Cusco, Capital of the Inca Empire

Cusco could NOT be any more different than Guayaquil; they are like yin and yang. One is wet; the other is dry. One city is teeming with security officers; the other feels like Paradise. One is at sea-level; the other is nearly 12,000 feet above that.

Flying into Cusco today, out the window as far as the horizon stretched were wrinkly, rugged, barren and arid mountains: The Andes. The city sits nestled in a vast valley which was basking today in brilliant sunlight under perfectly blue Peruvian skies. With a population of less than 350,000, it is 1/10 the size of Guayaquil. Upon exiting the airport, I was stunned by the cool and dry air after leaving Guayaquil's warm and humid climate. It felt like Washington State to me, so instantly Cusco scored points! This city is charming, romantic, classic, Old-World elegance and so close to Heaven it literally hurts! (Keep reading!)

Cusco, once the capital of the Inca Empire (1200-1532), is situated between two rivers near the Urabamba Valley, and legend says that it was planned and plotted out in the shape of a puma. (Leave it to those clever Incas!) After the Spanish Conquistadors invaded the valley in the 1500s, it became the hub of Spanish colonization and the hub of Roman Catholic missionary work in the Andean World.

Sitting in the very center completely dominating the core of Cusco is the breathtaking "Plaza de Armas" with its several enormous cathedrals - so overpoweringly massive and imposing that I could see it from the air miles away - and a wide assortment of museums, shops, restaurants, fountains and markets. As it turns out, my awesome travel agent booked me a beautiful hotel on the perimeter of the plaza. (Thank you, Kathy!) I've never seen anthing like outside of what I had seen in Rome years ago. Perhaps the terra cotta roof tiles also speak to that Italian vibe. It is now a major tourist destination with an estimated one million visitors each year...well, make that 1,000,001 now.

Now I had read ahead of time and was warned by my travel agent about the effects of altitude sickness. The pharmacy where I got my Yellow Fever shot ever suggested I get a vaccine against it- (HUH? How can you be vaccinated for a condition dependent on what altitude you're at?!) So considering myself a fairly "tough" individual, I scoffed at all the advice. But let me tell you, carrying my luggage up three flights of stairs after arriving at the hotel- I could instantly feel the shortness of breath, the pressure in the head, the strain on the leg muscles and the diminished oxygen level in the brain. I felt woozy and light-headed. Truly remarkable, I thought to myself, as I slowed my pace up those long stairs and began to breathe deeper to compensate. After all, at this elevation, one has an intensely greater amout of gravity pulling on one's body. It's much like being at the top of Mount Rainier.

I fought off a slight headache and a considerable amount of fatigue throughout the day- could have been partly due to exhaustion from the grueling trip here, but I believe The Man of Steel here, hard as it is to admit, did feel the effects of the Andean Kryptonite.

Off on my train ride up to Machu Picchu early in the morning with so many virtual passengers tagging along for the ride in my pocket with me. Funny thing is: with so many of you reading along, even though I am flying solo, I am not feeling alone.