Around Cuzco

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Okay, so spent the afternoon wandering around Cuzco. Cuzco was the Inca Capital, and full of Inca palaces. You can see a lot of Inca Stonework, which usually forms the base of buildings, and on top you see Spanish Colonial architecture. When the Spanish arrived they used the original Inca work as the foundations for their own buildings, hence the conbination of styles. I have to say the Inca work makes the Spanish look quite crude. Nevertheless there are some excellent Spanish Cathedrals around the main square.

The tour guide said that Cuzco was a city prone to earthquakes. When earthquakes occurred the Spanish architecture was severely damaged, but the Inca work remained in place.

Had lunch in a restaurant overlooking the main square for about $5US, (if it was the main square in Venice you would be looking at at least ten times the price!)

After lunch went to a few museums around Cuzco, all in walking distance, but nothing spectacular to my uninformed eye. The first place I went was a museum of art by Peruvians painted in the 16th and 17th centurys but in European Styles.

The second place I went was some sort of Museum of the History of Cuzco. My Spanish was not up to reading the notes about the various exhibits.

The final place I went was a museum of contemporary art.

To my uneducated and uninformed eyes, the museums were okay. I think that they would be great for those with an interest in Peruvian Culture and History. To me they were a welcome respite form the noise, and heat of the streets, as well as the usual numbers of people trying to sell you stuff in the streets. (I did end up buying some souvenirs, I could not resist the women selling handy crafts while carrying babies around on their backs - don't think that I could become hardened to this. So I guess people are going to be getting a bunch of hand knitted socks, hats, and woven belts as souvenirs.)

Ended the day by taking a few photos of the streets and the main square. Cuzco is a really beautiful city and interesting city. With this beauty comes heaps of tourists, can't complain really because I am one of them. Everything has it's price.

Want to see more photos?

Have a look at my website here: http://www.firemanonasailingship.com/photos/

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Photos

Cuzco Alley
Note the contrast between the Inca stonework on the left and the Colonial stonework on the right.