Page 59 - Bulletin, Vol.83 No.3, December 2024

Day 10

Visit of the colourful Cusco, with its markets, stalls, museums and its music. The city is
charming and very lively. The people are courteous and smiling and, above all, very
proud of their identity. They
can be, we are witness to that
as we visit the Inca ruins high
above the city. The Kenko
amphitheatre, which greeted
the Pope in 1985, seems to
have been built by and for
giants, with blocks weighing
several dozens of tonnes
piled up using techniques
beyond our understanding. At
Tombomachay (meaning
resting place), a sacred
fountain was used for rites
and irrigation. Back in Cusco,
we visit the Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral. Our guide, Quechua from a village close
to Machu Picchu, advises us to visit a craftsmen district called Montmartre. The climb is
tough, as we are short of oxygen and sleep. We meet Maximo, a musician who sells
instruments. I buy a panpipe from him and give him a harmonica, so that we exchange
our musical capacities. We come across an antique dealer displaying a French helmet
from the Second World War and condor feathers. He tells us that our world has gone
crazy. And that the leaders who let their people starve to death are producing and
sending missiles worth millions of dollars.

In the evening, it's party time on the esplanade of the Cusco Cathedral. Home-made
fireworks are set off in the middle of the crowd, with no safety distance for the nearby
children.

Day 11

Today our adventure
comes to an end, the
highlight being a visit to
the legendary Machu
Picchu: we set off early in
the morning by shuttle
bus and then by train.
The site is at a lower
altitude of 2,400 metres.
We pass through lush
vegetation home to
invisible and aggressive
mosquitoes, workers are cleaning the shiny blue carriages and tourists are swarming. A

AAFI-AFICS BULLETIN, Vol. 83 No.3, 2024-12 57

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