Cusco city tour

Lots to see today. We went on a tour of the city that started by visiting Qorikancha (golden courtyard). In Incan times, it was the Temple of the Sun. The specially carved stone walls were at one point covered in gold leaf and many riches (silver, gold, precious stones) were placed in the area for religious reasons. But when the Spanish showed up, they took all of the gold and silver and melted it into bars. They also tore down some of the buildings, creating the church of Santo Domingo. Next we went to the La Catedral in La Plaza de Armas. The huge church had a large main cathedral (lavishly decorated with at least 100 gigantic paintings, gold, carved wood, silver, and other riches) and two smaller cathedrals (one on each side of the main room). One particularly interesting painting was of the last supper with a Peruvian twist on the cuisine featured including cuy (guinea pig) and a jug of what was probably chicha (a corn beverage). It is sad that it was built using stones and other materials pilfered from an Inca site and that it was built (over the course of about 100 years) by Incan hands starting in 1559.

After that, we visited Saqsaywaman, an Incan fort built in 1431. It took 77 years to complete this area of religious and military significance due to the materials: Large rocks, some of them weigh hundreds of tons, were hoisted into a hillside to create a series of walls and terraces. But due to the Spanish, only the foundations of these structures remain. This was followed by a visit to Tambomachay, a ceremonial bath area, including a spring that the Incans channeled through fountainds. They still function today.

Next up was Qénqo, a sacred sanctuary of worship to fertility, featuring a a carved monolith that could be a puma (no one knows) and a cave in which historians believe that animals such as llamas were sacrificed. Finally, we were taken to a factory where alpaca wool is turned into clothing. We were taught the difference between clothing that is fake alpaca and real alpaca. ("You want to make sure that it is made of the wool of a baby alpaca, not a maybe alpaca.")

´Twas a busy day.