26 Dec 2005 - Cusco
A new day in Peru! Were ready by 8:30 am. There was
breakfast downstairs. It was very informal and unassuming, and so tasty.
Started with papaya and orange juice. Then came the local bread, kind of like
the pita bread only tastier. And of course coffee. Amazing coffee – Indian
style not American! Everything was just great. Really felt like I was on a
vacation.
Went off to wander the streets of Cusco. Took the scenic
route to San Blas, a beautiful plaza with a church. On the way were several art
shops. We did buy a number of things today. The plaza up the San Blas was
lovely. Stopped by another shop there to take pictures and shop. We walked
uphill on Choquechaca to get to another plaza. This walk was a killer!
And then we turned left and there were more stairs!! The first right from that road brought us to a beautiful spot from where we could see the entire Cusco valley. The walk was so worth it. We sat there for a while. A few women walked by with llamas and of course we would have pay them to take pictures with the llama – did not do it!
Went back to
the hotel after a little more shopping. Ate lunch, took a nap. The tour bus
came to pick us up at 1:40 pm. It was for five places:
1.
Cathedral at Plaza de Armas
2.
Museum of Religion (or Museo de sittio del
Quricacha)
3.
Saqsaywaman
4.
Tambomachay
5.
Qenqo (Quencho)
Here is the description.
1.
Cathedral at Plaza de Armas: at least we had
seen the Plaza, but the church came as a great surprise. It was just beautiful
inside. We were not allowed to take pictures inside because the Catholic Church
has patents on the design – well fine. The left entrance had a beautiful gold
motif from floor to roof – about 50 ft. tall! Amazing! And the work was very
intricate and beautiful. It’s strange because outside the building is a just a
dark stone building and inside it’s just too beautiful. There was a huge
painting which has both Spanish and Cusconian art. There was a beautiful organ
room for the choir. Lovely architecture. All the work was a great blend of
Spanish and Cusconian art. The central pulpit was made with 2.4 tons of silver.
All so beautiful. Apparently the church had been destroyed by an earthquake
about 400 years ago, but was restored again in 1912. All just beautiful – wish
we could have taken pictures.
2.
Museum of Religion (or Museo de sittio del
Quricacha): This was okay. There were some old Inca walls. The guide, Jose,
told us about the architecture. The big stone blocks were kept on top of each
other, not cemented together. There were grooves which would fit into the
stones to hold them.
The next three stops were old architectural sites, quite
similar but different purposes.
3.
Saqsaywaman – this was very impressive! These
were huge stones placed in a zig zag manner in three steps. The guide was not
able to explain why they were made this way. Maybe the zig zag was lightening
and the three steps were the order under the universe, the earth, hell and
heaven? The only thing remaining of whatever these blocks were for were just
huge stones in an entropic manner. Apart from the huge blocks and design there
was nothing else to see here.
4.
Tambomachay – this was smaller and was supposed
to be a resting spot for travelers and did not have any buildings remaining.
5.
Qenqo (Quencho) – also did not have much except
for some tunnel. The guide said it was supposed to be a temple – but who
knows?!
Drove back to the city and got dropped off at the hotel
around 5:30 pm. Got a little bit of a city tour from the bus. Decided to go to
a dance/cultural show at 7 pm. So had some coca tea and left at 6:30 pm. The
cultural center is not far at all, and besides everyone seems to walk here. The
show was quite nice. The dresses were quite colorful and interesting. The
dances were quite pretty but had very similar steps in almost all dances. It
was still good to see.
Came back by 8:30 pm, had dinner and time to go to bed!!
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