Exploring Cusco
Average Rating: 5.0 Total Reviews: 1
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 On: 2008-01-15
A friend from Germany wrote: "EXPLORING CUSCO by Peter Frost is a helpful book to have with you if you plan on visiting the Inca sites around Cusco, very good history and a nice chap as well." Another friend lent me a copy of this book -- it is well written, literate, apparently carefully researched. My copy is the Fifth edition, published in 1999, ISBN 9972901564.
Many online traveler reports on Cusco [sometimes spelled Cuzco] praise the book, even though it is often out of date in fast moving Peru on practical details like restaurants, stores, train schedules, and guides. But the book makes a great companion at my bedside before I fall asleep and dream about Peru.
Frost is emphatic and clear:
"Tokapus signify symbolic, possibly hereditary information; they are not an alphabet."
"Inca art was their architecture, but so also was their textile weaving."
"Pisac ruins are filled with wonderful examples of Inca stonework and construction, set in a stupendous location. The complex seems to feature some example of almost everything the Incas did in terms of architecture, defense, religion, agriculture, roads and residential construction. Altogether, it is one of the most spectacular Inca sites in the Cusco region. For those who are fit and like to exert themselves, it is well worth the effort of scrambling and climbing up the west flank of the mountain to reach them from Pisac village.....you can hike into the ruins along a spectacular Inca pathway, through gateways and tunnels, experiencing as you walk a crescendo of stunning views of the Valley and Mount Pachatusan, to the south, beyond the river...."
I understand that the "Red Book" is sold in Cusco around the square, and you will have to do a bit of shopping in the States. The Amazon price is staggeringly high if you are watching your pennies, or even your dollars. Search on both "Cusco" and on "Cuzco"; both spellings are used. [After doing a bit of looking, the Amazon price is a bit below market.]
Peter Frost is a British-born explorer and mountain guide who has lived in Cusco for many years. According to the "NY Times", in 1999 he led a group of hikers and "at 13,000 feet uncovered remnants of the Inca civilization that flourished here. They found looted tombs, a circular building foundation and the stonework of an aqueduct. The discovery in 1999 of Qoriwayrachina (pronounced co-ree-why-rah-CHEE-nah) was instantly hailed as a major find. It evoked the romantic image of the swashbuckling explorer unearthing a Lost City, an image embodied by Hiram Bingham, the American who in 1911 made the greatest Inca discovery of them all, Machu Picchu."
The article continues: "Mr. Frost, 58, who has a wiry build and a mop of white hair, is not an archaeologist. But through his work as a tour guide, photographer and author of the popular travel book, EXPLORING CUZCO, he has dedicated much of the last 30 years to learning everything he can about the ancient highlanders. Some people like the thrill of finding something and moving on to something else," he said. "But you want to do something useful with it. In two lengthy expeditions to Qoriwayrachina in 2001 and 2002, financed by the National Geographic Society, a team led by Mr. Frost found a sort of blue-collar settlement spread across more than 16 square miles. They found the ruins of 200 structures and storehouses, an intricately engineered aqueduct, colorful pottery and tombs."
Mr. Frost is now trying to raise money for future expeditions to Qoriwayrachina, but he is already dreaming of other finds. I know of two sites that are sort of undiscovered, that Id like to discover, he said, explaining with a wry smile that he cannot reveal their locations. Its not a big thing, but I feel its wise not to broadcast intentions." From the "NY Times, May 13, 2004.
This is a wonderful book for armchair or bedside travelers; I hope to find a copy of my own in Cusco and perhaps even have a cup of Coca tea with Peter Frost himself.
On: 2008-01-15
A friend from Germany wrote: "Exploring Cusco by Peter Frost is a helpful book to have with you if you plan on visiting the Inca sites around Cusco, very good history and a nice chap as well." I found the book well written, literate, and carefully researched. My copy is the Fifth edition, published in 1999, ISBN 9972901564.
Many online traveler reports on Cusco [sometimes spelled Cuzco] praise the book, even though it is sometimes out of date in fast moving Peru on practical details like restaurants, stores, train schedules, and guides.
Frost is emphatic and clear:
"Tokapus signify symbolic, possibly hereditary information; they are not an alphabet."
"Inca art was their architecture, but so also was their textile weaving."
"Pisac ruins are filled with wonderful examples of Inca stonework and construction, set in a stupendous location. The complex seems to feature some example of almost everything the Incas did in terms of architecture, defense, religion, agriculture, roads and residential construction. Altogether, it is one of the most spectacular Inca sites in the Cusco region. For those who are fit and like to exert themselves, it is well worth the effort of scrambling and climbing up the west flank of the mountain to reach them from Pisac village.....you can hike into the ruins along a spectacular Inca pathway, through gateways and tunnels, experiencing as you walk a crescendo of stunning views of the Valley and Mount Pachatusan, to the south, beyond the river...."
I understand that the "Red Book" is sold in Cusco around the square, and you will have to do a bit of shopping in the States. The Amazon price is staggeringly high if you are watching your pennies, or even your dollars. Search on both "Cusco" and on "Cuzco"; both spellings are used.
Peter Frost is a British-born explorer and mountain guide who has lived in Cusco for many years. According to "The NY Times", in 1999 he led a group of hikers and "at 13,000 feet uncovered remnants of the Inca civilization that flourished here. They found looted tombs, a circular building foundation and the stonework of an aqueduct. The discovery in 1999 of Qoriwayrachina (pronounced co-ree-why-rah-CHEE-nah) was instantly hailed as a major find. It evoked the romantic image of the swashbuckling explorer unearthing a Lost City, an image embodied by Hiram Bingham, the American who in 1911 made the greatest Inca discovery of them all, Machu Picchu."
The article continues: "Mr. Frost, 58, who has a wiry build and a mop of white hair, is not an archaeologist. But through his work as a tour guide, photographer and author of the popular travel book, EXPLORING CUZCO, he has dedicated much of the last 30 years to learning everything he can about the ancient highlanders. Some people like the thrill of finding something and moving on to something else," he said. "But you want to do something useful with it. In two lengthy expeditions to Qoriwayrachina in 2001 and 2002, financed by the National Geographic Society, a team led by Mr. Frost found a sort of blue-collar settlement spread across more than 16 square miles. They found the ruins of 200 structures and storehouses, an intricately engineered aqueduct, colorful pottery and tombs."
Mr. Frost is now trying to raise money for future expeditions to Qoriwayrachina, but he is already dreaming of other finds. I know of two sites that are sort of undiscovered, that Id like to discover, he said, explaining with a wry smile that he cannot reveal their locations. Its not a big thing, but I feel its wise not to broadcast intentions." From "The NY Times", May 13, 2004.
This is a wonderful book for armchair and onsite travelers. It would be great fun to have a cup of Coca tea with Peter Frost in Cusco some day.
Robert C. Ross
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