Cusco, Peru

Cusco was the center of the Incan Empire and is also the longest continuously inhabited city of the Western Hemisphere (since 1100 AD)

The Incan Empire in 1525

The Incans were masters both at building without mortar with extremely precise carving and at moving massive stones; the largest animal of their day was the llama which is not even capable of carrying an adult human.

How they did either of those things is a mystery to me and the fact that Peru is on the Ring of Fire with lots of earthquake activity is a testament to their skill.

Random person for scale

There are a number of Incan sites around town. This one was an altar where sacrifices were performed.

The lobby of our hotel was a converted chapel from a former monastery

There's a lot of history in these streets

At first we were surprised by all of the rainbow flags in this mountainous city only to discover that this is the city's flag and symbol.

Pisco is the national drink so, like good visitors, we sampled Pisco Sours across the country.

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