The only way to travel

Our last day in Cuzco was the day of the national census. To our aston­ish­ment, everything was closed. We had planned to get a bus to Maras, a taxi to Moray and then a bus back to Chinchero for the Sunday market. With no buses run­ning, we ended up con­vin­cing a lovely taxi driver named Juan to take us all the way (it’s about an hour and a half drive) for 50 soles (a reg­u­lar taxi trip in town is about 3).

As we drive out of the city, we end up in breath­tak­ingly beau­ti­ful coun­tryside. Juan tells us that his pueblo is nearby and we stop with a friend of his for a jack. The moun­tains ahead of us are covered in snow. The day is crisp and clear. 

When we get to Moray, it’s amaz­ing. We’ve seen so many ruins, but this is entirely dif­fer­ent. This was the Incan agri­cul­tural lab — rings of ter­ra­cing with a 30 meter drop from top to bottom but with a more than 15 degree drop Celsius. The Incas used it to test what crops could be grown at what alti­tudes. We are stand­ing in a 600-year old sci­entific labor­at­ory and it’s an awe­some concept.

Chinchero turns out to be a lovely vil­lage which would be quiet and serene if it wasn’t for the clamor and push of the market folks demand­ing we look at their items instead of someone else’s. We buy vari­ous gifts for vari­ous friends and family.

Then it’s back to Cuzco, an early night for a plane at 7.15am, the day in Lima, first at the art gal­lery (excel­lent) and then more trinket shop­ping. Last stop, the bones of the Span­iard invaders under the church, just to fill in time, then a mid­night flight back to the US.

All in all, a won­der­ful, won­der­ful hon­ey­moon, and one we’ll remem­ber for a very long time.

PS:

qamar

and 

aethyrflux

: Check out this stuff on quantum phys­ics and con­scious­ness. I think you’ll appreciate.