The letters of our thoughts are the ideas present in our mind before they come to realization . . . Thoughts that are, yet not felt . . . The words of the subconscious . . . of the soul . . .

These are the LETTERS OF MY THOUGHTS.

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Walk Like the Inca




On Thursday, Tzom Gedaliah, we went for a walk . . .

Despite the general fatigue of the fast, and the thin arid are of the city, we made the hike to Sacsayhuamán (Pronounced Saksay Waman -I kid you not), the Incan walls perched high above Cuzco.






We started at Plaza de Armas, the center of both the Incan Capital city of Cuzco, and the old Colonial town as well . . .
During our walks around the Plaza we've been hounded by children selling hats, ladies offering massages, men giving out fliers for clubs -and one guy who offered to sell us the "green stuff" or the "white stuff".

Despite the banter from the locals, the square is a very relaxing place to hang out -I personally would like to be able to set up a Sukkah there next week -we'll see what happens.





M. with local school children





Near the top of the stairs we stopped to take a few pictures on an outlook over the city's rooftops . . .









Another Swastika for my collection








 . . . Where we bumped into Eric from Flatbush, a friendly gentile who offered to take our group picture. (Tourists are always  pretty friendly and make for great conversation).

After the photo break, and the much needed chance to catch our breath, we went further up the stairs.





We made it to the top of the stairs . . . only to now have to walk up the winding road!






More locals in colored clothes




Petting a baby Alpaca




 . . . and the lady who said she used it's hair to make her goods



This lady wasn't as friendly, she wanted to be paid for her picture





And we made it to the wall!











We found a 'guide' named Jose, who offered to take us horseback riding for 25 Soles a person (that's 8.31 USD a person for the hour)


On my horse Santiago (It's not a pony, and in any event they don't like being called Ponies -that isn't PC, I've been told that they prefer the term "Little Horses")









The Fool on the Hill -with his didgeridoo (or something Incan that looks like one) and his alpaca coat too!






















Hi-Ho Santiago -away!



The three Amigos









Back by
Sacsayhuamán (as Jose reminded us it's pronounced Sackay Waman






A view at night



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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

BS"D

So did you try the white stuff or the green stuff? Did you shlug the baby alpaca for kappores?

If hikers from EY go up there then it is a perfect and beautiful place for a sukkah. Gmar chasima toiva!

Anonymous said...

Is there a specific market day at the Plaza? Do the Isrealis come for a meal before Yom Kippur? Or do you mostly have to go to where they are? The photo of the woman walking with a sheep(?)in the field is nice. Gmar Tov.

Leora said...

All wonderful. There are gentiles in Flatbush? I like the picture of you standing on the ledge, though as a mother, it made me nervous.

It reminds me a little of Quebec City, but much poorer. I kind of felt bad for the woman who tried to get some money from you for her picture. Love all those mountains.

It does look like a beautiful place for a sukkah, no matter where you build it.

Gmar tov.

Anonymous said...

Mordechai

Looks like you are having a great time.

Enjoy the rest of your time (and remember to do some shlichus :) )

A Gmar chasima tovah and a gut gebensht yur

Chaviva Gordon-Bennett said...

Hope you didn't fall while scaling that rocky ridge ;) Lovely photos as always. A handsome group of gentleman you are.

I love the photos of children throughout your adventures. They fascinate me so.

And glad you showed the little horses some respect :) Shavua tov, Mottel.

Mottel said...

-Itzhak Schier: You know me, I only go for the clear stuff.

-Guest Fan: There isn't a market at the plaza -it's more of a town square in terms of a place to relax -the market is elsewhere.

-Leora: I suppose all mothers are cut from the same cloth. I've never actually been to Quebec City, despite all of the time I've spent in Montreal.

-Mendel: Don't worry, we be doing plenty of Shlichus!

-Chaviva: Thanks for the comments, as always. I've really enjoyed taking pictures of the people here in Peru, wait until you see the pic's from today's trip to Pisaq.

Nemo said...

R' Mottel ... if you want to buy gifts, you can bring me a nice alpaca hat (with the ear lids and pompoms) or maybe a sweater.

Don't forget that I have a pretty big hat size ...

Mottel said...

This isn't what I meant when I asked you to return to the blog again ;-)