Incas and Spaniards

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Geo: -13.52, -71.99

We left Lima at 9-30am and had a 2 hour flight to Cusco. This is high in the Andes mountains and is the gateway to the history of the Incas and their invasion by the Spanish. We checked in at our hotel which is in an old Spanish building with a great courtyard in the centre. Our room is comfortable but lacks light.

Once we were checked in we were taken to a restaurant for a lovely lunch. It began with the compulsory Pisco Sour then we had an entree of a local dish, a ball of mashed potato topped by avocado and chilli and mayonaise. It was delicious. For main we had chicken with the local Andean chips and then coffee. Very pleasant. From there we walked across the main square to the huge Cathedral, built in the 18th century. This dominates the square and is in three huge sections. The altars in the main central part and the two side chapels are all gold and silver. There are extremely large paintings done by local artists which try to meld the Incan with the Christian. Many of then incorporate symbols of the sun, snakes and other natural elements and depict Mary in similar ways to Pachamama, the Mother goddess of the native people.
We spent about 45 minutes inside but we were not allowed to take photos. We did see some of the silver and gold artefacts that are used for the large processions which mark Corpus Christi here.

From here we went to the Museum. This had a number of displays showing life in this area from early times. The Incas only ruled here for 100 years in the 16th Century so there was much going on before this. Again we couldn't take photos. By this time we were all extremely tired having left early in the morning. The displays were good but nothing like the exhibition we had gone to in Canberra in December.

From here we walked back to the hotel and I took some washing to a laundry up the street where for about 10 dollars I got a large bag washed, ironed and returned to the hotel in 2 hours. Excellent service. That night as we were both weary we stayed in the hotel and had dinner with Jim and Lorraine. The guys had Alpaca. I had a taste. it wasn't bad, We were in bed relatively early

The next morning we walked down to the Convent of St Dominigo. This is a Spanish building which was built on top of and around the old Inca temple of the Sun or Qorikancha. The Priory building is still used for its original purpose but the Incan remains are now preserved and on display. We observed the walls of the temple, noticing how the stonework fits together without any mortar, Some of the stones have multiple angles all carved and shaped to fit together. The windows are aligned and astronomical observations were thought to have occurred here. The convent itself is architectually interesting with a large central courtyard and cloisters along each side. These are lined with large paintings depicting the life of St Dominic albeit done with an Incan flair. Couldn't resist buying Dominican keepsakes for Jill and Jo in the gift shop!

From there it was onto the bus and off to the large Incan site on top of the hill overlooking the city. This is called Saqsayawaman. This an extensive site with huge stone walls and substantial terraces still remaining from the original Inca buildings. It is impressive how hjgh these walls are and the corner stones we are told weigh more than 100 tonnes. They were brought here from a quarry a mile and a half away using rollers oiled by Llama fat. Close by was a more recent Christian installation, Christo Blanco, a statue overlooking the city.

Then we went to Tayamtambo, another Incan ruin. We walked up the hill along a rushing stream and found more remains of the large walls and terraced hillsides. This was used as a purification site for priests and royalty before rituals. Fletcher's sciatica is still bad so he opted to stay at the bottom. The Incas certainly built for the future. Much of the stonework here has been demolished over time as the Spaniards and the local people used the stones for building their houses and churches.

Then it was back down to the city and free time for the rest of the day. We had a fabulous lunch at the Inka Grill in the town square.. We chose 3 small dishes, a cerviche of trout, stuffed yellow peppers containg a mince mixture and sesame seed covered small bites of chicken with a great dipping sauce. All fabulous. We were then tempted by dessert. I had a chocolate bar, a rich chocolate cake log with pouring custard and Fletcher had the Ponderacion, which consisted of a scroll of puff pastry in a soursop custard and a multi-coloured icecream. The waiter told him to smash it up and blend together and it was delicious, The Dos Fincas Sauv Blanc from Argentina was also sensational. Well sated we walked slowly back to the hotel for a rest.

That night we went to a small pizza cafe nearby for a pizza and beer and then it was an early night for a 5 am start tomorrow. I love Cusco!!

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Comments

[Jo]

Ooh. Dominican keepsakes! Very exciting. I am en route to Caluerga myself. In Singapore now. I'll start my travel blog in Madrid! Love, jo