Incas with thighs of steel

I took it easy yesterday and wandered around Cusco. This town is so beautiful and unexpected clean - I've seen many shopkeepers out sweeping the cobblestone street in front of their stores - that it's delightful to walk in. I spent at least an hour going from alpaca store to alpaca store - pashmina anyone? The light is very interesting her as well; there's a mist or fog that makes everything gray and fuzzy in the morning which burns off by midday for clear and spectacular views, setting it up for a lovely pink and orange sunset. I crashed in bed early and got a full 12 hours of sleep, which I couldn't be more grateful for.
This morning I went to the Inka Museum to see the mummies and pottery shards and so on. There was a section of the museum devoted to the Spanish conquest where they showed, among other things, pottery that had been broken and statues that were defaced by the invaders. I'd read a bit about the fall of the Inka empire which was astonishing for the speed with which it was carried out and the disproportion between Spanish and Inca fighters and so on (not at all like Westside Story, Am). Tragic. Yet this morning I began thinking about how much I would like to begin a campaign to take over Cusco, if not all of Peru - it's so wonderful here! Not that I would displace people or destroy culture or anything, plus I couldn't possibly be successful. I would probably be better off just opening another Irish bar here.
I also hiked up to Sacsayhuaman, an old Inka fortress at the top of the hill that Cusco is perched on. Seriously, straight up. I don't know if there's a sidewalk in this town that doesn't have steps incorporated in it due to the steep pitch and to get to Sacsayhuaman you walk up the steepest road to the top of the town and then keep going. (I don't have thighs of steel but I do have knees of jelly.) It was all well worth it as the fortress (rather, what remains of it) is huge and affords great views of the entire valley. The name is pronounced 'sexy woman' which was pretty funny when I heard a frenchman at the Museo Inka repeat the name a few times.
I'm exploring more Inka ruins tomorrow in the Sacred Valley and staying in Aguas Callientes tomorrow night so I can catch the first bus to Machu Picchu on Monday. Right now I'm off to the Temple the Sun slash a really big cathedral (gotta love those catholic invaders).