Cusco, part 2: ruins and historical heroes

Plaza de Armas, Cusco

After a scenic shared van (colectivo) ride from Ollantaytambo back to Cusco, we were happy to find the weather in Cusco much improved, actually sunny and warm.  We walked to our new hotel, Casa Mama de Cusco, that we had found on TripAdvisor and had visited previously to reserve our room.  We had a room with 3 single beds, so it was cozy, but it worked pretty well.  The room, including breakfast for us all was $50 a night.  Such a bargain, especially since the shower was reliably hot (not a given in Peru), and the wifi was pretty good too.

Our home for 4 nights in Cusco

Rooftop view from our room

In the afternoon we visited the museum of popular art, part of our Cusco boleto touristico (museum and ruins pass) that we had purchased when we visited Sacsayhuaman.  The popular art was pretty interesting, lots of whimsical sculpture.  Afterwards we searched for a multi-cache geocache that took us to several plazas around Cusco.  The boys were not thrilled until we happened upon Rey Kebab that has gyros (giros in Spanish)!  Henry is a big fan of gyros and has been deprived of them for quite a while.  We all enjoyed those for our dinner and decided to leave the final location of the multi cache until the next day.

Gyros!

On Monday, we went to where the end of the multicache was meant to be, but found that we had the wrong coordinates.  After re-reading the description and adjusting the coordinates, we walked on and up to find the correct site, a small ruins by a very large rock overlooking the city.  The ruins included a large stone carved and used for sacrifices.  We stood atop it and applied our sunscreen, which according to certain children is a huge sacrifice. 

For lunch, we tried a picanteria, with typical Cusco food.  The menu was barely recognizable, and included lots of meat.  We settled on chicken soup, pork chop and pollo dorado (roasted chicken).  It was all very good and flavorful.  The name picanteria apparently comes from the original spicy stews that were shared from private kitchens and later in little family run restaurants.   Reminded me of how we ate in rural Acolla: lots of meat, seasoned nicely, with rice and potatoes.  

After lunch we found a taxi to take us to the three Incan ruins just outside of Cusco, past Sacsayhuaman.  We drove the the farthest first, Tambomachay, then to Puka Pukara and finally to Q’enqo, from which we were able to walk back.  Love these names!  The ruins were all very cool and interesting.  Tambomachay means "guest house cave" in Quechua and was thought to be a springs/ bath for the Inca elite and possibly also a military outpost guarding the approach to Cusco.  It has aquaducts, canals and waterfalls and of course the beautifully fitted stones that the Inca were so good at building.

Tambomachay terraces

Guinea pig fence post fun

Puka Pukara (red fortress) is a military ruins, a former administrative center.  This fort is made of large walls, terraces, and staircases and was part of the defense of Cusco.

Puka Pukara

Fellow visitors at Puka Pukara.

Finally, at Q’enqo there is a partial cave in which a sacrificial alter has been carved.  Mummification was performed here as well.  There was also a large carved bench where special guests could sit, to have a front row view of the sacrifice or mummification.  Apparently it is one of the largest wak'as (holy places) in the Cusco region. 

Vistas below Q'enqo, above Cusco

Eucalyptus grove

OH-IO!  Go Buckeyes!

Happy crew... what we want to remember!

After some relaxing, chocolate, OHIO photo ops (the National Championship game was that night), we made our way down the hill to Cusco.  Nik found a Peruvian man selling paintings who was wearing an Ohio State sweatshirt, so of course that was another photo op.  Two sisters dressed in traditional outfits with a baby lamb made a gorgeous picture too.  We had so much fun overall walking around the narrow streets of Cusco, and we really started to learn our way around.  I was just nervous when we had to squeeze on to narrow sidewalks while cars zipped by on the narrow streets. 

Tuesday we visited the contemporary art museum, followed by the regional history museum, really nice!!  There were beautiful exhibits about pre-Incan and Incan culture and history.  Particularly interesting was the display about Tupac Amaru II, the late 18th century revolutionary/ martyr (1742-1781) who lead the first large-scale rebellion in the Spanish colonies.  He is credited with starting the independence movement that finally succeeded in 1821.  Sadly, he was quartered and beheaded by the Spanish in the main square of Cusco at the age of 39, after having to watch the executions of his wife, son, uncle and other compatriots.  Brutal times!  

Painting depicts the brutal end for Tupac Amaru II and his family.

On a lighter note... in the contemporary art museum.

There was also a great display on the earlier half-Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, whose father was a Spanish conquistador and mother was an Incan noblewoman.  His great great grandfather (I think) was the famous Incan emperor Pachacuti (who is credited for building Machu Picchu). He was born in 1539, lived in Spain from the age of 21, and died there in 1616.  He wrote a lot about the Inca, based on oral history from his mother and her relatives.  Apparently he was accepting of the legitimacy of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, but also wrote about the dignity, courage and rationality of Native Americans.  His writing includes a lot of Incan history and depicts them as benevolent rulers.  An interesting perspective!  A lot of later influential people read his works, including Tupac Amaru II.  It is recorded that Garcilaso de la Vega died on the same day as Shakespeare and Cervantes (author of Don Quixote).

We had dinner at an Indian buffet restaurant and then enjoyed a traditional dance and music performance at the Qosco center for native art.  This was awesome!  There was a live “orchestra” with guitars, violins and other traditional stringed instruments, as well as traditional flute-like instruments.  There were 10 dancers, who performed quite a few different traditional dances with different fabulous costumes.  Some were festival dances, while others were farming related.  One hour of pure enjoyment!  We returned to our hotel via the Plaza de Armas to see the square all lit up, which was beautiful.   Cristo Blanco was hovering over the whole scene, lit up brightly in the night sky.

We were finding lots of interesting and international food to eat in Cusco, and we continued this trend Wednesday with an excellent vegan lunch at Green Point, after our typical morning work/ school session.  After that we toured Cusco's churches, which was not highly appreciated by our kids.  The main Cathedral on the Plaza de Armas was huge, ornate and amazing.  We took the audio tour and learned, among many other things, that the use of mirrors in churches started in Cusco, in order to appeal to the locals who thought the mirror reflected one’s soul.  We also learned more about the Lord of Earthquakes (Señor de los Temblores), a dark-skinned Christ figure, who is believed to have helped stop the earthquake in 1650.  He is brought out every Easter week for a special procession, and worshiping him is thought to confer protection from earthquakes.  This originated from the Incan custom of parading around the mummified former kings.  Very interesting how Catholicism and the Incan faith and customs were merged!

Away-from-home school session.

Vegan sushi!

Cusco Cathedral

Henry's one souvenir: photo with baby lamb outside the Cathedral.  Aww!

San Cristobal Church, built on the site of Manco Capac's (first Inca) palace.

After a rich four days in Cusco, we returned to Lima by plane, then said goodbye to Peru and departed for Chile.  A few more scenes of Cusco before we go...

Our typical breakfast bread; kind of like pita.

Ready for another floor; we see this everywhere!  We have learned that there is a tax break for homeowners adding another level to their houses, so many houses appear to be construction sites, even if there is no active construction going on.

Inca oversees the Plaza de Armas

Qorikancha ‘Golden Courtyard’, long ago looted of its gold.
The base and solid black stonework to the left is original Incan handiwork.

Cusco, Peru stay #1: Incan beauty and Spanish destruction at Qorikancha, Saqsaywaman and the city center

On the streets of Cusco

We took a short hour-long flight on Peruvian Airlines from Lima to Cusco and spent three nights in the former Incan capital.  Located at about 3400 meters or 11,200 feet, it is located near the Urubamba Valley in the Andes.  Because of its significant history, the city center was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and was designated the Historical Capital of Peru in the country's constitution.  Needless to say, there are a lot of interesting things to see and do.

The Andes

The flight was pleasant, though a bit bumpy.  And the views unbeatable.

Our first Airbnb stay

Erica had booked an Airbnb place for three nights and it worked out fine.  This was our first stay in an Airbnb place, and it was a pretty good deal at about $55/night.  The location was good, we made our own breakfasts and the wifi was reasonable though not great, which seems to be the norm for Peru.  On the plus site, there was a steady supply of coffee and coca tea if needed.

As seen in Cusco.  No other caption needed.

Inka Museum

Cityscape from the Inka Museum

After getting our bearings we headed to the Inka Museum, possibly the most famous of the many area museums.  It is full of art from the pre-Incan people as well as the Inca themselves, set in a large Spanish-style building.  Clearly there is a strong cultural art history over the last couple of thousand years in this area.  There were several local artisans making and selling their wares including intricate gourd carvings, fabrics, paintings and weavings.  Even though several were extremely impressive and beautiful, we weren't remotely tempted because of our space limitations.  We learned later that a number of Incan gold pieces were stolen from the museum in the 1990s.

Charming street of Cusco

The city itself dates to about 1100 and certainly retains much of its old-world charm.  Several of the streets are made of stone, are steep and very narrow.  Many are barely passable by cars and with extremely narrow sidewalks.  It is very pleasant to wander through town.

Palomitas

Despite its touristy nature in the city center, Cusco is still a relatively inexpensive place in which to eat and explore.  We sampled a lot of street food including grilled alpaca which was quite tasty.

Coca flour for energy and life, found (though not purchased) in a grocery store

New sweaters!

Despite our plans to avoid buying anything material, Madeleine and I could not resist new sweaters of soft alpaca wool.  Despite the layers we'd brought with us, we were cold in the cool Andean rainy season and these great sweaters could not be beat, especially at $15 each.

More fine Incan architecture

We were blessed with a morning of blue skies and sunshine and took a taxi ride way up above the city to the Incan fortress of Saqsaywaman (pronounced just like "sexy woman").  This location is most famous for its fine stonework, with large stones so well matched that even after 500 years a piece of paper cannot be placed between them.  It was impressive to say the least.

Awaiting photo ops at Saqsaywaman

Cusco from above

We meandered the grounds in the sun and were feeling quite warm.  Within an hour, the clouds, wind and rain rolled in and our sunscreening seemed pretty silly.

Rain-ready!

We strolled down the hill through the steep and charming streets of the San Blas neighborhood while the rain subsided again, to the central plaza of Cusco.

Cusco's Plaza de Armas

At least they're having fun.

After some protestations from some of our crew, we explored another famous spot in town, Qorikancha.  This sacred spot was the site of the Incan Temple of Gold.  As had happened many times in the past, the Spanish destroyed the site in the 16th century and built a cathedral atop.  This particular location had been sacred and special for its gold work, most of which was melted down by the Spanish and shipped off to Spain.  There is another interesting museum underground and a large complex and cathedral above.  Some of the original Incan walls are still preserved.

Qorikancha Museum skulls showing evidence of Incan neurosurgical techniques.  Apparently about 65% of trephinations allowed the patients to survive!

Incan mummy in traditional fetal position

Qorikancha courtyard, Incan walls barely visible in the right background.

One cannot leave Qorikancha (or Cusco for that matter) without being impressed with the destruction that the Spanish delivered to the native Peruvian people and their culture.  It is a theme we have seen over and over again.

Qorikancha:  old and new

We felt as if we'd only scratched the surface of Cusco after two full days and will be eager to come back again after five days in the Sacred Valley, being able to visit the most famous of Peruvian locales:   Machu Picchu.