Tambomachay

     This morning we took a taxi up to the ruins of Tambomachay--from Quechua, tanpu macha'ay, meaning resting place. It is also known locally as El Baño del Inca. Tambomachay consists of a bunch of canals running through terraces, and may have served as a military fort guarding the approaches to Cusco or a spa for Incan elites, or both.
     From there we walked to Puka Pukara which was only a few hundred feet from Tambomachay. Puka Pukara, meaning 'Red Fortress' because of the impressive red color that it mus have been due to the iron in the rocks. Now it is more pinkish. It probably served as a checkpoint and administrative center, a military headquarter, and a warehouse for food.
     The Incan path we followed diverged away from the road at this point, and we walked past a town and a bunch of sheep. In Olympia springtime doesn't have the same connections with baby animals to me as it does here, but there were a lot of lambs that we saw.
      Because we took a taxi up to Tambomachay, the way back to Cusco was mostly downhill but we still felt the altitude after walking for a while. We set out around 7, but it got really hot really quickly.
It was only about 4 miles from Tambomachay to where we are staying in Cusco, but because of the hills and the heat and the backtracking and the not being sure which path leads where it felt--and probably was--a lot more.
     From the last ruins we saw we happened to come out onto the road directly above our street. We had taken a shortcut, and it was completely serendipitous. Taking the short route meant that we cut out visiting the huge Cristo Blanco statue on the hill, and the Saqsaywaman ruins, which we will probably visit tomorrow.
     This afternoon we skyped with my grandparents, and aunt and uncle and it was really fun to get to see them. We also got to see my aunt and uncle's dog, Gus, and would like to skype with Lillie soon.
     Then this evening we went to the Pre-Colombian art, which was very amazing. The Mochican pottery was particularly beautiful. The captions for the pictures were all very silly, though, and the people who wrote them obviously had no idea what the images were of or what the vessels were used for for the most part. Unfortunately we forgot the camera, but if you search "pre-colombian art museum cusco" the first link will be the museum and there are pictures of the pieces.
    After the museum we went to find a tienda, but somehow got turned around coming home and took a new, long way.
     Tomorrow we will begin taking spanish classes from a woman named Luz who we met briefly last night.
     Here are some pictures of the hike that we took this morning, and of the view of Cusco.