Day 2 Getting High

So we were up at 5 to catch a 9am plane to Cusco.  Other than the drive to the airport, this went reasonably well.
We landed at Cusco which is at 11,000 feet.  I felt drunk or high or both.  My head was spinning.  No chest pain.  No shortness of breath.  As we got off the plane, there was a ramp to go up.  I made it, but slowly, and didn't have to stop to catch my breath.  I took some coca pills and drand some coca tea, which didn't seem too do much.
The first stop in town was another church of Santo Domingo (the Dominicans were pretty influential here).  There had been an Inca temple to the Sun God here, and they just appropriated the site.  The old architecture was somewhat kept, and the stone work was amazing in its precision.  Of course, the old traditions never really die, they are just incorporated into the belief system.  There were portraits of Jesus with sun bolts radiating from his head rather than a halo, and a statue of a pregnant Mary(fertility was strong here).  Fertility and the male member were also very strong, and Jesus on the cross with just a loin cloth was too much for the priests, so the put him in a skirt!
On to lunch on the mountaintop at 12000 feet. My head was still spinning.  Climbing stairs to the second floor was a chore.  Chicken and vegetables.  Adequate.
We went over the top of the mountain (and Contintental Divide) at 14,000 feet and DOWN the east side to the Sacred Valley and the town of Pisaq at 9,000 feet on the Vilkanota River.  This eventually flows into the Amazon and winds up in the Atlantic.   We landed in the town at Market Day, and all the booths were set up to sell wares to the tourists.  Actually not many people there.  Ann bought some trinkets and had here picture taken with the llamas (costing 1 Sol or about 30 cents).
By the time we got to our hotel, I was feeling somewhat better, but not 100%.  The hotel is a converted monastery and very picturesque.  Maybe in the light, I'll actually get pictures.
Dinner at the hotel.  I chose the "Trout" in Peruvian sauce, which actually turned out to be Salmon in chicken broth.  Oh well.  I didn't try the llama meat, but probably should have.  Earlier, we passes a Cuyo place and we saw the roasted Guinnea pigs.  Yum.
Tomorrow, more of the Sacred Valley, then on to Machu Picchu.