Anyway, I went to see the ruins I didn't get to visit on the day I saw Pisaq. I was very happy to find that my legs were functioning after the grueling climb, so I went back to my $1 bus towards Pisaq, and got off at Tombomachay, the furthest and highest of the four sites- peaking at 3700m. From there, I would walk 8km, 5miles, downhill back to Cuzco, stopping at the other three sites along the way: Pucapucara, Qenco, and my favorite name, Sacsaywaman, pronounced like 'sexy woman'.
All the sites were impressive, and I'll admit I was feeling a bit cocky about having conquered the previous day, and had zero qualms about climbing any of these sites. The day started out beautiful and sunny, and I was just eating it all up.
They're all interesting. Tombomachay was a bath, and the fountains still flow, which is pretty remarkable. Pucapucara was a hunting lodge, Qenco was used for animal sacrifices and Sacsaywaman was a fort involved in many battles between the Incas and Spanish.
On my way to Sacsaywaman, I stopped to ask a man if I was following the right path which led to a 20 minute conversation about where I'm from, how I learned to speak Spanish, and my favorite question every Peruvian asks me, "pero, no esta tranquila?" Yes, it is lonely traveling sola. "Pero mis amigos y los Americanos no quieren viajar, y yo tengo que viajar, me gusto mucho, es para mi salud. Entonces, viajo sola."
He expressed distaste for what the Spanish had done to Sacsaywaman, explaining that they had no respect for the culture or religion here, and yet they came over and completely took over Cuzco, offering it only, as he put it, terrible, ugly buildings.
Anyway by the time I got to Sacsaywaman I was blessed with yet another thunderstorm, but this one got me soaked through to the skin leaving with me a terrible chill. The site is massive and yet it is only 30% of what was originally there. I understood what the man had meant regarding his distaste. So much had been destroyed by the conquistadores so that they could use the stones to build their houses. One of the most intact structures that remains is the massive cross that was laid right at the peak, overlooking all of Cuzco. Like ha, mother fuckers, we are here and we got this.
I was once again beyond exhausted from the walking, climbing, and raining, so by the time I finished this site, I took a taxi back to the Mercado San Pedro for a huge, delicious bowl of chicken soup. Totally worked for the soul.
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