Tambomachay, Puka Pukara, Q'endo and the Caucasian Jesus?

On Saturday we said good bye to Lita early in the morning. Now we are on our own; regarding this, Terran asked "what are we going to eat now?! Lita always made the food!" Not entirely true, but I guess that is what the kids saw. It is true however that Lita knew how to shop at markets, how to make good Peruvian food, but I did take notes, and come on I have managed to feed this family for the last 14 years, I think we will be ok. ;) Terran needs to have a little more faith in his mother! I took my Mom to the airport early for her 8 am flight, the kids were determined to come to the airport with me, but they slept right through their alarms. Anyway, after they woke up, a few tears were shed. We will really miss Lita, but I think she will be glad for the break from us, and all the walking here in Cusco ;).

We got ready that morning, and decided to continue our goal to see as many sites from our Boleto Turistico. We took a taxi out to Tambomachay, our first Inca Ruin for the day. An alternate Spanish name for Tombomachay is "El Bano del Inca (the bath of the Inca)" According to Wikipedia- The function of the site is uncertain: it may have served as a military ourpost guarding the approaches to Cusco, as a spa resort for the Incan political elite, or both. We overheard a guide tell their group, this might also have been a hunting site. Whatever it might be, it was a nice site, with very few people. I am guessing so many people come through Cusco, and do not have time to see all this cool little ruins that are all around the city. I think we could have walked for a long time just in Tombomachay, but we had a few other sites to see ourselves.

Cool Inca fountains in Tombomachay

Maija and Terran in Tombomachay

There were a lot of small trails. Wyatt and I above the ruins

For a Saturday it was not busy, in parts it felt like we were all alone. 

Wyatt, Maija and Terran exploring around Tombomachay

After Tombomachay, we walk a couple of hundred meters to Puka Pukara, the next Inc ruin down. Puka Pukara we were told was probably the immigration/control area between the ruins further down, and Tombomachay. Wikipedia once again tells us that, when it was built, it was probably placed so that these areas were visible to give the military extra vision over important parts of the empire. By this point we were of course getting pretty hungry, and decided to ask around about where to get food. One of the people at the gate mentioned a little restaurant down the road from Puka Pukara. They said a young couple were the owners, and that the food was decent. I don't know if we found the right one, but a little restaurant called La Chozita seem to fit the description. We were given Passion Fruit juice, 2 soups, 2 main courses (chicken, rice, and salad) for only 10 soles (around $4 CND). We noticed in Peru that a family business is truly a family business. A young boy, maybe around Maija's age, told us the price, sat us down, and brought over the juice, cutlery, and served the food. I am always impressed with how smart and hard working are so many of the children here in Peru. I think Wyatt's heart is always touched when he sees kids like that here in Peru, as soon as we sat down he told me to remind him to leave a good tip. Speaking of which, I'm still unsure about tips here in Peru. When you pay for a meal, it seems as though tips are not expected at all, but when you leave one (we always do) they are always very appreciated. If anyone knows the scoop on tips in Peru please leave a comment, also the food at La Chozita was REALLY good, one of the best I have had in Cusco! Highly Recommended!

A llama near la Chozita

After Puka Pukara we walked over to Q'endo, actually we intended to walk, but the road was really narrow, and I got a little worried so we opted to hop on a bus, and get to our next destination. Here was a site of sacrifices. The little write up at the front, said this area was a site for animal and human sacrifices, everything was fair game except children. Maija and Terran were happy to hear that!

Q'endo had some really cool rock structures, and the lady at the front claimed that there was a walking path from there to Sacsayhuaman. We did not find the walking path, walked for a long time, and when we finally found Sacsayhuaman we were a bit tired. By the end, according to my step counter we had done 27000 plus steps, according to Wyatt's it was closer to 16000. I like my step counter better!

Maija inside a rock structure in Q'endo

Terran by a sacrificial altar

Resting after A LOT of walking

Instead of walking to Sacsayhuaman we decided to leave that last ruin for Family Home Evening on Monday night. So we walked over to the Cristo Blanco, which Wyatt claims should be translated as "Caucasian Jesus" in order to be politically correct ;) The kids claim the Cristo Blanco is around "3 times bigger than daddy" what do you guys think?

A view from the entrance of Sacsayhuman.

Maybe a little more than 3 times Wyatt's size.

View of Cusco from the Cristo Blanco. Great place for pictures.

Because we had not walked enough *Sarcasm sign* we wondered over to San Blas. San Blas is a cool neighborhood in Cusco were there is always something happening, it is pretty tourisy, but really cool. The funny thing was that even though the kids were "SO TIRED" when they saw a park they said they need to "burn some energy!"

Cool tree up the Cristo Blanco

Walking towards San Blas

San Blas Plaza

What a cool name for a street!

Overall it turned out to be another good day in Cusco. We were tired, we saw more Inca tuins, and I got chased by a dog, it was just another day in paradise....