Cuzco, The Center of the Universe & Machu Picchu, A City in the Sky

Lima was just a stopping point. As with hordes of other tourists, the real destination is Cuzco, and ultimately a trail that leads to a city among the clouds. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Cuzco is breathtaking. Nestled high in the Andes, the flight over scrapes the mossy green mountain peaks poking into the perfect Panattone blue sky. Only as you step off the plane, do you realize that you can’t breathe. That is what being over 3,000 meters above sea level will do to you.

The locals have a remedy from hundreds of years of living at altitude: coco. No this isn’t blow, but yes I consumed it by the kilo. Brewed as a tea or taken as a hard candy, the leaf that dominated the Incan empire’s agrarian economy aids in altitude sickness, helps digestion and gives you a quick burst of energy, which is great when you are hiking higher into the hills. Even brushing teeth made me suck wind, so I was willing to take any help I could get.

Cuzco subtly blends the various parts of its history together. In the main square, Spanish Churches (they become less surprising but more obvious in every city) sit on top of a foundation of Incan stone blocks, and across from the modern delights of McDonalds and Starbucks. I unknowingly arrived as Cuzco was prepping for their Independence Day: flocks of kids took to the streets practicing dances for an upcoming show, and the city’s rainbow stripped flag was flying from red brick roofs, a colorful contrast against a sea of white walls. The shops lining the hilly streets seem to peddle the same bric-brac, all under the notion it is handmade. As I was taking photos, I got the distinct impression that locals were walking into frame and striking a pose, which was confirmed when they followed up with a request for money. Smiling and shaking my head, I moved along, taking a deeper breath with each step. I only got chased a few times.

Once thought to be the center of the universe, Cuzco is the adventure capital for all who want to visit Machu Picchu. Day trips are offered on menu-style cards to satiate the biggest appetites. Over the 5 days I was there, I toured the surrounding Incan ruins, tromped through the Sacred Valley, trekked to a glacial lake, and took a trip to Machu Picchu. Each offered their own taste of exercise and history, but I found myself finding spiritual connections in several of these places. I would place a hand on a rock to get a sense of the wisdom held within, and listen to the winds whisper new directions on a hike for a detour to a different view. When I was done, I knew why the Ancients had made this their base of operations.

The Incas were incredibly advanced for a civilization with no written language. The empire covered almost all of the Andes and was connected by a series of running highways to shuttle information back to Cuzco. They engineered irrigation through mountains to water their crops, and built terraces to resist erosion that could crumble their cities. All of this was done in a matter of 100 years. Then Francisco Pizzaro arrived in 1528, and so began the Spanish Conquest. By 1539, the Incas abandoned their most sacred cities, and in fear of discovery, destroyed all the roads that led to them. Machu Picchu sat protected by nature and away from man for nearly four centuries. It would take an American hacking his way through the jungle in 1911 to ‘discover’ the city amongst the clouds, and begin a new plunder for the history books.

Today, what is being stolen from the site is time itself. Over 1.5 million visitors come each year to marvel at the wonder that is Machu Picchu; during peak season, the daily attendance ticks upwards of 6,000 people . All those feet are crushing the ground below and each step chips away at the remaining life of the ruins. My guide said within 10 years, Machu Picchu will be viewable only from terraced locations. As the regions main source of revenue, the main constraint limiting the inflow of money will be the health and structural integrity of the sites themselves.

At the silent direction of an enlightened presence, I sat on a rock to take in the lost-and-found city below. The fragility of the world and the temporariness of its history is on display in real time. With that being said, my moment ‘there’ (which at the time was here, but that is neither here nor there) felt eternal. While my footprints created marks all over the the city, Machu Picchu left a much bigger impression on me.