Cuzco Continued.

it is a rainy day here is cuzco. i think pais, em and i are going to take a day to just sit in a cafe and slacker lounge. michael robert would be so proud.

i think we deserve a day like that. yesterday, we had the most amazing sun bleached day. we ate at a favorite spot of paisley´s called jack´s. the food felt so northwest and comforting. fresh and beautiful eggs, avacado, smoked trout, perfectly herbed and spiced with coffee on the side. i swear, i think emily and i have taken a picture of 87% of the things we have eaten while abroad. so many colors and flavors and types; we can´t get enough.

after breakfast we hauled our asses up soo many cobble stone stairs to get to Cristo Blanco. literally, White Christ. and this was one huge White statue Christ, arms outstretched with the dramatic under lighting for when night falls on the city. but, it was sunny and around noon when finally wheezed our way to the monument. warm wind was blowing, i had that tinge of sunburn around my temples, there was a man playing chironga, locals just taking in the panoramic view of their city, and even a little baby lamb. when you have a formula like that, all is beyond right in the world. we sat in the shadow of cristo for quite a while, the collective feeling was just appreciation and intense warmness.

surprisingly, the best part of this day came after cristo. we decided to walk a different way back down and towards town. just over a small hill, to the left of our resting place, a crazy volcanic rock structure buldging up from the hills caught my eye. walking towards it, i realized the space around this rock was tiered, and the space was huge and looked intentionally laid out. i asked paisley what it was and she said, all nonchalantly, that this place was an ancient Incan ceremonial site. uhm, geeking out preceeded to follow for the next hour. at least. i was mesmorized. right above the city, right beyond an old spanish catholic idol was this place, this insanely old, insanely beautiful, calculated and meaningful place. i think pais and em started walking a few lengths ahead of me so they would not have to hear my annoying rambling surprise and appreciation. people gathered around that rock. that same rock that caught my eye while only a few hundred feet away. the orgnanic beauty and history of this place was taking over. i could not control myself. i was in complete awe.

crazy to me that these two beautiful beacons of past empires stood so close together. i have picked up on a constant theme while here in Peru; the Spanish loved to distract past societies, and perhaps even current ones from the incredible accomplishments of the ancient Incan population. they would move the stones of temples built for appreciation of the sun and moon and water to construct grand, albiet, beautiful colonial style catholic cathedrals. in this case, next to an obviously important gathering place of the Incans, a huge huggy cristo outshines, or attempts to outshine what stood before. that kills me! but some of the stones seem just too large to be moved, the history too big to budge and the mysticism is still tangible. i could not help but feel unnerved and almost unworthy tramping on ancient ground. the wind was blowing so hard against my face. either it was trying to push me out or welcoming me with the dramatic gusts.

i anticipate tonight more good food, wonderful company, and apparently a trivia night at an english style pub. cuzco has been relaxing. there is a total northwest vibe here. so many eugene-like ex patriots. dreads and pipes and all. there is such familiarity thousands of miles away. we are even going to a cafe run by a man from nampa, ID. you hear that, joe? oh that crazy small world strikes again!

-leslie