Cuzco, Peru

2001- South America

We now ventured into the last country of our Saga Tour with Jerry Shilan. Our first stop was the city of Cuzco. This was the fabled capital of the Inca empire. The Inca were the greatest builders of the New World (my opinion). The Inca Empire only lasted ~159 years, yet they built 25,000 miles of roads!! < https://www.thoughtco.com/inca-empire-road-system-171388>. All of their structures were built w/o a written language. The Inca Palace was torn down by the Spanish and they built a church on top. However, every earthquake destroyed the church but not the base! The Inca built their palace on top of a bed of crushed rock a huge, smooth boulders. When the earthquake happended, the boulders would rock back and forth and the building was not affected. The did all this without a written language!

We were told these homes on the hillside are squaters.

Delicious street food.

Alpaca wool rug making.

We have one hanging on our living room wall.

charcoal of this little girl hangs upstairs.

Roberto a pan flute maker. We got one for my son.

Jerry’s friend Santos in his wife’s shop.

Roof tiles in Cuzco.

No one drives in Cuzco.

Jaimi and Marilynn at the hotel.

A remaining Inca street.

Jerry and the restaurant owner’s family where we were to have lunch.

We were also serenaded by a band during lunch!

Only the adventurous like my wonderful wife. She had the countries’ most prevalent food source: Guinea Pig!

Llama herders in the morning mist.

Sachsayhuaman-the gigantic animal (jaguar) head of Cuzco. The city was built in the shape of a jaguar with this huge area at the top. It was a fortress and a religious site where large gatherings were held during celebrations.