Cuzco

We flew from Arequipa to Cuzco early Friday morning. Thanks to Marriott points we were able to check in before noon. They said we had an upgraded room. We were confused when they led us to the basement.  We have a suite and the walls are inca foundations.  Apparently this place was an Incan palace. Then the spanish, as they tend to do, built a convent on top of the Incan foundations. Recently Marriott turned it into a hotel. 

We dropped off our bags and headed out to explore the city. 

In the main square there was a parade of school children. Many schools were represented. The children all marched (goose stepped) past a review stand. It was fun to watch. 

We explored San Pedro market. Not As vibrant or clean as the arequipa market but still fun. 

Had lunch at a Chinese restaurant. I find it interesting to explore diferent cultures interpretations of ethnic food. Will enjoyed his with a chicha morada. 

I find the balconies here interesting. You can find one like this in Cairo, Turkey or Spain. 

We ran into a small pack of alpacas plus one llama. The one on the back looked like he was posing for a Disney movie. 

We followed a walking tour from Lonely Planet. We found the famous 12 sided rock. The masonry is really amazing. 

We walked up to San Blas square. The "bohemian" area. We visited some interesting galleries and enjoyed the square for a while. 

We decided that since we were half way up the hill we would continue our climb up to Sacsyhuaman. This is a preincan/Incan fortress on top of a hill over looking Cuzco. Many of the smaller stones were taken by the spanish to build their buildings in town. But you can see what's left is pretty amazing. These stones are huge and placed perfectly. The work was amazing. 

View of the city from on top. 

We hiked back to our hotel room, got cleaned up then enjoyed another delicious meal at a french restaurant. Will took great pictures of our meal. He will have to post about that.