limatambo, so we headed straight there for breakfast. It took about 45 minutes to get there from Carahuasi, with a beautiful, scenic drive. This part of the highway, though, was just about the worst of the whole trip. There were parts where we had to slow down as the asphalt had been washed out and a less stable mixture had been put in place. Nevertheless, the road was certainly drivable – especially since we are not in the rainy season.
We had breakfast in Limatambo, in a small roadside restaurant. The girls made friends with the owners’ daughter and played a bit while we finished up. The food was unremarkable, but tasty enough. The girls enjoyed their rice and eggs while I sat and listened to the river flowing below.
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| Little girl in Limatambo |
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| Raymi enjoying her egg sandwich |
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| House in Limatambo |
Immediately after Limatambo, we made a stop in Tarawasi – an amazing site of Incan ruins. One of the most interesting features of Tarawasi are the stone walls. The Incans perfected a technique of building stone walls made just out of stones – no fillers such as mud or concrete – that are able to withstand earthquakes. The walls at Tarawasi have withstood several earthquakes. The worker at Tarawasi explained to me that, below the stone walls, the Incas placed smaller rocks that work as a sort of spring when the earth shook. Then, they carved these huge rocks with several angles so that they wouldn’t move when the earth shook. At Tarawasi, the stones are also placed into the shape of flowers. Design plus functionality. Thousands of years old. Pretty impressive.
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| Nando, Raymi, Tatiana, and Soraya on the steps of Tarawasi |
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| Note the stones in the shape of a flower |
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| Inca wall at Tarawasi |
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| Impressive Incan Wall, Steps, and Scenery at Tarawasi |
From Tarawasi, we headed straight to Cusco. For most of the way there, we were accompanied by the snowcapped peak of Salkantay. When we arrived in Cusco, it was 10:30am, so we decided to stop there for a while and have lunch before heading to Pisac. It was a bit hectic driving through Cusco, but we eventually managed to find a parking lot close to the plaza – right by Señor Frogs. There was also a Laundromat on the corner, so we dropped off our dirty clothes and headed to the famous Plaza de Armas of Cuzco.
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| Salkantay |
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| Izcuchaca - on the way to Cusco |
When we got to the plaza, we saw there was a major protest going on. Men dressed up in their construction worker uniforms demanded that the promised construction projects begin. They burned an effigy of Oscar Valdez – the prime minister. We listened to the person on the microphone demanding an end to political divisions and noticed it was Nando’s friend – Santiago.
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| Plaza de Armas de Cusco |
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| Police protecting Plaza de Cusco |
We watched the march for a while, and the kids remembered the chant “
el pueblo unido jamas sera vencido” from immigrant rights marches in Chicago. The march was quite impressive and colorful. I wasn’t able to figure out exactly what was going on, beyond the fact that the protestors were disappointed with the politicians. We decided to leave when the protestors set off firecrackers and Soraya and I got hit with sparks. We sat in the center of the plaza for a while and then went to have lunch at the market with Nando and a friend of his we know from years ago – Abuelo.
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| Raymi in the Plaza de Armas |
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| Market in Cusco |
Lunch in the market in Cusco is super cheap – 3.50 soles – just over a dollar. I had sopa de trigo and seco de pollo. It was pretty good. My daughters have grown up eating Peruvian food and I have been impressed with how they eat all of their food no matter where we go. Tatiana, my 11-year-old daughter, told me one of her favorite things about Peru is the food. We have been eating most of our meals in restaurants. The truth is that we wouldn’t save very much by cooking ourselves, as most meals are $1 to $2 a person. The kids like eating in restaurants, so this is working out for everyone.
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| Pisac from above |
After lunch, we hung out in the plaza again for a bit. My daughters love pigeons, and they were pleased to find a lady selling bird seeds. We bought a few bags and they entertained themselves feeding the pigeons while I enjoyed the amazing view from the Plaza de Armas and watched people stroll by.
Soon, it was 3pm, and time to pick up our laundry and head to Pisac. The drive from Cusco to Pisac took just 45 minutes, and we went straight to our friend Nico’s place – Hostal Puma Orca. When we got to the Hostal Puma Orca, I was pleased to see that Nico has continued to improve the place. They have a nice reception area with couches to relax and a computer for Internet access. The kitchen has also been remodeled. And, the rooms were clean, fresh, and comfortable. We opted for a room with a hot shower for just $25 a night.
The Hostal Puma Orca is always full of creative types, and, sure enough, as soon as the sun went down, the guys got together and played Latin American folk music. I was tired, but not too tired to join in and listen and dance to some of my favorite
huaynos. By 9pm, though, I was ready to hit the sack.
It felt great to have completed our drive by car from Lima to Pisac, and to have arrived safely.
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