SAQSAYWAMAN
Known to the foreigners as “Sexy Woman.”
Other than Machu Picchu, which was very crowded, this site was the most populated with tourists of all the ruins. It doesn’t appear that way here because we waited for people to move before we took most of our pictures.
When we first arrived, Lucas and I set up to get a picture in front of this beautiful wall. The little boy to the left of Lucas in this photo ran up to us and said, “Senorita, un foto?” We agreed, and immediately all of his friends ran over to get in the picture. Turned out he thought Lucas was an American basketball player : )
Just to give some perspective on the scale of these boulders, Lucas is 6’3″.
I’m 5’4″ and a little bit, thanks for asking.
The ruins are built on the West side of a hill that borders the city so if you climb to the top and look down on the East side you’ll see this panoramic shot…
The city roofs look far away yet they are just at the bottom of the hill. We walked from this site down the hill straight to our hostel in about 15 minutes.
Smooch shot. #sorrynotsorry
The statue in the distance on the left is The White Christ. It was given to Cusco by the Palestinians who lived here during WWII. It stands as a guard for the city.
The Incas strategically placed this fortress when they took over the city of Cusco so they could retain control. Originally there were towers on the top of the hill with large windows to keep an eye on the city. The towers and houses were taken down by the Spanish who used the stones to rebuild Cusco how they wanted it.
Something unique about Saqsaywaman is that this is the only place that the Incas took back from the Spanish. Unfortunately, the Spanish won in the end, but this is where the Incas gave their last fight.
The large courtyard allows for thousands of people to gather. Today Peruvians use it for their annual Inca celebration.
We followed this cobblestone road down to the city and our hostel. Sad to leave such a beautiful view yet thrilled to finally lay down. Great day!