We arrived to Cusco last week. The altitude required our bodies to adjust to the thinner air by taking a slower pace than sea-level exertion. We started by settling into the hotel and drinking mate de coca, coca tea. Using coca in higher altitudes goes back to ancient medicine and is still common practice.

After resting a bit and eating lunch we started our tour of Cusco, literally translated, the navel, or the center of the Incan empire, Tahuantinsuyo, or the four corners. Our tour began in Sacsayhuaman, an Incan fortress used to impede the Spanish conquest that eventually ended in Spanish overthrow and has been mostly destroyed to be used in the construction of the churches in Cusco's main plaza. This construction is made out of stones that weigh up to 12 tons, some of which were brought from far away, carved to fit perfectly with each other.

It is the rainy season in the mountains, and Cusco's weather is unpredictable spurts of light to very heavy rains. Rains can be so heavy it makes rivers in the streets. We caught Cusco on one of its more rainy days and spent most of our time at Sacsayhuaman in the rain. It managed to pause long enough for a slick ride down the rock slide and a stumble through the minute and a half of sheer darkness in the cave under Sacsayhuaman's backside.

We also made a stop at Quenqo, the Quechua word for maze or crooked. In a cave underneath was performed sacrifices of the highest order. On our way to the "White Jesus" we got "choclo con queso." Choclo is a very plump white corn that is eaten off the cob with cheese. The corn isn't like American sweet-corn and the kernels are much larger and there is definitely no sweetness about it, just a nutty corn flavor. The cheese makes a bit of a squeaky sound in your mouth and tastes a tinge sour, but the corn and the cheese mix is a delightful and a very traditional snack to curb your hunger, besides the fact that it is very healthy.

The "White Jesus" as people call the large white stone statue on the hill was donated by the Catholic Palestinian refugees who were welcomed by local Cusquenos during the 40s.

From a beautiful panoramic view of Cusco, at the "white Jesus," we descended into Cusco to check out the Sun Temple, Qoriqancha, where we marveled again at the amazingly fitting Incan masonry that was taken over by the Dominican order during the conquest, from Incan Sun worshippers to Dominican Son worshippers.