DiVinci Code.. I mean Cusco history
15-2-11
SO I begin my excellent day. Starts with a fruit salad. Thanks G-Mama Carolina.. And by 11am Im off.. I being with the search for a laundrymat- quick note.. Im sorry people, but when you tell a GRINGA, the laundramate is just two blocks up the hill and to the right, she is going to walk two block (even tho they are super huge blocks) and then turn to the right, but if really you mean, all the way up the hill to the next main road and to the right... you should say that and save people sometime.. but I wasnt so lucky this time, so I walked two blocks turned right and found noooo laundrymat and the people I asked didnt seem to know where one was either, but luckly I found one right next to a photo-op... A daycare called "PIMPALITOS" really? little pimps? Im sure its not the same in spanish, but in english it sure is funny.. Okay- Laundry dropped off=CHECK...
Then I took the road less travelled into the town center, aka PLAZA de Armas. This road is great.. its its old school brick, and every corner has people selling something, be it corn (CHOCLO), Peruvian empanadas, gloves, hats, bread or mas.. you name it, its there.. Then I arrived to a really skinny street, a one way with a tiny area for peatones (pedestrains).. seriously tiny, two ppl cant fit and if a car is coming you just have to with.. is narrow and winding, and at first glance, it looks like there is not much there, but looks can be trickery... and this road turns out to be sprinkled with hostels and bakeries and suitmakers- thats right a little old man in a little suit shop... it was priceless- I bet he makes a bomb traje for a real good precio.. and everything is about a half a story below the sidewalk and they are each tucked away and delightful. Okay.. my destination is the San Pedro Market- Im looking for little recuerdos and instead of going to the bigger market I stumble upon a littler one..
This mini mercado de artisania has about 5 individual vendors. 1st I spy these peruvian good luck key chains that I really wanted to find.. they are made of jungle seeds and they are for good luck, but you can buy them for yourself. You can only give them- thats how it works. And they were only about 3 s/. each, so I grab them all... Then I find my peru flag patch and some naughty pre-incan playing cards and then move on to the 2nd vendor. This women is really nice, and she really wanted me to buy my gifts from her. Okay Im sold...so I get legwarmers, a hat, 2 scarfs, a shawl, a baby wrap, a flute for about 20$ ... Then the next lady, I didnt really want anything else, but she sold me TWO pairs of baby slippers for 6 dollars... these are llama wool baby slippers for cheap cheap cheap... dont ask why I got baby slippers, but Ill tell you one thing, you would have too.. they are soo cute and little and fuzzy. ugh! But the best one came last...
So I was about to leave the mini mercado when I saw there was one more tienda in the back that didnt seem to have the same type of "stuff" and WELL turns out Mister Yonaton Aybar Zamora is a leathersmith and he makes sandals and he agrees to make me sandals.. to my foot! My choices. Custom sandals for 50s/. thats like $18.. so he draws my foot on a piece of paper and I pick out the colors I want and well they are awesome... I picked them up a couple days later and they are light and colorful yet pleasant and custom. SO after my purchases I must return home for a bite of lunch before I head out on the City Tour...
Now I really wasnt soo jazzed about this tour.. I was thinking.. "umm I just kinda wanna go to Machu Picchu" and yeah.. but boy am I glad I went. First of all.. Percy and his guides are great.. it was all planned out so well.. a guide picks me up, brings me to the the other tour group and we are off (okay, actually it didnt go that smooth the first time because I forgot my money at home and needed to take a cab back to the house to get it.. but.. it would have gone smooth if I wasnt a ding dong) so I arrive a little late, but is all good... now our first stop is the catherdal. (like I said, I really wasnt down with this, buuuuttttt)... I opted for the spanish tour, and I catch right up... SO this church was build over an Incan stucture (their palace if you will) by the spanish- big suprise right? But the Incan people constructed it... so there is sooo much history and culture embedded within a CLEARLY Spanish Conquistador- CATHOLIC structure... I felt like I was reading the DiVinci CODE CUSCO- Id call my story... Legends of the hidden temple... Wait? .. is that copyrighted by Nickolodeon?
So there were tons of sercrets in the churchs and temples and well I would love to talk to you about it.. I just dont feel its approriate to tell these things on this forum because its like SPOILER ALERT.. and if you are halfway interested you should exit this site and go on Expedia or TACA or whichever airline you like to use and buy a ticket to PERU. The food the people the culture is amazing. So get on that. But really the Incans must have had help from Aliens.. because well if the structures then were so strong.. why to the people in the countrysides today make their homes out of mud? I mean.. they have to work all the time, and they are hard working and I understand that, but isnt there a better way.... havent we improved technology enough to allow people to not have dirt floors? I mean.. one rain in Cusco and everything is dirty.. like Wisconsin in the spring. Its still a great area and a beautiful country, but the poverity and differences between the haves and have nots is incrediable..
Okay.. where was I.. ahh yes.. city tour... So you buy this ticket and it gets you in to tons of natural areas- historic areas and thats what we did on the tour... We went to the Catherdal and Qorikancha, y Tambomachy, y Saqsayhuman. DAY ONE = awesome .. so the tour drops us off in the Plaza and I walk home.. I cruise the delightful back street, pick up my laundry and met Percy at the house to make the final payments on my Machu Picchu adventure.
Tomorrows plan- Valle Sagrado (16-2-11)
SO I begin my excellent day. Starts with a fruit salad. Thanks G-Mama Carolina.. And by 11am Im off.. I being with the search for a laundrymat- quick note.. Im sorry people, but when you tell a GRINGA, the laundramate is just two blocks up the hill and to the right, she is going to walk two block (even tho they are super huge blocks) and then turn to the right, but if really you mean, all the way up the hill to the next main road and to the right... you should say that and save people sometime.. but I wasnt so lucky this time, so I walked two blocks turned right and found noooo laundrymat and the people I asked didnt seem to know where one was either, but luckly I found one right next to a photo-op... A daycare called "PIMPALITOS" really? little pimps? Im sure its not the same in spanish, but in english it sure is funny.. Okay- Laundry dropped off=CHECK... 
Then I took the road less travelled into the town center, aka PLAZA de Armas. This road is great.. its its old school brick, and every corner has people selling something, be it corn (CHOCLO), Peruvian empanadas, gloves, hats, bread or mas.. you name it, its there.. Then I arrived to a really skinny street, a one way with a tiny area for peatones (pedestrains).. seriously tiny, two ppl cant fit and if a car is coming you just have to with.. is narrow and winding, and at first glance, it looks like there is not much there, but looks can be trickery... and this road turns out to be sprinkled with hostels and bakeries and suitmakers- thats right a little old man in a little suit shop... it was priceless- I bet he makes a bomb traje for a real good precio.. and everything is about a half a story below the sidewalk and they are each tucked away and delightful. Okay.. my destination is the San Pedro Market- Im looking for little recuerdos and instead of going to the bigger market I stumble upon a littler one..This mini mercado de artisania has about 5 individual vendors. 1st I spy these peruvian good luck key chains that I really wanted to find.. they are made of jungle seeds and they are for good luck, but you can buy them for yourself. You can only give them- thats how it works. And they were only about 3 s/. each, so I grab them all... Then I find my peru flag patch and some naughty pre-incan playing cards and then move on to the 2nd vendor. This women is really nice, and she really wanted me to buy my gifts from her. Okay Im sold...so I get legwarmers, a hat, 2 scarfs, a shawl, a baby wrap, a flute for about 20$ ... Then the next lady, I didnt really want anything else, but she sold me TWO pairs of baby slippers for 6 dollars... these are llama wool baby slippers for cheap cheap cheap... dont ask why I got baby slippers, but Ill tell you one thing, you would have too.. they are soo cute and little and fuzzy. ugh! But the best one came last...
So I was about to leave the mini mercado when I saw there was one more tienda in the back that didnt seem to have the same type of "stuff" and WELL turns out Mister Yonaton Aybar Zamora is a leathersmith and he makes sandals and he agrees to make me sandals.. to my foot! My choices. Custom sandals for 50s/. thats like $18.. so he draws my foot on a piece of paper and I pick out the colors I want and well they are awesome... I picked them up a couple days later and they are light and colorful yet pleasant and custom. SO after my purchases I must return home for a bite of lunch before I head out on the City Tour...
Now I really wasnt soo jazzed about this tour.. I was thinking.. "umm I just kinda wanna go to Machu Picchu" and yeah.. but boy am I glad I went. First of all.. Percy and his guides are great.. it was all planned out so well.. a guide picks me up, brings me to the the other tour group and we are off (okay, actually it didnt go that smooth the first time because I forgot my money at home and needed to take a cab back to the house to get it.. but.. it would have gone smooth if I wasnt a ding dong) so I arrive a little late, but is all good... now our first stop is the catherdal. (like I said, I really wasnt down with this, buuuuttttt)... I opted for the spanish tour, and I catch right up... SO this church was build over an Incan stucture (their palace if you will) by the spanish- big suprise right? But the Incan people constructed it... so there is sooo much history and culture embedded within a CLEARLY Spanish Conquistador- CATHOLIC structure... I felt like I was reading the DiVinci CODE CUSCO- Id call my story... Legends of the hidden temple... Wait? .. is that copyrighted by Nickolodeon?
So there were tons of sercrets in the churchs and temples and well I would love to talk to you about it.. I just dont feel its approriate to tell these things on this forum because its like SPOILER ALERT.. and if you are halfway interested you should exit this site and go on Expedia or TACA or whichever airline you like to use and buy a ticket to PERU. The food the people the culture is amazing. So get on that. But really the Incans must have had help from Aliens.. because well if the structures then were so strong.. why to the people in the countrysides today make their homes out of mud? I mean.. they have to work all the time, and they are hard working and I understand that, but isnt there a better way.... havent we improved technology enough to allow people to not have dirt floors? I mean.. one rain in Cusco and everything is dirty.. like Wisconsin in the spring. Its still a great area and a beautiful country, but the poverity and differences between the haves and have nots is incrediable..Okay.. where was I.. ahh yes.. city tour... So you buy this ticket and it gets you in to tons of natural areas- historic areas and thats what we did on the tour... We went to the Catherdal and Qorikancha, y Tambomachy, y Saqsayhuman. DAY ONE = awesome .. so the tour drops us off in the Plaza and I walk home.. I cruise the delightful back street, pick up my laundry and met Percy at the house to make the final payments on my Machu Picchu adventure.
Tomorrows plan- Valle Sagrado (16-2-11)
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