Turn Left at Machu Picchu: A Retrospective.

June 22, 2013

We returned to the Hotel Monasterio in Cusco after two days and one night atop the mountain of Machu Pichcu.

The Monasterio is an intriguing hotel with lots of local recognition. Once an Incan palace/fortress,, it was semi-razed and rebuilt as a Catholic monastery during the Inquisition and the time of the conquistadors. The outside is red brick with a hidden archway sinking into the hotel lobby on the right, and a huge, weathered cedar door to the left, accented with black wrought iron braces and an enormous cross that draws the eyes up to the gothic style peaks and buttresses, paying homage to the building's historical roots.

Inside, the ceilings are high and the brick walls throw even the smallest sniffle or crumpling of paper. The building itself is a hollowed out square--two stories of guest rooms on all four sides and beautiful courtyard in the middle. The grass is so soft and precise, that I imagined a crew of men with rulers and straight razors cutting it blade by blade each evening. The cedar tree in the corner, shading the marble fountain is the last one left in Cusco not belonging to the National Park Services' reintroduction initiative after the species was almost deforested in the 1970's.

While the street that runs outside the Monasterio is perpetually busy and noisy, within the walls, there's a constant silence. I half expect my words and echo to return to me as whispers, if at all. During the day, it's peaceful, especially after days of nonstop rush, travel, and verbalized tension. However, late at night or in the last, deepest hours before daylight, it's eerie. Coupled with the steam rising from my breath in the 30 or 40 degree weather, it seems like something in the walls of the Hotel is not just dampening the noise, but stealing it.