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In the fall of last year I took a trip to South America. I’m only now getting to posting my pictures from the trip so if you see me in Chicago do not be confused. If you’ve missed any of my previous entries just click “South America” in the tags area. – jeff

(Click here for a larger view of this panorama)

I visited Saqsaywaman* today which is one of the more spectacular ruins in Peru and conveniently one of the closest. Most tourists join a tour or cab it to the nearby sights, but I opted to walk because:

A. it is good training for the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

B. getting lost by foot is more difficult than by car

C. I ate a lot of turkey & potatoes at Thanksgiving last night

D. and I can spend as much time there as I want.

The toughest part of the hike was just getting out of Cusco via the impossibly steep stairs that make up Rebalaso avenue. Vendors along the way were selling cocoa tea leaves. The idea being that the same plant that’s used for cocaine is good to treat altitude sickness as well. Perfectly legal in Peru I nonetheless refused thanks to the fear instilled in my after watching a couple episodes of Locked Up Abroad.

Highlights from the ruins:

1. The most striking aspect of Saqsaywaman are the multi-leveled fortifications. There are 3 tiers and according to the tour group I eavesdropped on there are 22 walls. Apparently from above it all looks like a puma so vendors sell small figurines and Puma t-shirts. The stones that make up the ruins are enormous and the Lonely Planet says there’s one that weighs over 300 tons. Which begs the question: Did they weigh the stone or just guess? I bet lasers were involved.

2. The parade grounds lay between the fortifications and the Radadero (a large hill with tiers of stone walls). Okay its just a big empty field, but I bet there were blood sacrifices there.

3. Adjacent to all the ruins is a large hill with a large statue of Jesus on the cross. One of these days I’ll have to go to Brazil and check out their’s too.

*Phonetically Saqsaywaman sounds like “Sexy Woman.” Yup.

Thank you Katy S. for use of the picture of me.

If you typed “jeff kao” in a search engine to get to jeffkao.net looking for treasure trove of goofy pictures of me then you probably been pretty disappointed. What can I say? I like to take photos, so I’m seldom on the receiving end of a camera lens. Well you all are in luck with today’s post.

When I was packing for my trip I carefully thought about each and every item before it was packed. Then I looked at that pile and I cut in half. Then I cut in half yet again. One of the first things to go was my razor and my more than 3 ounce can of shaving gel. So what happens when I don’t shave for 30 days? Hilarity.

In the fall of last year I took a trip to South America. I’m only now getting to posting my pictures from the trip so if you see me in Chicago do not be confused. If you’ve missed any of my previous entries just click “South America” in the tags area. – jeff

The average temperature so far in Cusco has been about 70-75 degrees during the day and around 40 at night. As nice as the highs are, the lows to me are a still a bit too much to sleep through without heat, something the hostel didn’t have. So I packed up my bag and walked up the steep stone steps to the Del Prado Inn. No more hostels for me. The Del Prado is a bona fide hotel with hot water, and heat!

Cusco is a pretty small city with a population of about 300,000 compared to Lima’s 8.2 million. There are a lot more tourists here since Cusco is the gateway to Macchu Pichu and the Sacred Valley. Similar to Brugge, Belgium it has an old timey feel. Unlike Brugge Cusco has structures that actually date back to incan & pre-incan times and the locals still dress in traditional clothing.