Cusco, Peru -- April 2015 -- Day 24

Day 24 April 26, 2015 … Breakfast was on the 10^th floor of the beautiful Belmond Miraflores Park Hotel outside of Lima overlooking the park below, the ocean and beaches, as well as the high rises. We hopped a flight to Cusco, a city of about 500,000 people at about 11,000 feet, high in the Andes Mountains. There is so much history here relating to the native Incas who were conquered by the Spanish. We checked into the Aranwa, a lovely old Spanish hacienda that has been converted into a modern hotel with oxygen forced into the room via computer in case of issues with the altitude!  

The Cathedral in
Cusco, Peru

After settling in and a light lunch, our guide Henry and driver Pablo took us on a tour of the city. We started with the Cathedral.  Peru is 80 percent Catholic, and religion is the most important aspect in the lives of the Indians.  The enculturation of the Incan religious beliefs into the Church is very interesting. Walking into the side church of the Cathedral was an overwhelming jaw-dropping phenomenon.  I trembled in awe at the side altars on the right and on the left, plus the main altar in front covering the entire wall, looking at them all encased in gold leaf … it was so stunningly beautiful, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! We spent about an hour going through the Cathedral with Henry explaining how the Incas incorporated some of their beliefs into the paintings they did for the church. Unfortunately pictures are not allowed inside the church, so it all remains a memory … and you’ll have to come to Cusco to see it for yourself!  I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Our next stop was Qorikancha, the first Dominican convent which was built over the Inca Sun

Henry & Bob in front of the
trapezoid-shaped stone blocks
constructed by the Incas

Temple.  As a result of the devastating earthquake here in the 1950s, many parts of the Inca Sun Temple were exposed. After extensive research and digging out to expose the temple walls, they discovered how the Incan ingenuity of constructing trapezoid-shaped stone blocks withstood all earthquakes. Without iron tools or even the wheel, these stones were precisely cut to fit together tightly without mortar. The tectonic plates in this area are shifting every day so earthquakes are common. And now places like Japan, California, and other earthquake prone areas are using that same Incan civil engineering know-how to construct buildings to withstand the quakes.  Unbelievable.

Marcie & Bob
in front of one of
the largest stones
moved to
Saksaywaman

Next, Saksaywaman, an area with two large hills facing each other on which the Incas brought huge boulders from five miles away (no wheels, horses, etc., to move them … only pebbles and possibly tree trunks) to shave and fit together. As in the Sun Temple, the boulders are sanded into trapezoid shapes, all fitting together perfectly. They theorize the intent was to build a very large religious celebration area. It was never finished. It was quite a site. Close by were limestone rock formations that they carved into altars used for religious sacrifices and where people were mummified, part of the process of returning that person to the earth. Tambomachay is another series of trapezoid boulders where the Incas channeled water from a river though a series of aqueducts, canals and waterfalls through these stones creating one fountain on one level

The Incan fountans at
Tambomachay

and two fountains on  the bottom level symbolizing the coming together of man and woman. They worshiped water as a sign of life. Interesting that nothing has been done to maintain this system in 500 years, yet the flow and volume of water in the falls remains exactly the same every day, year after year.

The Incas believe Cusco was the center of the universe (Cusco was distorted to Cuzco by the Spanish. The original pronunciation was officially restored about 40 years ago) and had built an extensive empire around it. The Spanish developed it as a typical European city with red tiled roofs and very narrow streets … that, with the advent of vehicles, is proving to be quite a challenge to drive. It is situated in a high valley; and as it grows, more people are building up the sides of the treeless mountains. It’s really quite pretty. Because of the altitude, they are limited in what they can grow themselves, but potatoes, lima beans, quinoa and some wheat are common. The people are generally vegetarian because there are few meat animals around, though they love to feast on guinea pig on special occasions! Of course tourism is big now, bringing more affluence to the community; and even I broke down and purchased an alpaca throw from one of the vendors, but we declined to try the guinea pig!!

Views of Cusco

  I think we’re having some issues with altitude, especially in the little walking we did today through the ruins.  We asked for additional oxygen in our room … and it’s very early to bed, as tomorrow is going to be a very long day!  Another extremely interesting, fascinating and educational day!