Inka Ruins with the Germans

This morning I met Hans & Margaret at my hostel. They hail from the northwest part of Germany and were in Peru for a marine biology convention. I was planning to visit all of the ruins around Cuzco (Tambomachay, Pukapukara, Q'enqo, and Sacsayhuaman), after I bought a second pair of pants and a rain jacket. I ended up not finding a decent pair of pants so I only bought the jacket (which was a good move as you'll read later).

I met Hans & Margaret back at the hostel and we caught a taxi up to Tambomachay. The route is approx. 6 km from Tambomachay through Sacsayhuaman to Cuzco. It was probably my second favorite of the 4; I was amazed at how the water was still running in the same channels as it had been for hundreds of years. While we were there, it started to rain so we had the ruins basically to ourselves. The stonework at all of these places is absolutely amazing. To think that ancient peoples had basic tools, and they were still master craftsmen. The integrity of the buildings is also a tribute to the quality of their work - most of the structures didn't use any mortar. The stones were fit together in such a way that they lock. It's similar to Legos, except they're not plastic and some of them are as large as a car.

As we visited Pukapukara and Q'enqo, the rain gradually increased in intensity. Then the hail came. It was good that the hail didn't last for more than 5 or 10 minutes, as it was stinging my already cold face. Q'enqo was quite different than the other 3 sites; it was carved out of stone instead of being built from stones. There were references to the snake, the puma, and the condor within the site. I would learn in the upcoming days what these animals symbolized, and the importance to the local culture.

Sacsayhuaman was the most impressive, and mostly because of the magnitude. The site is constructed of enormous black granite stones. The majority of the stones were taller than me, and several feet thick. To think that these stones were moved by hand is to leave one in awe. No electricity, no cranes, no hydraulics - only teamwork and a lot of brute force.

After grabbing a bit of apple pie (I don't think that this is a native Peruvian dish), I went over to Q'ente Adventure Tours, to meet my guide and get all of the information about the upcoming 7 days. Raul, my guide, gave me an overview of our trek and answered a lot of my questions. We would be joined by another couple tomorrow, and they would be trekking with us for the duration of the trip to Machu Picchu.