Day #84 - Cusco, Peru

Cusco Cathedral

Stone building blocks of the Incas

The Condor, The Puma, The Snake - 3 symbols of the Incas

Red Flag (Peru), Multi-colored Flag (Inca)

Traditional South American band at dinner

Sunday, June 6th

Happy Birthday to my little niece Katie today! Hope you had a great day - I'll have something coming your way very shortly!

Today reminds me why I enjoy travelling so much. It opens your mind to new things and new possibilities.

The day started around 7:30am. We got up and went to mass at the huge Cusco Cathedral in the main center square. The church was amazing. It had been constructed in the 1500s. The place was packed with very little seating. 80% of Cusco is catholic. We stood for the duration of the mass. We would later find out that the reason for the lack of seating was because there were 14 saint sculptures on display during a 2-week religious celebration in Cusco. We couldn't understand anything said, as the mass was given in Spanish. We were building good vibes.

We headed back to the hotel and had a great breakfast on the 4th floor of the hotel. We had views overlooking the town of Cusco. Impressive sites. We could now begin to see the poverty that you would often associate with South America. Cusco has a population of 400,000 people in the city proper with about 1.4 million people in the surrounding communitites.

Back to the room for an hour nap before meeting up with the entire group for lunch at 1pm. Our group consists of 26 peeople: 20 marathon runners, 4 hikers, and 2 spouses that will be riding the train to Machu Picchu. The group was entirely from the US except for a couple from Manchester, England. This was a bit unusual - normally there is more of an international contingent.

We went through a quick debriefing and had a nice lunch - trout, soup, and alot of water. We went around the room and introduced ourselves. My earlier comment - why I like travelling - it's amazing the people you meet. There was a German lady who will be completing her 7th continent this trip, an older gentlemen who will be completing #6 and will be on our Antartica trip with us in February to complete #7, a couple from Kentucky that sat by me (the husband being along for chief athletic supporter as his wife is an avid runner), an engineer from Dartmouth, an engineer from Notre Dame, an ultramarathon runner who works for Facebook, an ultramarathon nurse, a couple vetrinarians, the list goes on and on.

Every single time I put myself in this company - it makes me want to be better. I'll never forget the women I met at a Peking duck dinner in Beijing, China. We were sitting around this table with about 10 people. This lady was there with 2 of her friends. They were older. I remember instantly being inspired just listening to this particular lady talk. She was so very positive. She had done a number of marathons and had climbed 4-5 of the highest peaks in the world. She was going to attempt Everest in the future. At the end of the night, I learned that this lady had multiple schlerosis. I was even more awed. Since this dinner, this lady has gone on to conquer Everest as the first female with multiple schlerosis. Her name is Lori Schneider - google her.

After lunch, we met in the hotel lobby at 3pm for a tour of Cusco - the ancient capital of the Inca empire. Just before we're ready to leave for the tour, a car pulls up with our LUGGAGE. Do you believe in miracles? I have to admit I was skeptical. I don't know if I mentioned that our tour guide told us that our baggage was unaccounted for as early as last evening. Everything is back to normal in the world.

The historical significance of the Incas and the story leading to Machu Picchu started coming into focus today. The Incas began their run in the 12th century before eventually being conquered by the Spanish conquistadors in the early 1500's.

We first visited the Temple of the Sun. We witnessed the unbelievable architecture of the Incas. How they built these structures with eleaborate stone carvings with nothing more than their hands is remarkable. We learned the 3 symbols of the Inca empire: the condor (future), the puma (present), and the snake (past). We learned that Cusco was built in the pattern of a puma. We learned the 3 symbols of the Inca gods - gold , silver, and rock. 4 paths of the Incas lead out of the Temple of the Sun. One of these paths - the Inca Trail which leads to Machu Picchu.

Our next stop was the Cusco Cathedral where we learned alot more about the religion of the area. We stopped at a few other locations throughout the 3 hour tour - mainly pointing out the architecture and buildings in the city. We got pictures with local people, saw some baby lambs and llamas, and witnessed some parade celebrations (each Sunday parades go on in Cusco)

We met the whole group for dinner at 7pm where we got to talk with more people. They had a traditional South American band playing after the dinner was complete. Great night. Liam, Kim, Greg, and I headed back to the hotel. We drank a couple cups of tea while sitting in the lobby discussing the day's events - this is one of my favorite times of the day. I'm now in the room finishing this up and ready for some down time. I feel remarkably well right now all things considering. Tomorrow we go for our first run over 11,000ft - a 4-miler down hill.

Until then - good night from South America!