Pachacutec, builder of so much of ancient Cusco is pictured in the postcard above. We absolutely loved the setting of his beautiful city and could totally understand why he would want his capital here, despite its 11,000+ foot altitude.
We arrived in Pisco, Peru on the morning of January 28 to this beautiful sunrise with two of these pilot boats to help Serenade get to the dock.
We were on our way to Cusco pretty quickly, knowing that our actual visit to Machu Picchu was in jeopardy. There was a strike that had begun just the week before to protest online ticket sales, a problem we hoped would be resolved quickly so that we'd still make our date with one of the places we had most looked forward to. Alas, the strike ended the day AFTER we left Cusco, such is life sometimes.
There were about 500 passengers from the cruise going on this tour, one that was included in our trip, so Royal Caribbean had chartered multiple planes to get us there. The logistics for both they and the tour company, Akorn Destination Management, were staggering but it all came together in an amazing way.
Waiting at the airport I took a photo of my boarding pass, my bag and the #47 which would be our group of ten throughout the visit. At this point we didn't know anyone else in our group. There were 50 groups, meaning 50 small buses wending their way through Cusco and its surroundings. Our flight was only about an hour so it was a quick up and down.
As we exited the airport, music and dancers greeted us, lining the sidewalk to our left and right as we headed to our buses. The rainbow flag you see in the background at the bottom right is the flag of Cusco, representing the Inca community and seven elements of nature.
We were also given a cup of muña tea, or Andean mint tea, to help with altitude sickness. Apparently it's not supposed to give you the buzz the coca tea, although the latter would be available as well. I quite liked the flavor. I had started taking altitude medicine the day before, Karl decided he would pass on taking it. I'm not sure if it did anything for me or not but I didn't have any issues while in Cusco.
The ladies were also handed this pretty little bouquet just before entering the bus, it was such a lovely gesture.
We were whisked away immediately to have lunch at a local restaurant called Chicha. Different groups went to different restaurants as we had staggered arrival times in the city.
We wandered through the old building a bit to get where we were going to eat and along the way saw this mural depicting a few of the devils or imps that are part of the Festival of Senora del Carmen in July each year.
Lunch here was delicious and we all wished we hadn't eaten that sandwich they'd given us on the plane. I added the water bottle to the collage since I only saw glass bottles in Cusco, not any plastic ones. We had a tasty vegetable soup, chicken with coucous, and an apple and quince tart à la mode for dessert, that last was especially good. I tried a drink called Chicha Morada that's made from purple or black corn. It reminded me of the Sorrel that I loved in Barbados, fruity with an infusion of cinnamon and cloves. Definitely good stuff!
The translation for this sign on the wall at the restaurant reads "Every morning the best products from the valleys, rivers, and lakes of Cusco arrive in our kitchen. Thanks to them we can pay homage to Cusco cuisine." A fitting tribute, as it was delicious.
As you can see in the picture we were definitely no longer in the dry clutches of the deserts that run along the west coast of South America. It was rainy season in Cusco where they only have two seasons, rainy which runs from November through April and the dry running through the rest of the year. Just a note, the original name of this square was Wahkhipata in Inca times and the statue of Pachacutec stands in the center.
One of multiple cathedrals in the city, this one was built by the Jesuits. Just a little about Cusco, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located about 80 km (50 mi) southeast of Machu Picchu, three days walk for the Inca, this city is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the Western Hemisphere and was once capital of the Inca Empire, believed by the Inca to be the "navel" or center of the world, with the rest of their empire radiating out from it. Located in a fertile valley in the heart of the central Peruvian Andes it is blessed to have water from several rivers, plus some natural springs but has become so populated that in years without much rain water can be a problem.
There may have been a population of up to 200,000 Inca living here at the height of their civilization. You can still see remnants of their incredible construction techniques in spots in the city as well as many structures that show the influence of their Spanish conquerors such as those above.
Here's another of the churches overlooking houses that climb the hillsides. Downtown Cusco is prime real estate and small homes here can go for over a million dollars. Because it is a UNESCO site there are rules about anything being torn down, most just have to be restored which leads to more expense.
Mountains surrounded us on every side of this lovely plaza, and while it looks to be a gray day we only got a little bit of rain.
Our next stop was the Franciscan Cathedral that was just next door to the Jesuit one from above, both were on the main plaza. This one is known as the Cusco Cathedral as it was the first, begun in 1559 and completed in 1668. It was built on the site of an Incan temple, which didn't set well with the Inca so they burned down the first attempt.
This part was the beginnings of the church, now known as the Templo del Triunfo, the original name was Temple of the Virgin of the Assumption. No photography was allowed inside of the antiquities it contained but it was beautiful, as impressive as any cathedral in Europe with vaulted ceilings, massive murals, impressive altars. It contains the first cross that arrived in Peru with the Spanish in 1533.
One of the famous paintings in the cathedral is this one that I got from the Tierras Vivas website, an example from what's called the Cuzco School, a group of artists who did paintings for the various cathedrals. (English speakers often spell Cuzco with a "z" but I'm going to stick with Spanish spelling that uses "s" in most cases.) This one was done by an artist named Marco Zapata. You'll notice the animal on the platter in the center, a cuy, (cooee) or guinea pig, something much loved by the locals, as well as native fruits. Another feature of this painting is that Judas, in the right foreground, could be a doppelganger for for Francisco Pizzaro, the conqueror of Cusco.
Another beautiful piece was this Madonna and Child, copied from the Wikicommons website, painted by Bernardo Bitti, a student of Michelangelo, who came to Peru to instruct other painters.
Unique but not surprising considering all the silver the Spanish removed from Peru, is this intricate silver altar, photo from Trip Advisor, that is the main one in the cathedral. It replaced a massive wooden one made of cedar that was the original. I found it interesting that at one of the other altars the statuary was dressed in the colors of the local soccer team. There is also a stone near the main entrance that is believed to have been a part of the origianl Inca temple. People will leave coca leaves or candy on it in respect of the Quechua religion and their gods, bits of that faith are hidden in many of the paintings as well.
Cusco is a city of over 400,000 with 5000 years of history. If you include the neighborhoods in the outskirts it becomes a metropolis of around two million. This photo shows the contrast of the old and new within the city.
Some of the homes up on the hillsides don't have running water or electricity but people continue to come, although there are others who are moving to what's called "the sacred valley of the Incas", which is on the way to Machu Picchu and our destination for the next day.
Just a random photo from when we exited the cathedral. Lots of people around enjoying the summer holidays, hawkers selling everything from jewelry to magnets to coats and hats plied the steps and sidewalks. Not sure what the reason was for this photoshoot but she's certainly lovely.
We were definitely ready to head for our hotel, the Monasterio, in the middle of old Cusco and created from, yep, an old monastery. After living in our cabin on Serenade for almost two months all the space we had here felt luxurious, and the bathroom especially large. The hangers on the door were for "Do Not Disturb" and "Maid Service." and we each had a bag of goodies for us on the bed containing sunscreen, lotion, insect repellent, hand sanitizer and chapstick. The room key ring was a heavy brass one that was better to leave with the front desk when you left that to carry around in a pocket!
After a short rest we were off again to a Franciscan convent that was built between 1590 and 1600 for our dinner.
We were welcomed in by these "joker" dancers in their costumes and masks. Sometimes they just danced by and other times were right in your face. Great escorts to the dinner room.
This one stopped long enough for Karl and I to get a photo with her.
Just loved the way these candles looked.
The music from these native instruments was lovely, lots of flute in Peruvian music. Unfortunately we were in the next room over and with the echos, plus the loud music in there we were unable to hear much of it.
Here's one to give you an idea of the look of the interior of the convent. I must admit here that the venue itself was better than the food. This was probably the only meal we had that I didn't really enjoy. Part of my problem my have been that I was getting really tired, the altitude was wearing on me.
Following the dinner we were treated to a show with more dancers in masks and various "gods" on stilts, this one was the sun. Our guide realized afterwards that we would probably have enjoyed it more if we'd had our "whispers" in our ears so that he could explain what was going on. The "whisper" was an earbud connected to a receiver attached to a lanyard we wore that Walter, our guide, could instruct us through without having to yell.
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