Cusco Fun

The trip is winding down and while we are all looking forward to seeing friends and family back home, we also want to take advantage of our remaining time in Cusco and do all of the things we´ve been talking about doing while we are here. Bart and his new girlfriend Susie were here visiting (they are so in love it´s almost campy) and we all had a great time together. On the day before Susie left we went to the interestingly-named X-Zone which consists of a series of limestone outcroppings which have been riddled with a series of caves and tunnels over the centuries. The Incas apparently found the place interesting as well as there are a number of carvings and the remains of some Incan buildings as well as a couple of incredibly constructed retaining walls. We walked from there to the Inca caves of Salumpunko (note the passage to one carved in shape of a llama head) where we hired horses to take us the back way to Sacsaywaman. It was Zak’s first time on a horse and he loved it! He had a gentle white horse named Capa Blanca (Snowy Peak), mine was named Tornado, Bart had Pinto and Susie, as the most experienced rider, was given Viento (wind) who somewhat resembled a burro and, perhaps consequently, had something of an attitude problem. I decided his named stemmed not from his ability to run like the wind but to break like the wind, the comment did little to improve his humor. Approaching Sacsaywaman from this side, we were able to explore some Inca tunnels including one long one in which a young couple was sequestered inside the exit. Susie wanted to go to some interesting looking rounded white rock outcroppings nearby and shoot a couple photos for her sister who is a geologist and, much to our delight, we discovered some smooth grooves down the rocks which were perfect fit for our buttocks and allowed for a very fast slide down to the bottom. Slowing yourself down was an impossibility, all one could hope to do was to absorb the impact of the landing with your legs. The three guys had a ball trying out different slides Susie’s pleasure was limited to taking pictures of us zipping down the slides and out of control in more ways than one. I don’t think here amusement was any less than our own.