City tour – 6 June

After a chat with Paul, we decided to do the “City tour” on our own. The organised tour is very rushed. 2pm-6pm and see 4 sites, with a bunch of other (usually old) people. No thanks. This “tour” covers the 4 ruins that are closest to Cusco. All within walking distance. We figured if we needed some info, we could get a guide at the gate. If he was any good, we’d asking him to show us the other ruins too.

Sacsayhuaman is the first and our idea of finding a guide kind of back fired. Oh we got a guide…THE WORST GUIDE IN THE WORLD! Hands down. This guy’s English was bad, even though he said he could speak it, but his Spanish was probably just as bad. Those of you who know me, I like asking questions. Tricky questions. I want to know the detail. We checked with another guide, who I’ll mention later, and our guide was way off the mark. At one stage he accused Carolina of trying to trick him by asking a difficult question (yes I asked her to ask in Spanish). I almost lost it.
I posted a photo of the guy, can’t remember his name, so if you see him…RUN!

So needless to say we didn’t ask him along or get a guide at the next site, Quenqo. Plus it looked simple enough and we had fun making up our own interpretation. Lot of fun, but as we would find out VERY wrong! :)

Puca pucara was where we met Lucho. He was an anthropologist who now acted as a tour guide. BEST GUIDE IN THE WORLD! Instead of focussing on money, he started with a 3min intro about the site. For FREE! Nothing is free around Cusco! This was big. After his intro, he offered a more in depth tour for a tip. But I didn’t mind. I got a good vibe from him & he was really jacked up with his answers. Always calm and explained well…in English (he thought his English to be bad, not so). He told us that the info we got and thought up at the other sites were wrong. He was prepared with pictures and all.

We liked him so much we asked him to come with us to Tambomachay, the last site. Of course we set a price before :) He was so passionate about his explanations it was difficult not to get engrossed in the history. It was Lucho that really got our understanding going about the Inca ruins. They didn’t just build walls that are masterfully crafted and beautiful, but they made images with the rocks! Yes, look in the photo below.
There is an arm that is outstretched with a Condor just above. Admittedly these are difficult to see if I can’t point at them. A hunt for you :)

Oh I forgot to mention our travel up and down the hill. There is a bus that runs up & down the hill for tourists. We missed it, so stuck out our thumb. 3min and we had a lift! This was a guy in a double cab bakkie (pickup). On the way down we got a lift in an ambulance! Not because we were injured, but because the staff were friendly. We had a bit of a chat with the nurse (remember her for later).

As the day ended, we were very happy how the day ended.

 
Sacsayhuaman: “Pillow type” construction. Huge rocks. Imagine fitting them! – THE WORST GUIDE IN THE WORLD! – The sun gate

  
Sacsayhuaman: Posing – The “zig-zag” wall

Quenqo: The offering room – Random dolls in the tree. WTF?

Puca Pucara: Entrance. See the double frame? Depicts an important place – Lucho at a stone model of Machu Picchu. BEST GUIDE IN THE WORLD!

Tambomachay: The ritual place. See the hand & condor? Condor is in flight, looking left. Hand just below. – One of the few sites where the water system still works.

Looking down on Cusco

THE TOUR GUIDE TEST: After our experience I put together a few simple questions to ask a tour guide before you sign up for his/her tour.

• What is the significance of the “Pillow type” wall? See the first picture. (They are used a site that has religious/spiritual meaning. Most important site for the Inca’s).
• Why is a doorway build with a double frame and in trapezium form? See picture above. (Double frame = Very important entrance. Found at religious/spiritual sites. Trapezium forces you to pass sideways or bend down = Reminds you to be humble. You can’t just barge in.
• Why did the king wear a big metal “shield” or “disk” on his chest? (Reflects the sun back to the earth, thus giving back).

I’m sure there are more, but your guide should know this.