“ Long walk to the unforgettable” was a thought that circled my mind for the last two days.
I was sat in my bed, hands on knees, shoulders stiff, eyes staring at the mirror, mind focused elsewhere. I was in one of the most beautiful cities of Peru. Covered with nature in every corner, and architecture that resembled Peru’s incredible history, is pretty fascinating, but even though I was in a very comforting atmosphere my mind still felt like a numb, drained, sloppy headache. Being in an ideal city, such as the City of Cusco can bring a lot of benefits, but above it all it also brings a lot of pain. Head pain to be exact. Since its located 3,399 meters above sea level, it’s very hard to spiral your way out of an inconvenient, monstrous headache. Especially when you are lacking oxygen, a very important thing to have in a daily basis. But even though this is one of the basic stuff you will ever get if you travel to altitude, it still wasn’t one of the main reasons of my troublesome pain.
This was the moment, the moment I have been waiting for. After looking at pictures in the internet and magazines and hearing stories from my brothers, it was finally my turn. I was feeling uneasy, and the absence of oxygen wasn’t helping in any way whatsoever.
Was I ready? Would I enjoy it as much as I wanted? Would it be cold? The usual temperature is 15 degrees celsius, that can be easily be beaten by a warm wool coat, which indeed I had bought the day before from a native women. We had been told that this walk was one of the most alluring part of the trip. We would be able to walk through the presence of the 16th century mixed with the modern world of today, surrounded by the 300,000 people that visit the city annually.
“ Just enjoy it, don’t stress” my friend have called after me as I sprinted out of the room already in a rush to head out of the hotel.
We were suppose to meet at 7:30 am in the lobby of the Inka Hotel II (In Santa Teresa), where only a small group of the hundreds would commence the troll, since the majority decided that they wanted to sleep more. The hotel that we had stayed the night was chosen since it was very close to the Plaza of Armas, which is said to be the center of jewelry stores, temples, travel agencies, restaurants, the current modern part of Cusco. The Plaza of Armas had incredible reviews about how beautiful, historic, must see, amazing place it was. And now it was finally my turn to presence it. I runned through the creepy hallway, down the stairs, saluting the dreadful clown painting on the way. I was already panting once I reached the small group of people.
I stepped out into the cold streets of Cusco. At just a few seconds of being outside the tips of my fingers had become numb, as the bitter breeze rushed from side to side of the slim trail in the early day of November. The morning sky looked cloudy with a colorless blue that reflected on the touristy city. Everything seems to be like the shade except for the antique building structures that seem to be ancient that add color to the black and white photograph.
All through the morning we walked through the narrowed streets, that by now seemed so familiar. The weather seemed perfect, not too cold or not too hot. We toured around the city, through the old-fashioned buildings, the piled rocks trails, and through the dashed stores. Holding my cell phone in my right hand while my left rested on my cozy wool jacket. As we walked you could see ladies standing on the corner of the streets, holding little lambs that had been dressed with little multicolored hats. The women wear dazzling polleras, and vivid shoulder cloth and bright smiles that would convince anyone to come forward and take a picture for one sol. As we continued walking, rain or how they call it in Peru “ llovizna” ( since it’s smaller than rain) started peering through the gray skies. This is said to be normal to happen in November. Especially in the morning. The rain simply just made it harder to walk and made the day even colder than what it already was.
“Many of the buildings in Cuzco have been around for over nine centuries, dating back to the days of the Inca Empire and beyond”(Source) the enthusiastic guide starts speaking, waving his hands about pointing at the buildings, as we walk through the compact streets of the picturesque city of Cusco.
“Intricate Incan stonework can still be seen in many of the city’s streets and plazas. The Spanish conquistadors conquered Cuzco in 1533, grafting new colonial architecture onto the sturdy foundations of indigenous sites”. ( Source)
We walked through a few more streets, until the weather decided to be good with us and eased up. We already halfway of the walk when we saw the Church of the Society of Jesus.
I recognized it from the pictures, but compared to them they are nothing.The building is like a great monument pushed into the floor. Massive. Majestic. Mind-Blowing. It reminds me of something that I would see in the medieval times movies.
I slowly exhale “ its…”
“ stunning” my friend finishes my sentence.
“ The Church of the Society of Jesus is a historic Jesuit church in Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, in Peru. It is situated in the Plaza de Armas, the city center. Its construction began in 1576, but it was badly flawed in an earthquake in 1650. The rebuilt church was completed nearly two decades late, Definitely somewhere you have to visit.” (Source)
The guide explains as we move forward to get a closer look. He’s right. This indeed is somewhere where you have to visit.
We trudged more, occasionally stopping to take pictures of the archaic city. We went up and down. We were going in circles since every cramped street looked the same through the eyes of tourist. Such as we.
We continue walking down the trail. Everyone begins to engage in conversation with their friends, as we pass through the loaded floors. I can hear comments exchanged about the stroll, but as my ears are hearing my eyes are focused on the beauty behind the City of Cusco. Every single place seems as something that Mario Testino would take pictures of and plant them in magazines all around the world. I walk slowly jumping, sitting, sliding making sure I get the pictures I want.
We pass through many streets, many with little restaurants “ sandwich, lomo saltado, juice, pizza, capuccino” are a few of the things they are offering for breakfast. I make my way to my friends and we together become a small group of laughter and giggles as we start passing through the microscopic ponds and getting our feet wet purposely even though we are freezing.
The City of Cusco seems to be covered with friends that have decided to take an adventure, or with lovers seeking a new memory, or individuals that come to pursue something,
It’s a city for everyone.
