We left Arequipa early on Friday and flew to Cusco. Above is a photo taken from the window of the plane. You can see the Andes Mountains. With the exception of Lima, all of the cities we went to in Peru were much higher in elevation than we are used to. Arequipa is 7661 ft. above sea level and Cusco is 11,200 ft above sea level. Steve was very wise in planning our trip to make sure that we took the altitude increase a step at a time. It is a common problem for people visiting the area to suffer from altitude sickness because of the dramatic loss of oxygen. We really didn't notice the elevation much in Arequipa, but definitely noticed how much harder it was to walk up hills or climb stairs once we got to Cusco. With the exception of some headaches we did pretty well as far as adjustment, though.
Throughout Peru we learned of the animals that the people consider to be sacred. Some of these are the condor, the puma, the llama, and the snake. I put this map in to show what one of our guides told us about the layout of the city of Cusco.
When Inca Pachacuteq rebuilt the city of Cusco, he did so in the shape of a puma (symbol of strength). Astronomers were consulted to determine the best sites for sanctuaries to ensure that they would align with the stars. The main square - what is Plaza de Armas today - was placed where the heart of the puma would be. The hill that corresponded to where the puma's head would be became the walled complex of Sacsaywaman.
There were many things that we loved in Cusco, but our first day there was "a bit rough". When we arrived at our hotel we were greeted very warmly and given a little breakfast. The hotel was very unique in that it was a collection of little rooms and building connected by MANY STAIRS. We had read about this in the review, but decided it would be an adventure. That it was!!! As you can see in the photo above, it was beautiful, but by the time you got to your room you were exhausted.
Some of the landings on the stairs of our hotel had wonderful views. Here you can see the tile roofs that really distinguish this beautiful city. After being in the white city of Arequipa, it was a marked change. Some of the architecture looked almost like something you would see in Bavaria. It was beautiful.
We started our day by going to the Plaza de Armas to secure our train tickets we would need in a few days to go to Machu Picchu. The train ticket office was located here. We saw these little children traveling up some stairs in the square.
The Basilica Cathedral
We then went to the cathedral but found that there was an admission to go in. We decided to wait and see what other things we could see for free before we paid for this particular church. But because of the huge tourist presence here, we found that most things that were free in other cities had a charge connected to them here. Here are Megan and I on the steps of the cathedral. 
La Iglesia de la Compania (Jesuit Church also on the plaza)
This is looking from the heart of the Puma toward the head of the Puma. The city slopes up on two sides which makes for a lot of stairs and steep streets.
After getting our tickets and looking around the Plaza, we decided to locate the Cocoa Museo (Chocolate Museum). On the way, Meg and I spotted this lady with her lamb on a leash...so cute.
The museum was a small little place, but very fun. Here is Steve checking out some of the many beans used to make chocolate
Here is a group that was doing some kind of hands on chocolate making/tasting tour.
This woman was putting different ingredients like nuts into the molds that would then be part of the chocolate bars they were making. The molds were in the shape of the famous Inca Wall in Cusco.
No caption needed......YUMMMMMM!!!
The little package of truffles that we bought
One of our favorite kinds
After the Cocoa Museum we walked toward the big town market. We passed through this secondary plaza on our way...Plaza de San Francisco. I thought it was much prettier than the main
Plaza de Armas.
So here was one of the first things we saw on our visit to the market. I must admit that the meat section brought back memories of the meat section of the market in Omsk, Russia...kinda scary!!! No, I do not know what is in that bucket next to Senor Oink.
Megan loved the frutas.....
...so much that she took this photo for her computer background
Very pretty!!!
Here are Steve and Megan demonstrating how to eat one of Steve's favorite Peruvian fruits...chirimoya. We bought these at the market. It is difficult to describe since there is really nothing like it in the USA. As you can see it has a green outer peel and a white flesh. It is very sweet and has big black seeds (which you can see launching out of Meg's mouth below. Steve says they make wonderful ice cream out of chirimoya but, unbelievably, we never tasted any while we were there. Thanks for the demo, guys!
I couldn't see Steve's seed...can you find it?
Ladies selling their wares outside the main market.
After visiting the market, we wandered a little trying to decide what we should do next. We got a little snack and a drink since we were getting thirsty.
Next we headed up a little street called the Hatun Rumiyoc. This street contains the famous rock of twelve angles. The Inca craftsman built these buildings out of stone that was carved so carefully to fit together that no mortar was needed or used. This particular stone is an amazing example of that method of building.
Further up the street we came across these ladies and their llama.
Here are Megan and I standing against another amazing stone wall. There was a little girl there who was selling postcards of the wall with certain stones darkened to show animals shapes. She showed us a snake and a llama if I recall correctly (and sold us two postcard, of course).
Bracelets, bracelets, bracelets!!!!!
At this point of the day we made a bad decision. This is the view leading up the hill away from the plaza. We knew that the hostel we had arranged for a few days later was up this hill. They had actually bought our entry tickets for us to Machu Picchu because we were unable to do that online. We decide to go find the hotel so that we could see it and also get the tickets from them. Lets just say it was more of a hike than we anticipated. We got the tickets and also determined we were not interested in staying there when we returned to Cusco in a few days. But by the time we then hiked and climbed our way back to our hotel...WE WERE EXHAUSTED!!! Between having to pay for every little thing, the altitude, our death walk, and (I suspect) being hungry and thirsty, we were not too thrilled with Cusco at that moment...especially Megan and me. We wanted to go back to Arequipa. :)
We were welcomed by more stairs at the hotel...grrrrr, went to our room and crashed for a few hours.
Steve, the calmer head among us, talked us into heading out that evening to get some dinner. That turned out to be an adventure, as well, but at that point, after getting some rest, we were able to laugh at it instead of getting annoyed. So, here is one of the funny stories from dinner. It corresponds to the photo below....
We asked for a pitcher of lemonade at dinner. We wanted it "helada" which means served cold. When the server brought the drink it looked like this...with most of it looking like a milky foam. We asked the waiter..."What is this?" to which he replied, "Lemonade." But Megan persisted...."No, what is this?(pointing to the milky frothy part).
The waiter then proceeded to tell us using words and hand gestures that the lemonade has been whipped in a blender with ice to make it cold. The whipping had produced the froth at the top. After being initially cautious, we went on to enjoy the best lemonade we had in Peru. YAY!!
We also tried some anticuchos which is beef heart on a stick (Steve ate most of that, but Megan and I did try it, too.) He used to buy these all the time from vendors on the street
Here is brave Meg giving them a try....and thus ended our first day in Cusco. Whew!!
The next day we hired a taxi and headed out to the four ruins located near the city of Cusco.
Here is Steve at Tambomachay.
Jill and Megan looking out over the valley from Puca Pucara
Megan poses in one of the caverns along the hills of Puca Pucara
An ancient alter inside the ruins at Quenko
We had a great guide at the ruins of Sacsayhuaman. He spoke English fairly well and had some great insights into the various parts of the ancient, amazing fortress. He would always say, "Seriously, you're on vacation" to encourage us to stop and make sure we were taking all the right photos and learning all we needed to about the site.
Megan in one of the tunnels at Sacsayhuanman
Check this out. Our guide insisted that Steve pose with his profile to illustrate the carved rock in which the seat is carved. If you look closely, you will see a profile of a face carved in the rock, too.
Steve on the "Inca slides" These were huge sections of rocks that had been lifted and turned on their sides during tectonic activity. The layers of the rock were then in a vertical rather than a horizontal position and the locals can come come one day a week an use them as slides. We were at the right place at the right time, I guess. :)
Megan gives it a try....it was a pretty fast ride
No, I did not try the slides....but I did pose at the bottom.
Looking across to the zig-zag pattern of the multi-leveled fortress walls
The Puma paw print
Steve stands in one of the entryways - Notice how thick the walls are
Can you spot the llama (he is not standing, but rather sitting on the ground
The size of the rocks used in constructing this amazing place was awesome. This pose was one suggested by our helpful guide.
Megan at Sacsayhuaman
Megan with some alpacas at the Sacsayhuaman site
After coming back to Cusco, Megan was anxious to check one of the things off her list that she definitely wanted to do in Peru. This was to try Cuy (fried guinea pig). Guinea pig has been a well known favorite of the locals in Peru for centuries. This particular restaurant even served the little rascal with a tomato hat on his head and holding a pepper in his mouth. I was surprised at Megan's sense of adventure and had told her that I didn't think I would try it, but actually joined in and gave it a try, too. Guess what....yep....taste's just like chicken.
Here is a front shot of "Pepito"
Megan holding him up for a photo...(Thankfully the nice waiter took him away after this shot and did the carving which made it much easier to eat)
Also in Cusco, we visited the site known as Koricancha. This is the ancient Inca temple of the sun. It was an especially interesting site because it not only has the old Inca temple, but also a cathedral built on top of the ancient site in later years. Above is a view from the temple down to the surrounding grounds.
Megan and I on the Inca terraces surrounding the ancient structure. You can see the cathedral on top of the Inca walls
Steve poses near the most holy part of the ancient temple
The courtyard of the cathedral built over the Koricancha temple
After touring Koricancha, we decided to walk several blocks an find the LDS chapel. This chapel was at this location when Steve served his mission in Cusco over 30 years ago. It had been remodeled, but was still in the same spot. We arrived at about dusk. The gate was open so we went in and found out that they were having the priesthood session of stake conference. The following day (Sunday) would be the general session of the conference.
We took a photo of this poster on the bulletin board about the conference.
That night we also attended a cultural celebration which featured music and dance from the different Peruvian people. The costumes were amazing.
We finished our evening with a delightful dinner of fondue. Delicious!!
Yum!!!!
Outside the chocolate museum in Cusco
On Sunday afternoon we left Cusco via taxi and headed for the Sacred Valley. It was about a two hour drive. We had planned to stay two nights in Ollantaytambo. This would serve as our base to visit Machu Picchu the next day. Our trip through the mountains and high plains was beautiful. As we drove, Steve spoke to our taxi driver. Although Meg and I don't speak Spanish, we were getting better and better at being able to understand what the conversation was about as Steve spoke to the native people. I heard Steve ask the driver if he knew where the Mormon church was in Urubamba, which we would travel through on our way to Ollantaytambo. As they spoke, we learned that this man was actually a less active member of the church. He took us to our destination and also offered to come back in two days and take us back to Cusco via the sacred valley. We ended up taking him up on the offer which turned out to be a great blessing for us. But that is a story to be told later.
Overlooking the city of Urubamba with a little Peruvian friend
I know we went through pictures when you guys were up here, but it seems like there were a ton here that we didn't see! So fun!
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