From Sept 25th, 2022
We were both feeling pretty good when we went to bed on the previous night. However, morning came at 4 a.m when the hotel kitchen staff started getting ready for breakfast, which is available from 4:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. Our room was across a small courtyard from the kitchen, but we made the mistake of leaving our windows open.
After breakfast and coca tea, we left the hotel at 7:30 a.m. for our self-directed hike to Cristo Blanco, the most famous monument in Cusco. Make no mistake about it: this was not a nature hike. We would walk on pavement across the city, past the tourist areas, and up into the mountainside where working class Cusco lives.
The Spaniards built cathedrals everywhere in Cusco, so I guess it's no surprise that a huge white Jesus overlooks the city. There were some other interesting sites along the way.
We were so focused on getting to the top of the mountain that we took a wrong turn into some ruins.
A very upset parks employee came up to us and demanded that we buy $40 tickets to keep looking at the ruins. When we asked where Cristo Blanco was, she gave us a disgusted look and pointed to where we had missed our turn. I think she said "gringos" under her breath but it could have been something more colorful.
I can't say that I was impressed with the 26' tall White Jesus, but I liked his view.
We took a different way back down. I don't think Julia liked these steps.
But she made it without blowing out a knee. We survived our first steep hike above 11,000' and experienced some breathlessness but no other side affects. We didn't know at the time that these stairs were a very good introduction for the Inca Trail later that week.
It was only 9 on a Sunday morning. The city was just beginning to wake up. More on that in the next post.
