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Well it has taken us a couple of days to try and get used to the altitude and we are still puffing and out of breath when we reach the hostel ( about 300 stairs higher than the city!!)
Today we went to the sacsayhuaman inca ruins just outside Cuzco. We got talking to a local quecha guy who was so interesting, he was telling us about the quecha meanings of the 600 ms 3 parallel zigzag stone formations ( used as terraces for people to watch the sun festivals and ceremonies) the walls are incredible, huge blocks ofd rock all fitted in neatly ( 11 degrees tilting inwards to keep then strong and resistant to earthquakes etc.. some of the blocks were huge, one of them is 300 tonnes! They used ramps to drag the rocks into place, and would use bamboo frames to fit the pieces in exactly and then chisel then down with meteorite stone and polish them smooth.. no mortar! He pointed out the snake, llama and puma designs within the walls which are very important to the Inca beliefs. We also saw the tunnels used for miltary messages, the cemetery where the mummies where found in foetal position ( they had turquoise in their mouths to replace teeth that hads rotten.. ouch!!) There was also a really cool glaciar rock than was worn down like a big slippery dip that tha Andes pèople used to slide down for fun! ( and now tourists!) The acoustics in the area in front of the parrallel walls was incredible. He also took us to a special place for a coca leaf ceremony. It was really interesting how the steps relate to ridding yourself of negative thoughts and connecting with mother earth, they use this ceremony and meditation to heal themselves.
Tomorrow we head to Pisac and then start out Inca Trail.
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