Chilling at Cusco & Saksayaman
Day 6
After one day's worth of labour intensive work (aka climbing up Montana to see Machu Picchu), we decided to use this day to rest. There is still much to see in Cusco, including the Museum of Archaeology of Qorikancha and the Santo Domingo church.
The Incans believe in 3 sacred animals. The 3 animals are depicted in the garden below and they are the Puma, Snake and Condor.
This is inside the museum, which showcases Incan's great masonry technology.
In Cusco, you need to negotiate the taxi cab driver for a fixed price. Through my awesome negotiation skills, I was able to get the driver to take us to the top of a nearby peak and get an aerial view of the city. Thankfully, the driver was honest and didn't leave us stranded at the top - we were subsequently brought back down.
This is the white Jesus statue at the top of the city (Christo Blanco). This is the small version of the Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro.
Nearby Cusco is an Incan ruin called Saksaywaman. Buildings inside the ruin are all destroyed, so it is basically a large field of dirt. We didn't pay to get in and we only wandered on the outside wall. This is the location of the last battle between the Incans and the Spaniards.
As you can see below, the rocks fit nicely together. Even scientists from NASA could not explain how the Incans place the stones nicely together with the technology back then.
Do not mistaken this. This rainbow flag does not represent gay pride in Peru, although Peru's perception of LBGT is pretty open. In fact, this flag is an Incan flag that represents the legacy of the Incan Empire and the Andean movement.
