Chocolate solves everything

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I knew I had woken up later than usual this morning, because the three people I was sharing with had already left for the day. There seemed little point in rushing to get ready this morning, especially with yesterdays events still hanging heavily on my mind. I eventually trudged down the stairs and towards the dinning room, where I arrived just in time breakfast. I didn't feel particularly hungry, but still managed to make my way through the mundane stone baked rolls before heading back upstairs.

I poured over the Internet for hours, looking at what there was to do in Cusco and still feeling rather uninspired. All the energy and drive to travel and discover had left me, with the news yesterday. The anger at my situation and the world at large for seemingly causing it, had turned into childish stroppiness over night. Although I had read about the delights of the Cocoa Museum, the beauty of the cities many churches and the colourful nature of the people that lived in Cusco, I was determined to continue feeling sorry for myself. I was feeling so depressed by my situation that I resolved to stay in the hostel and watch movies all day, rather than going out and exploring the new environment I had found myself in.

Eventually however, hunger took over from listlessness and I decided to go into town to find something to eat. I plodded meaninglessly along the small cobble stone street of Recoleta towards Plaza de Armas where I was sure to find something to fill my appetite. The closer I got, the more the scenery changed, going from potholed roads and reinforced concrete houses to neatly paved streets and beautiful colonial arcades. The drastic change was astonishing, and began to lift my mood and curiosity for this former heart of the Incan Empire. I decided first to visit the Cocoa Museum, hoping that the rush of organic sugar to my brain might further help my mood...and I wasn't wrong.

Tucked away on a second floor, just off of Plaza Regocijo, was the tiny homage to the art of the chocolatier. The mouthwatering smell hit me the second I opened the door and stepped into the small workshop. Although advertised as a museum, it was more of a quick history of the cocoa bean from planting to finished product, but more importantly, entry was free. I poked around their small room of exhibits and learnt about the long and complicated process of growing and caring for the plants before finally succumbing to my bodies craving for sugar. As well as bars of their organically grown and produced chocolate, they made individually wrapped flavours and delightful looking truffles. I wanted to try it all, but tempered my spending to just three of the truffles and a handful of the chocolates. Saving the truffles for later, I began to devour the entire S/.15 (£3.63) bag of chocolates one by one. It was safe to say that the obscene amount of sugar now rushing through my blood stream had lifted my mood significantly, and so I resolved to making the most of what time I had left of my travels.

The cities grand cathedral dominated Plaza de Armas and was an absolute must to anyone visiting the city according to the guide books, so what better place to start my sightseeing. Having bought my ticket for S/.50 (£12.10), which allowed me entry into a couple of the churches on the 'religious circuit', I decided to spend an extra S/.20 (£4.84) for a guide. Juan explained that the cathedral sat on the site of Inca Viracocha's palace, and had been built upon during the conversion of the Inca's to Catholicism. As we wondered through the huge domed buildings he pointed out painting after painting that had been created by Incan artists depicting various religious scenes. Juan explained that the Incan artists used iconography, with which they were already familiar to influence the look of the paintings, such as using parrot wings on angels and placing Mary on an Incan throne. There was even a painting of the last supper that hung near the altar with a plump roast guinea pig at it's centre. The craftsman ship in everything was astounding, down to the magnificent carved cedar wood choral pit that stood at the entrance. As Juan explained the significance of everything and guided me seamlessly around the cathedral and it's adjoining churches, my mood continued to lift. I finally left, brimming with enthusiasm to explore the rest of the city, as though I hadn't received any bad news at all.

I followed the 'religious circuit' tour and visited the Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesús, which also overlooked Plaza de Armas. The interior wasn't as impressive as huge art repository that was the cathedral, but the crypt that lay below was incredible. I was amazed that the delicately hand painted ceiling down here had lasted so long, given the earthquakes that Peru had suffered.

I decided to make a final stop before returning to the hostel, at the third spot on the circuit ticket - the Museum of religious art. I wasn't sure what to expect, but taking the audio tour I was handed began to walk around the museum. It's extensive collection was fascinating, and furthered the knowledge I had already gained from Juan, about the relationship and interactions between the Incan's and the Spanish conquistadors. Many of the pictures of Mary holding the baby Jesus depicted her in a dress that made her look triangular. This was because the indigenous artists had believed the mountains to be their gods before their conversion to Christianity, and when told paint Mary had depicted her and her gown in a mountainesque form. It was also fascinating to learn that when families commissioned paintings of Archangel Michael, they often requested that the face of the devil be that of an enemy of the family.

As I left the museum, I stopped to glance through my Lonely Planet and saw that the cities famous Hatunrumiyoc, or twelve sided stone was close by. Interested to see this architectural masterpiece, I followed my map and took a right out of the museum. I didn't have to walk very far, as it was built into the wall of the former place of the Inca, Roca. People filled the small alleyway, all keen to snap a picture with for what all intense and purposes was nothing more than a stone. As I joined them to get my photo taken I couldn't help but begin to giggle about the fact that it was nothing more than a twelve sided stone in a wall, although I dare not say anything incase someone got offended.

Having enjoyed my day far more than I had expected I wandered back to the hostel via one of the many bakeries that lined the route and grabbed a couple of empanadas. I was pleased my mood had changed for the better, and couldn't wait to find out what else Cusco had to offer tomorrow.

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