Cusco. At the heart of the Incan civilization. We traveled to a number of Incan sites in and around Cusco. The Incas, by the way, were not a people, per se, but were the ruling class over a number of different peoples including Aymara and Qechan people.

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The first site we went to is considered an important one: Saqsaywaman. While not as large as Machu Picchu, it is still a large site. Some of the stones are huge. To see how huge, look at the stones that guide Manuel Valazco Serrano and that Erika and Alex are standing by.

The quality of workmanship is amazing. The corner shown in the third picture is round!

It's time to introduce the cast of characters who were on this trip. They are, from left to right, on the group picture and in the close-ups: Jane, Manuel, Gennifer, Alex, Erika, Marge, John, and Jan.

After leaving the site, we went to a nearby store which specialized in Alpaca and Vicuña products. Manuel looks fetching when he tries on a Vicuña hat...

The next site was Qenko. What's interesting about this site is that, unlike the others which we visited, it is carved out of the native limestone.

Tambo Machay is not far from Qenko. An interesting thing about this site is the flow of water. The source of the water is underground somewhere -- there is no surface water visable. There was a woman spinning yarn in front of the site.

Next we journeyed down the Sacred Valley (El Valle Sagrado). I'm not certain how the name came about because the rivers which run down the valley are the Urubamba and Vilcanota. Along the way we stopped at the market town of Pisaq. Here are somw of the sights.

At the end of the road which leads towards Machu Picchu is Ollantay Tambo. It is referred to as a fortress, probably because it was attacked by the Spaniards, although it most likely was built as a simple settlement. Up on the opposite side are a number of storage buildings, located there because it is always windy and this kept the food which was stored there dry. Our guide, Manuel, likes to make illustrations in the ground.

An interesting feature of this, and other Inca sites, is the system of aquaducts leading water everywhere. The aquaduct seen in the close-up comes down from the top, just to the right of the stairs.