![sacsayhuaman-view-w-cuzco-behind_4613](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/sacsayhuaman-view-w-cuzco-behind_4613.jpg)
Sacsayhuaman was a vital Incan site on the hill above Cuzco. The stonework here, as well as in the heart of Cuzco, is just astonishing. It was a great place to see the stone masonry up close, and a great preparation for our 4-day hike on the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu.
![adri-antisuyo_4440](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/adri-antisuyo_4440.jpg)
Adriana stands in the Antisuyo, one of the ancient Incan streets still used today in Cuzco. Note how snugly the stones fit together, a perfect anti-seismic structure.
![massive-fitted-boulders_4601](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/massive-fitted-boulders_4601.jpg)
These giant boulders were shaped by Inca stonemasons to fit together.
![cc-antisuyo-4443](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/cc-antisuyo-4443.jpg)
Here I am in Antisuyo, a touristic part of old Cuzco, but breathtaking stone work nevertheless!
![guide-at-wall_4548](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/guide-at-wall_4548.jpg)
I always resist hiring a local guide, but this guy turned out to be a great historian and told us a great deal about Saqsayhuaman and Incan stonemasonry. The concave/convex structures, in addition to the 12-17 points on some stones, were done by some of the best stone masons that ever lived.
![fantastic-wall-at-saqsayhuaman_4597](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/fantastic-wall-at-saqsayhuaman_4597.jpg)
I never got tired of gazing at these walls, and photographing them!
![curving-wall-interior_4556](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/curving-wall-interior_4556.jpg)
Their stonework managed to accommodate curves too.
![cc-and-adri-in-front-of-corner-of-walls_4564](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/cc-and-adri-in-front-of-corner-of-walls_4564.jpg)
Our guide had a good sense of where to take memorable tourist photos!
![cc-and-adri-in-portal_4563](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/cc-and-adri-in-portal_4563.jpg)
He put us here.
![cc-and-adri-hippie-moment-saqsaywaman_4617](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/cc-and-adri-hippie-moment-saqsaywaman_4617.jpg)
And here, where we were convinced to impersonate hippie spiritualists!
![cc-and-adri-posing-w-cuzco-behind_4584](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/cc-and-adri-posing-w-cuzco-behind_4584.jpg)
A classic view spot...
![cc-and-adri-at-tambo-machay_4657](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/cc-and-adri-at-tambo-machay_4657.jpg)
This is a half hour away, another Inca ruin called Tambo Machay.
![purple-and-yellow-flower_4545](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/purple-and-yellow-flower_4545.jpg)
There were tons of blooming wildflowers along the way.
![rope-from-grass_4662](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/rope-from-grass_4662.jpg)
Our guide grabbed some local grasses and began twisting them together, showing us how Incas made rope.
![rope-cu_4667](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/rope-cu_4667.jpg)
The rope, seconds after grabbing the grass...
![multiple-arches-on-creek_4529](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/multiple-arches-on-creek_4529.jpg)
Climbing up to Saqsayhuaman brought us by this view of old arched stone bridges... reminded me a lot of Switzerland, actually!
![two-women-confer-at-saqsayhuaman_4535](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/two-women-confer-at-saqsayhuaman_4535.jpg)
These women were conferring about something as we arrived at the top.
![cui_4676](https://nowtopians.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/cui_4676.jpg)
We ended later in a fancy restaurant, where I decided to try "cui" which we know as guinea pig... they whisked it away and cut it up for me or I'd have been a bit lost about how to eat it. Pretty good!
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