Day 1: Pizzaro's World, not Bizzaro World!

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Electing No Sleep!

Bone arrived a day early to work on his asthmatic lungs and do some re-con for Mike! Flying to Peru is an ardous task. You fly in the evening to Atlanta, then all night to Lima, THEN, a two hour wait for a flight to Cuzco! The Bone was not smart enough to try and catch a few hours in flight, he was too busy on the Plane's Wifi, watching the Donald Trump Billiary much to the shock and horror of the CNN Liberal Elite!

so it was a pretty wired Bone (with all his flying to Europe, he wss use to this) that was picked up at the Airport amongst the thieving tourist traps and taken to a pretty cool Hotel.

Sleeping in Pizzaro's Palace!

Elizabeth helped Bone get a room at ther Palacio del Inka, formerly the Palace of Francisco Pizarro in Cuzco, which is right in the center of town directly opposite Qorikancha (The Inkan Sun God Temple and center of their Empire), one of the top attractions in Cusco. It is a pleasant 10-minute walk to the Plaza de Armas down some interesting passageways as Bone soon discovered. The Hotel, once part of the Inka Temple of the Sun, Palacio del Inka has a long and storied history. Constructed in 1438 the Temple of the Sun (Qorikancha) was the vision of Inka Pachacuti, who conquered the Chancas, incorporating them into the Inkan Empire. Along with the temple, he built a number of adjacent structures, which today remain as walls within hotel. As the temple’s antechamber, it could only be entered shoeless out of divine respect, ignoring the no shoes policies, the sleepless Bone trekked out to check out the City!

Bone on the door step of Cuzco!

Cuzco does not have an attitude but is at altitude, 11,000 feet that is ! So Bone huffed and puffed is way up the western rim of hills that surround Cuzco to a very cool place of the Inka's Sacsayhuaman! (the key fort that protected Cuzco on the Inka Trail) and checked out an amazing panorama of Cuzco below.

The San Francisco Treat!!

Heading back down he check out the church and monastery of San Francisco, half down the hill from the center of Town the Plaza de Armas, is a large church built in 1572 and restored after the 1650 earthquake. While the church itself is not spectacular, it does contain a beautiful carved cedar choir and a good collection of colonial art, with works by Marcos Zapata and Diego Quispe Tito. A monumental - 12 by 9 meters - painting by Juan Espinoza de los Monteros shows the family lineage of St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Order, and around the cloister are paintings with scenes from his life. Two crypts have human bones arranged in patterns, a feature found in Franciscan churches elsewhere. From there Boney rose his arms in the Plaza De Armes!

Playing around at the Plaza De Armes!

The Plaza de Armas has been the heart of Cusco from the time of the Inka Empire, when the square was called Huacaypata or Aucaypata. The cathedral, on the northeast side of the Plaza de Armas is the main attraction, and you'll often find both locals and tourists relaxing on its steps. On one side of the cathedral is the church of Jesus Maria and on the other is El Triunfo. The southeastern side of the main square is dominated by the church of La Compania, which is easily mistaken for the cathedral because of its ornate façade. However, it is smaller and lacks the grand stairs in front. The other two sides of the Plaza de Armas are lined with colonial arcades. The center of the square is a place to rest on the benches and admire the gardens and fountain in the center as you watch daily life in Cusco. The plaza is especially lively and beautiful at night, with people strolling about and the buildings lit with spotlights.

Bone check out the best museum in Cusco for those interested in the Inkas, Museo Inka is housed in the ornate 16th-century Spanish Admiral's House, a building worth the visit in its own right. The house, which belonged to Admiral Francisco Aldrete Maldonado, was built on Inka foundations. It was damaged severely in both the 1650 and 1950 earthquakes but has been repaired and is one of the most impressive colonial houses in Cusco.

The collections focus on the Inkas, from the rise of their culture to the Conquest and its impact on Peruvian cultures. Displayed are ceramics, textiles, metal and gold work, jewelry, mummies, and skulls that show an early surgical method of trepanning. Especially interesting are the 450 carved and painted wood cups known as queros, the largest collection in the world. During the busiest tourist season, local weavers from the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales de Cusco demonstrate and sell their impressive work in the courtyard.

Around 7:00 PM Elizabeth called Bone and they met for s very nice but quiet fish dinner in a little Restaurant off of the Plaza De Armes. Afterwords, Bone was toast, having not slept for over 40 hours and went gasping (a problem the whole trip) to bed for a much needed rest in anticipation of greeting Mike and ther rest of the merry travelers!!!