Peru, Part III: Pisac

Up close and personal with a Mama LLama (see baby feeding)

Following our wonderful trip to Machu Picchu, we decided to explore another Inkan historical site, Pisac, which is about an hour outside of Cuzco.


On the drive there, however, we came across an animal shelter for rescued and abused animals and decided to make a quick stop. Two hours later, we left having had a super experience, learning about a number of animals native to the Andes, like the llama (and its cousins the alpaca and the vicuna) and condors, and shopping for native handicrafts.

Giant condor strutting its stuff

 Like most tourists to Peru, we were fascinated and charmed by llamas.  At the sanctuary, we were allowed to pet them and have our photos taken with them.

The alpacas are less friendly and the vicunas downright hostile; they are actually very aggressive and often will attack the much bigger llamas and alpacas, not to mention their human caretakers and visitors if you're not careful.

Traditional Loom, Lovely Weaver

The most interesting part of the sanctuary tour was getting up close and personal with a condor.
They are magnificent animals with a wing span of close to 10 feet--we never thought we would have the opportunity to see them fly and feed.

Having been raised in captivity, the ones we saw have little fear of humans, so we were able be in the same enclosure with them, little more than 10 feet away.  It was a once in a lifetime experience.

Being good marketers, they had us finish the sanctuary tour at the gift shop, watching one of the local women weave and then being offered the opportunity to purchase local handmade crafts.

Who could resist--the proceeds help support the sanctuary as well as the local indigenous population.  Baby alpaca wool is so soft and luxurious feeling that once you touch it, you want to wrap your neck with it.

One of many farming terraces at Pisac

But we needed to press on to Pisac, our original destination. Whereas Machu Picchu served as a religious and learning center for the elites, Pisac was a farming community that provided food for both Cuzco and Machu Picchu.

The ruins are impressive, but even more so are the terraced fields--four giant ones, all facing the east, so they get the more gentle morning sun.  

Trekkers

The Inkas brought water through elaborate irrigation systems from springs and watered the entire area, providing crops all year round.



Like at Machu Picchu, the incredible walls and buildings of huge, elaborately fitted together stones are still awe-inspiring and very much intact some four hundred years later.

In the cliffs above the site, the Inkas buried their dead.  The hillside is honeycombed with hundreds of cave-like openings to the graves (long since looted, of course), but impressive to see. 

Luther played his pan pipes for us--a mesmerizing experience

Why there?  It seems that the winds blow almost constantly from the East, up the mountain cooling and drying the area, providing a natural air-conditioning to preserve and keep the mummified bodies. 

Our guide was a young man named Luther.  He was born in the area to a campesino family, and had a compelling life story.

One day when he was about ten, he was selling water and soda to tourists at the entrance to the site.  A French woman tourist asked him what he was doing and when he told her, she asked if he would not rather be in school.  

He told her yes, but he had to help support his family.  

Spot the traditional Inkan. Plus Erin has on an official police hat which she received as a gift at one of her meetings.  It caused a stir wherever we went, including people asking to have their picture taken with her or with the hat.

She then went with him to talk with his father and offered to pay for his schooling. With his father's blessing, she proceeded to support him and his education for the next decade.  Luther finished school and then went to university.  Through an exchange program,  he worked in Brazil learning about medicinal plants that are used to treat cancers and other diseases. 

He has now returned home, has a family of his own, works as a licensed tour guide and also works in his community to grow and market medicinal plants.

He loves Pisac and its history which made for a very interesting and informative guide.


 

Inkan precise construction with feeble attempts to restore at the top  

Remains of a wall--compare stone sizes with people in front

 On our return to Cuzco, our driver had us stop at an Inka ruin site, just outside of town. This site was a military installation that guarded Cuzco and Pisac.

The Inka Empire did not have a static history. They won and forged the empire through fighting and subduing other peoples and all through their history, had to fight others who wanted to rebel or conquer them.

Overview of Cuzco

Near the site, there was a lookout or mirador where you can look down on Cuzco.

It was very clear to see the colonial parts of the city (the center part with all of the red tile roofs) and the newer part of the city.

Machu Picchu and Cuzco were named world heritage sites in the 1980's and since that time Cuzco has grown tremendously, and, of course, not all of the growth has been for the best.

We are ending the blog with two videos, the first of the Pisac area and the second of the condor we saw at the Sanctuary.  These video are not viewable if you are viewing the blog from your email, but if go directly to the Two for the Road blog, you should be able to see them.