Southern Hemisphere

We’ve set off on our first adventure south of the Equator, visiting Cusco (koo-koh, not kooz-koh or koos-koh per the locals) Peru before doing the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu. 

Took 23 hours to get here, including trying to nap on the cold floor of the Lima airport and a return to Lima  for fuel when Cusco was socked in by clouds. But, everything happens for a reason and with the later flight was able to glimpse some of the Andes Mountains and their glaciers from the plane…

Kinda cool flying at 30,000’ and only being 10,000’ above the peaks!

Cusco is an ancient city, the imperial capital of the Incan Empire. Read enough history on the flight to know that the Incas had a huge empire that they maintained control over by assimilating neighboring  tribes and letting them keep their local leaders and customs, provided the conquered paid their taxes, sent men for the imperial army, and, oh yes, many of their prettiest young women to the imperial palace. Incas also found it very effective to steal the mummies of past tribal leaders and hold the remains as ransom.

Most of the emperors only lasted about 30 years, usually being killed by a rival sibling for the throne. Some were about building the city, others about conquest. But the viaducts, temples and other structures they built are still very evident. Even after the Spanish took control, they tended to just build on top of Incan work…in this Temple of the Gods photo you can see the smooth, slightly angled (for earthquake stability) Inca foundation and then the Spanish church constructed above…

Even though the Incan army had tens of thousands of troops, they were mostly farmers doing their time, and their maces and other wooden weapons were no match for Spanish Toledo steel, metal armor, cavalry, and of course, small pox. The Incas had also just emerged from a brutal civil war that weakened and divided their forces.

Pizarro only had 168 seasoned soldiers, but they moved quick, captured the emperor, then held him captive, until the entire empire submitted. Lotsa looting, pillaging, and sacking before they let the Catholic priests move in to tame the civilization. 

Difficult to get a detailed picture since the Incas, despite all their technological progress, never developed a written language, so verbal history is all that remains.