PERU 2000 – IN THE PLACE OF THE LAST STAND OF THE INCA – PART V

Our next day in Cusco consisted of tours around the local Inca ruins. The main one being Sacsayhuaman just outside of the city. It is possible, that this site, was a fortress, probably predating the time of the Incas. Some of the stones used in it’s construction, weighed in excess of 200 tonnes. The Inca, did not utilize the wheel, tools were made of bronze and there were no known pieces of mechanical equipment. They were moved, lifted and set in place, without the use of the wheel, or anything other than manual labour. We also visited the Inca baths, just outside of Cusco where it is said that the Royal Family, of the Inca, came to frolic. These bathes were carved into a solid rock wall that contained a spring which fed the bathes with fresh water and still does today.

On the day after our return from Machu Picchu, P invited us to join him and his family for dinner in a local restaurant. We happily agreed and were very excited. P selected a restaurant, within walking distance of our hotel. We were met in the lobby of our hotel, at the agreed time, and escorted to the restaurant. It was a very traditional place and offered live Peruvian entertainment for our enjoyment. I guess what I noticed most was that there were few patrons in the restaurant, even though it was 8:00 at night, in the centre of this busy, tourist city. Additionally, as the time passed, the patrons that were inside the restaurant finished and left. No new patrons were seated. It then dawned on me, that P had reserved the whole restaurant for our visit.

I noticed, also a few, strategically placed, plain clothes men, seemingly loitering in the shadows and at the exits of the restaurant. Looking closely, you could see that they were obviously carrying concealed weapons. Once again, I realized that this was security from the base, meant to ensure that nothing happened to P or his family as we dined. I personally found it comforting, and do not know if the others had noticed. We discussed it later, and realized, that this was life, for an important figure in Peru, at that time. On exiting the restaurant, we also noticed that the block, between us and the hotel had been cleared of pedestrians. A military vehicle was parked at each end of the street. I found this truly amazing and began to understand, just how influential Deysi’s cousin had become.

The dinner itself was spectacular. the conversation, was lively and everyone had great fun. Once again P and Joni were gracious hosts. They were very curious about Deysi’s travels around the world, and about her family that now, resided in Canada. I again, babbled away in broken Spanish. Our hosts smiled patiently at my feeble efforts and pretended that they understood exactly what I was talking about. They even laughed at my jokes. The dinner was accompanied with live entertainment, consisting of Quechua maidens dressed in colourful, traditional garb, dancing with Quechua men also in the costume of the Andes. They were accompanied by a band, playing music from the Andes. It was enchanting! All too soon the evening ended and we were escorted back to our hotel. It was surreal.

During the course of the evening P offered us a guided tour of some local ruins near Cusco, for the following day. We were a bit overwhelmed with his generosity, however neither him or Joni would take “no” for an answer. They were extremely gracious. You could see very clearly, just who was used to being in charge. P was intelligent, funny, but very, very much in control of his surroundings. People seemed to move when he spoke. He left no room for argument as he flooded us with hospitality. Joni also exuded a very confident image. While P may have been “in charge” while at work, there was no question who was in charge at home. We thanked them and accepted their offer of a guided tour for the next day.

Once again, exactly at the appointed time we were met in the lobby, by an officer of senior rank. He introduced himself and told us, that he would be pleased to show us around the local area. The nephew of Joni, and his son, also accompanied us on this tour. Everyone was so happy, that they did not have to have me as their tour guide, for one day, at least. We piled into a large military van, with driver and embarked on a wonderful day of guided touring. I must say, this officer, knew as much as me, about the local history! You think? For me it was a most wonderful tour. I decided there and then, that I could get used to being treated as royalty, very, very easily.

The first stop took us to the ruins at Ollantytambo in The Sacred Valley. This spot was the site of a major religious, agricultural and military centre. Located about 45 km north of Cusco it served as a defensive site for the Inca in Cusco. It was here that the Peruvian defenders, faced the Spanish Conquistadors in the last main battle of the war of conquest. Sadly, the Inca forces were pushed back and never really recovered from their defeat at Ollantytambo. Talk about bringing a knife to a gunfight. The Inca’s warriors had spears and rocks. The Spanish brought guns and horses. It was not ever a fair fight. The Inca still believed in honor even in war. Meanwhile the conquistadores used deceit, trickery, treachery and dishonour to divide and conquer.

It was a spectacular site. I know I say that, about everything I see in Peru, however, it is all very true. You run out of superlatives, after a short time in Peru. Sometimes, it even had ol’ Jimbored at a loss for words. Not! At the time of our visit, Ollantytambo, was not a well published tourist site. Therefore, my expectations were not high. However, upon arriving here, this site jumps out at you. All I could think was “Geezus!” We got unloaded from our van and prepared to tackle another site that is truly humbling. My first thought was, “how in hell did they do this?” Remember they had no wheel, bronze and stone tools only, and no pack animals, other than Llamas. And the Llama was not real cooperative, when it came to carrying anything. It would just as likely spit, green slime, on you, as carry something.

What I remember most was our guide, walking past all the tourists waiting in line, to the very front. He stuck his head in the door of the ticket booth, barked out a few words, and motioned us to follow him inside. As we bypassed the crowd, people looked at us to determine who we were to deserve such treatment. I guess they must have figured out that I was some kind of famous movie star (like Brad Pitt, maybe), but they just couldn’t put their finger on it. Surely, they viewed the others as part of my entourage. I smiled broadly as the tourist cameras snapped shots. At least, in my memory I did! We entered the ruins and spent 2 hours climbing around this magnificent stone monument. As always, the Inca era stonework was incredible.

From Ollantytambo, we continued down The Sacred valley. this area was the breadbasket of the Inca. It consists of a wide flood plain, with extremely fertile soil. The valley floor was a patchwork of farms. Unbelievable, still comes to mind. Along the valley walls Quechua terracing remains still in use. It ensures that every inch of arable land is utilized by the local farmer. Somewhere along the floor of the Sacred Valley it came lunchtime. We had requested Chicharron for lunch, and sure enough, soon we were pulled up in front of a local restaurant. There were no signs on the building fronts along the Main Street of this Village. However, according to the driver, each residence that offered a service to the public, displayed their service with a coloured flag on the side of the home. White might mean Pisco (firewater), Blue could be Chicha (Quechua beer), Yellow perhaps Cuy, and Red maybe Chicharron.

For those of you that do not know the Peruvian Chicharron let me describe it for you. Next to the Papa la Huancayina and Cuy, the Chicharron is my all-time favourite dish. It consists of large chunks (maybe 3x3x3 inch cubes) of Pork or Chancho, with a rind layer attached on one side, slow cooked over an open fire, for hours until the rind or fat was a crispy, crunchy golden layer. The meat inside was tender and delicious. It is paired with a “cauterizing” hot rocoto sauce, that would linger in your memory as it passed thru. The liquid accompaniment was Anisado, a liquorice flavoured drink, reputed to help “cut the grease” from the chicharrones. Each order came accompanied by, at least 2 kilos of roasted potatoes. One order would have fed us all. But we got one order each! Possibly the best meal ever! Or have I said that before?

We were finally finished this wonderful tour of Peru, in the year 2000. It had been absolutely, a fulfillment of my dream, to take someone from outside Peru, to see the wonders that I had become enthralled with. To have dedicated travellers, such as The Kiwi and C with us, and to have them in a situation where they could not escape my endless history lessons, was magic. Well, it was for me at least. Our guests flew from Cusco to Lima and then directly home to the DC area. Deysi and Ange returned to Arequipa to spend a few more days with Papi, on his vacation. Alas though, I had to return to work, in order to fuel the coffers, with dinero. And, of course to provide some nurturing to Ron, who was eagerly awaiting my return home. Now that’s no bullshit! In my next posts I will return to our final time in Scotland. See you there.