Cuzco, Peru

Saturday, March 8

Sunday, March 9

We experienced Cusco both as a group for most of a day, then “left the reservation” on our own for two nights and a day, which is our preferred MO.  With the group we get insights and opportunities that would be hard to prearrange on our own.  But with that comes a bus, schedules and few opportunities for spontaneity and interaction with locals.  Nevertheless, we enjoyed the full-day tour of Cusco, which is a beautiful and fascinating city, a blend of Spanish colonial and Inca culture and architecture. 

Plaza De Armas--the City Center

 The poor live up high, the wealthy live down below

  

Inside a monastery that was built within an Inca temple

The Spanish conquistadors tried to wipe out the Inca structures, but in the end, built their cathedrals and monasteries upon or within them, and the citizens blend Inca beliefs and traditions into their Catholicism.  The Incas built massive temples, terraces, and cities out of stones without the benefit of the wheel or steel tools.   The stones are so well fitted, that it is impossible to insert a razor blade or credit card between them. 

How did they lift and move these boulders and get them to fit?

A street, along the wall of our hotel, which was a huge hacienda in the colonial days, built into Inca stonework

Our second day was the last day of Carnivale, and we set out by foot to walk parts of this city, including some local markets and the dirt streets of lower-class neighborhoods high above the central city.  

When we returned to the Plaza De Armas, we came upon the Carnivale festivities.  We hadn’t had so much fun in a long time.  As dancers and marching bands proceeded around the square, almost everyone was throwing water balloons and shooting spray foam.  

So we bought a large can of foam spray and had a good time retaliating when the locals ambushed us, not knowing we were fully armed. We put up a good fight, but were still no match for the teenagers.   Laughter was everywhere.and we hadn't had so much fun in a long time.

We ended our brief stay in Cusco with a very nice dinner with six others from our group at the Inca Grill.  If we ever have the time, we’ll write about the food, but we’ll need to do that on a full stomach, because just thinking about the delightful fusions of cuisines here makes us hungry. 

On Monday, we spend most of the day getting to Quitos, Ecuador for three days.  We hear it is also a delightful city, but we will miss Peru, its scenery, food, and its friendly people.