Bales Geneology

There are several Inca sites within walking distance of the central plaza, but Sacsayhuaman is the closest and most extensive. The lady at our hotel told me it was an easy 20 minute walk and just up the street that ran in front of the hotel. Saying it was an easy 20 minutes was a bit of a stretch - it was neither!... (The street Here is on the way up.) It could just be that I took the walk on the first day at altitude, but my heart was really pounding on the way up. Maybe she was referring to the return walk to which the description did apply!
	The Spanish called this place 'the Fortress' and it is easy to see why. It was most likely built as a temple but regardless, it was in fact used as a fort by the army of Manco Inca during the siege of Cuzco in 1536. This was the last serious defense of the Inca empire against the Spanish but the indigenous army was finally routed from the stronghold in brutal fashion.
The story is that the carnage was so widespread that condors feasted for days on the bodies of the slain. This event is the inspiration for the coat of arms for Cuzco - a castle surrounded by circling condors.  Despite the appearance of fortifications given by some of the huge stones used, the layout of the ruins suggests this was in fact a religious complex. According to our guide, the zig-zag walls (part of which are seen here), represent the teeth of a jaguar. In fact, when viewed from afar, the whole Sacsayhuaman site resembles the jaguar's head while adjoining sites make up the rest of the body. There are also tunnels throughout this and the adjoining sites in which (again according to our guide) there have been more than one mysterious disappearance. (Bring a flashlight!) There is a very nice vista of the whole Cuzco city from the ruins.

Another Chance Encounter... You never know when the chance encounters that you have might make for good memories. After all, what makes the experience of being in a place so much better than looking at pictures in a book is the interaction with people. In this case the picture didn't come out so well but it's still a great story. I have included it here as I wrote it in my journal. "On the way back down to town, still in the archeological zone but halfway to the street, I came across a group of schoolgirls (from 12 or 13 years old up) just heading up to the ruins but stopping on the stairs to take group pictures. There were maybe 10 or 12 of them and they were rotating a bunch of cameras with somebody who was taking pictures of the group. When I came up to them they were all laughing and smiling and I asked (or tried to anyway) if they wanted me to take the pictures so they could all be in them. They all excitedly were saying ‘yes’ but when I tried to indicate for the girl to hand me the cameras they said ‘no’ and a couple grabbed me and pulled me into the group! Well, I guess maybe I was the biggest, tallest gringo they had ever seen and they all wanted a picture to commemorate the occasion! Anyway, after taking a half dozen pictures and much laughter and smiling, they were telling me ‘gracias’ and I was telling them ‘con gusto!’. As I walked on, I got about 10 paces away, turned suddenly and said ‘espera un momento!’ - ‘Wait a minute!... What about a photo for me?!’ So, amidst more laughter, they all gathered around me again and someone took a picture with my camera. I made it back by 6:15 or so (the walk back down was quick) and for such a short jaunt it had a few memorable moments. I was so glad I happened to think to have my picture made with the girls because it was really a nice, spontaneous encounter."