Lost days in Cuzco

There are certain words that take on a significance only when they are experienced.
"Portaging" doesn't mean too much, until you've schlepped a canoe for three km to Lake Louisa.
"Altitude" is another such word. Two, three, four thousand meters don't seem so different. My body has discovered the difference. After almost two weeks at altitudes between three and four thousand meters it has learned the hard way. I never got the usual symptoms of altitude sickness, namely head aches and nausea. It did hit me hard, lack of appetite, difficulty breathing, lethargy, and worst of all, the "runs".
During my last four days in Cuzco the TOTAL food I ate were two scrambled eggs, a tin of tuna, two mandarins, and half a small chocolate bar. In four days.
I had to rest half way when I went the twenty steps up to my room.
The cold also got to me. The temperature in my room never reached ten degrees. It was freezing.
I blamed a lot on the cold I had, but the change was amazing once I got back to Lima, and sealevel. After I arrived back in Lima I slept for six hours, and then went out to actually eat a meal, all of a six inch pizza, but I did eat all of it.
The difference in how I feel is phenomenal.
As I said the word "altitude" has a complete new meaning for me.
Two more days, and some home cooking. I haven't seen a green salad in almost a month.

Moray and Maras

After a low there is a high, and yesterday was a high. I visited a couple of very interesting sites near Cuzco. The first one was Moray, which was built by the Incas. They built a series of concentric terraces in a hillside, 120 meters deep. The location gives a temperature difference of 10 degrees Celcius between top and bottom. This creates a series of micro climates. The theory is that this site was like an agricultural laboratory that allowed the Incas to experiment with what types of crops were best suited for different climates and elevations.
Maras is a much older site. It was the principal source of salt for the entire area. Again it's a series of terraces, with almost 6000 pools of salt water. The process of obtaining the salt hasn't changed and everything is done by manually. Tough work.
It is one of the most stunning sites I have seen on this trip.
We also stopped in a village to see a demonstration of the Peruvian textile production. The most interesting part was to see how the different dyes are produced. Everything natural. I found it very interesting.
Another positive part of the trip was some of the most beautiful scenery in Peru. Green valleys, surrounded by snow capped mountains, brilliant blue sky. Absolutely stunning!
The entire 6 hour tour, with an English speaking guide was 10 dollars.

Things are starting to wind down. I am going to visit a couple of museums, and then do some shopping. The end is in sight.