Cusco - City of the Inca King - Son of the Sun God

Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016, WTRD 79 

It feels somewhat decadent to sleep in this morning until 7:00 a.m.  WooHoo!  I wake up at 7:00 only because there are fireworks going off very close to our hotel.  So much for church bells.  This is the way the local churches let parishioners knows that the mass on Easter Sunday is about to start.

Our guide Renaldi lives in Cusco, and has been away from 1 year old son since the start of this trip in Lima.  Happy to be home now, he will collect us at 9:00 am for a walking tour of the city in the morning and the afternoon is free.

I drop off laundry at 8:30 a.m. , but first I must negotiate the narrow street.  Fortunately it isn't too busy.

I have only packed 1 pair of long pants and have worn them or a couple of days as we have traveled to higher elevations where it has been cooler.  We will be at higher elevations for three more days and the rainy season is not quite finished.  This is the last chance I will have to get the pants and other laundry washed and dried before we leave.

It's Easter Sunday, but the laundry is open for business.  The owner assures me that the laundry will be done by 5:00 pm.  I am hoping the day will  be warm enough so that I can wear my knee length pants.  If I pick up the laundry at 5:00, I'll have time to change into the long pants before dark when it will be cold.

Our group meets, and we walk to the area that is the Inka street outside the remains of the Inca King's palace, now the walls of a church and convent...the irony of it all.

Reny points out the Inca construction perfection.

The Catholics tried to destroy the Inca walls, but they are so strong and built with such long lasting precision, that the remaining walls have been incorporated into the Catholic Church.  Since Easter Masses will end around noon, the Convent that was once the Temple of the Sun God will not open until 2:00 pm.

We marvel at the wall construction and the amount of craftsmanship and labor that must have been involved.  The Andes to the Sea areas of South America (Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chili) were all a part of the Inca Empire in the early 1500's.  The term Inca really referred the King and government.  The upper class administrators of the military and government lived in Cusco, and the finest artisans were brought here to build the palace and the city.  

Before the Spanish invasion and destruction of the Empire in 1520, the empire consisted of numerous indigenous tribes that had been become a part of the empire either through peaceful assimilation or conquest, but they still referred to their own tribal name. (Similar to Californians belonging to the United States of America).  It is estimated that at the height of the Inca Empire, there were 13-30 million people!  

After touring the main squares and streets, photographing people enjoying Easter morning in their church finery and sitting in the park,

we went to the local market and took notice of the special Easter breads and pastries, large round loaves and flat breads with colorful sprinkles and the little pig who wanted to go wee wee all the way home, but didn't make it.

The breads were a bit suspicious in terms of cleanliness, but this was over the top and I could barely eat meat the rest of the trip.

Easter Guinea Pig anyone?

After our guided walking tour, we were on our own the rest of the day.  Russ and I stopped in a little cafe for lunch, meandered through the city streets, visited the Temple of the Sun God, and the handcraft market before returning to our hotel for a rest.  Russ is still not up to his usual energy level.  

Russ oblivious to Street Vendor

So while he rested, I attempted to walk to the laundry and met up with part of our group who had just returned at 5:00 empty handed.  Clothes were  not ready.  Come back in and hour they were told.  I went down to the laundry at 6:00 pm, and the clothes were still not ready please come back at 6:30.  I think the family was celebrating Easter and didn't get back in time to have the clothes ready.  No worries.  We picked up our clothes at 7:45 on our way to dinner.  I was a bit  chilly on the legs, but we weren''t walking far, so it really didn't matter.

We returned to the hotel after dinner, and discovered that the socks were still damp, but the rest was nicely folded.  I picked up the stack and laid it in the suitcase, and hung the socks on our radiator type heater.  The room was nice and toasty, and we retired for the evening.  Tomorrow, we leave at 9:00 with the same quick pack into the bus, and head to Olliantyotambo with some interesting archeological stops along the way.

All is Well With the Worrall Travel R's in the Highlands of Peru

Onward to Cusco - Inca City of the Sun God

Saturday, March 26, 2016, WTRD 78

This morning, we are up early and leaving for Cusco City.  Unlike most of our trips where our small group of 10 have a private mini bus to ourselves, we take our small bus to a terminal in Puna to join a large tourist bus that will take us to Cusco.

This is a 50 passenger bus, we hold tickets 39- 50.  We must have gotten the last tickets, and our group is in the very back.  The bus has a toilet for number 1 only in an emergency, a guide, and a hostess who serves free soft drinks, water, and tea.  None of us is looking forward to the ten hour bus ride to Cusco.  I don't think any of us realized the vast distances between the ancient sites we have been visiting.

Turns out that the drive was quite enjoyable, with many opportunities for drive-by candid photography of everyday people,

stops for restrooms, and at least five tourist stops to museums,

Inca Priest holding a sacrificial head

Cattle - Good luck and symbols of fertility

city centers,

pastoral settings,

Inca archeological sites,

Inca Temple

Food Storage Facilities

 and churches.

Decked out for Holy Week

We are at the end of the Holy week.  In one church we stop in, a group of local Catholics including the priest are celebrating early with a bottle of rum and a shared shot glass in front of one of the processional displays in the church.

Happy Hour with a Bottle of Rum

Everywhere we stopped, Mamas and their children in highland Peruvian costume (not their normal clothing) were selling and opportunity to take a photo with them, along with all kinds of touristy wares.  The guide was very knowledgeable and his English understandable.

Alpaca Love....To Eat Hair and Hats

We arrived in Cusco late in the day and transfer from the large bus to a small mini bus than can negotiate narrow streets.  By the time we checked into our hotel the sun was setting.  Our hotel is on an incredibly narrow street with side walks of less than a foot wide.

We are instructed to be very, very careful while walking on this street because of the heavy traffic, and be especially alert and try to step into a door frame when a tourist bus goes through because the extended side mirrors could take us out.

Because there is no place to park and when the bus stops to unload us and our luggage, we stop traffic until the bus is emptied.  We scuttle out of the bus as if it were on fire, and the guide, driver, and hotel staff in bucket brigade style toss out the luggage.  We are evacuated in less than three minutes, and there is a long line of traffic behind us.

We check into the hotel at 5:40 and reconvene at 6:30 for an evening orientation walk and dinner.  Our guide has made arrangements for a doctor to visit one of our group who is still quite ill.  We return from our walk to the main square and dinner at local restaurant.  Intrepid tours, sister to Peregrine tours promotes responsible socio-economic tourism. In India, we knew that part of our tour fee helped a women's cooperative paper making factory.  We had the opportunity to visit the factory.

Here in Cusco, this particular restaurant matches the donation from Intrepid/Peregrine tours and a part of our tour fees  plus a portion of our dinner bill to an abandon women and children's center in the highlands. Unfortunately, it is too far and too difficult for us to visit, but we know that by eating here, we are helping these women and children.

Cusco on Easter Eve.

There are many people milling about the square tonight.  Tomorrow they will go to mass and Holy week will come to an end.

All is well with the Worrall Travel R's in the city of the Incas