Sun 14th Dec: Cusco

Yesterday afternoon, during a period while my stomach had briefly settled down, I went to the kitchen to make

a cup of soup. Two of the girls who work in the hostel enquired how I was suspecting I had altitude sickness. I told then I wasn´t good. They recommended tea made from Coca leaves. They were busy running around the place but friendly and curious to find out where I was from. After some mugs of this Coca tea from the girls I was confident I would be ok in the morning.

When I awoke this morning I did feel better. I had a cup of tea and went out to see Cusco. Walking down narrow, cobbled street you could feel the sense of history in the place. It was exciting. Cusco was the capital of the vast Inca empire which reached its zenith in the 14th and 15th centuries AD. 14 Incas ruled from Cusco over the centuries. Each adding knew features, temples etc to the city. Much in the same way that Roman emperors did with Rome. The INca empire eventually spanned modern Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and parts of Argentina and Chile. A period of Civil war heralded the arrival of the spanish conquistadores under Francisco Pizarro. The situation was exploited by Pizarro and brought about the rapid collapse of the empire.

The spaniards gained control of Cusco after a massacre of the INca army around the citadel od Saqsaywaman, a vast ritual site crowning a hilltop overlooking the town, barel 400m from my hostel. After this victory the Spaniards consolidated their control over Cusco and extended their influence over the region. Inca resistance was futile when faced with the latest in European weaponry. Under the spanish Cusco became a backwater as they established their capital at Lima on the coast.

Today the old town of Cusco retains its original street plan with many of the buildings resting on original inca structures or their foundations. Many lower portions of buildings today exhibit the distinctive Inca tradition of carved stone walls. The knowledge of this technique is now lost. Cusco is an attractive town with roofs of red tiles marking a notable change from the corrugated iron rooves of Argentina and Chile.

Looking around the historic sites marked a change from recent physical activities. Walking around town felt strenuous enough. I was still suffering the effect of the bug. In fact I hadn´t recovered at all and I was overdoing my exertions. I felt tired, lethargic, wholly lacking in energy. I went into an "Irish pub", Rosie O´Grady´s and saw they did a mixed grill. On this occasion my stomach cried out for some familiar food, comfort food. I hadn´t eaten in 24hrs. When the dish was delivered to me I woolfed it down hungrily, washing it down with 2 glasses of local beer. By 6pm I was back in my room, exhausted. By 7pm it was back at Montezuma´s 4th of July parade. Whizz, Bang, Splatter!!!