3420m
It was a nice casual start this morning as we had a shared half day tour booked from 1pm. As such, after breakfast we took a walk to the main square, looking at the multitude of shops advertising 100% alpaca clothes or other tourist gimmicks. These were interspersed with the tourist agencies all offering the same tours to places around Peru. Then of course there were the cafes and restaurants all calling for your service and the street walkers also trying to peddle their ware. The main square of Cusco had several different forms of the police or military lining up with a brass band playing and a number of dignitaries under an awning just outside the cathedral. We thought it might have been a special occasion but this happens every Sunday. We walked around the square and got our Bolivanos converted to Soles and then found Cafe Cappuccino which was located on the first floor and managed to get a window seat overlooking the main square and all of the pomp and ceremony.
Suitably caffeinated we continued to look through the small alleys and streets that makes up Cusco, avoiding the cars which also inhabited the streets. Cusco is the oldest city in South America and the streets are wide enough to cope with a horse or burro, but do struggle with the half a million inhabitants and cars on the streets. Lunch was had at Jack’s, awesome place with massive servings.
Our tour guide turned up and it turned out it was a private tour. Our first stop was Saqsaywaman, an Incan settlement on the ridge surrounding Cusco. It is a immense site, with the main building comprising of three tiers and a raised section appearing as an eye (of a puma) which was used for astrological purposes. This was also a waka, a religious site sacred to the local Quechuan people. The stonework is amazing, with the blocks ranging in weight up to 170 tonnes and some being formed into up to 13 faces so that they all fit together perfectly. We also had a good view of central Cusco from here.
Next on the agenda was Q’enqo (the first ‘Q’ is guttural, almost as if you are clearing your throat. This was also known as the labyrinth as it is mostly a natural array of boulders forming a path, into which the Inca carved more astrological features, allowing them to accommodate seasonal features. This was also the second waka.
Another short drive took us to Tambomachay, a natural spring (of which they are yet to discover the origin) and our third waka of the day. Within sight of this site was Puka Pukara (red fort), so named for the iron red colour in the rocks. It was more of a custom post for Cusco than a fort, and was also used as a staging post for the quipu (Incan form of lengths of string and knots, used for communication) runners.
We drove back into Cisco to visit Coricancha (now a Dominican convent) but was built on top of an Incan complex, comprising of Temples to the Moon, Rainbow, Stars, Lightning and Sun. This was our last waka for the day. It gave a good indication of Incan architecture, and the fact that they built walls at a 7 degree incline with windows all being trapezoidal in shape was as protection against earthquakes, something we will come back to. There was a very good example of the accuracy of the Incas with a series of windows all aligning perfectly from the Temple of the Rainbow. It also housed a keystone which comprised of 13 faces and again fitted the stonework perfectly, with no gaps to fit a knife into.
Our last stop was the Cathedral of Cusco, which is a stunning cathedral on the outside, built from 1560 to 1664 and houses a painting of the north of Christ being looked on by a couple of llamas and one of the Last Supper, except this one contains one roasted Guinea pig in the middle of the table as well as corn and assorted fruit not available in either Europe or the Middle East. Both artists were Peruvian and put their own spin on the paintings. The cathedral is also home to Tauranga Temblores, the patron saint of earthquakes, and is represented by a statue of Christ, quite black with soot which is taken out on parade through the square once per year. Cusco suffered an earthquake in 1650 and when the statue of Jesus was taken into the square, the earthquakes stopped.
Finally, it was time to be dropped back at the hotel as it was now beer o’clock.
Our last