Cusco

*Editor’s Note: most sacred places and museums in Peru don’t allow photos.

*Editor’s Note 2: altitude sickness got us down on day one, but we recovered enough to see most of cusco day two. (Cusco is at a casual 11,152 ft,)

Day 1-ish

Qorikancha: A stunning, former Incan temple that was seized and converted by the Spanish to form a convent. Much of the original Incan foundation is still intact. An Earthquake in 1650 ravaged much of the city and destroyed nearly all of what the Spanish had built. Because of the Incan method of stone laying (perfect cuts, no mortar, etc.) all remaining Incan structures stayed intact. This place contains the Sun temple, moon temple, rainbow temple and others.

Green Point: D had the best chip of her life. Yeah, like a tortilla chip. It was like those homemade ones that are extra fried but then done again … and again.

Day 2

Jack’s Cafe: a highly rated cafe in Cusco for breakfast things… honestly, was fine. But very cute cups and dishes. Mas is obsessed with all of the cups, plates and small wood spoons here.

Inka Museum: A charming museum documenting the pre/Inca civilations, the rise of the Incas and the arrival of the Spanish and incan integration. Tons of anthropomorphic pottery, fascinating tools of craft and agriculture and textiles galore.

We even got a little private show from a man playing Incan instruments… the whistling bottles were pretty spectacular. https://twistedsifter.com/videos/inca-whistling-water-vessels-mimic-animal-calls/

Sacsayhuaman: Pronounced basically like “Sexy Woman” 🙄. This was a very important religious site and fortress (quite the combo) of the Incan people. Built on a hilltop overlooking the city, it was also an important place for the culture the Incas conquered, and then the Spanish destroyed much of it.

This was a place rich in agricultural prayer and also home to the annual sacrifice on June 21, the Sun solstice and the most important day of the Incan calendar. Here they would sacrifice a black alpaca because to the Incans, black was pure and holy.

Town outside of Sacsayhuaman: our guide told us if we wanted the goods, we needed to go to the authentic small town outside of Cusco, and we wanted the goods. He took us to this place that made silver jewlery “not the street market garbage” (his words) and garments made of only the finest 100% Baby Alpaca Wool, meaning it is made of the alpacas first haircut. We got some stuff but while we were shopping for alpaca garments 4 alpacas wandered into the store to see if we had good taste. One was a black alpaca (poor guy). Fortunately, they’ve stopped with the sacrificing, but according to our guide only 1/3000 birthed alpacas are black these days .

Plaza de Armas: the center of Spanish and touristic life in every Spanish city. Here was no exception. Not one, but two cathedrals. A McDonalds, KFC and Starbucks in buildings older than the United States, a gold statue/fountain and lots of aspiring street artists. Truly beautiful.

Cathedral Cusco/Museo Arzobispal: The central cathedral of Cusco is big… big enough that it’s actually three connected churches. We saw lots of silver and gold, a famous last supper depiction where the centerpiece is the corpse of a cuy (Guinea pig), and a Dark-skinned Jesus – this large sculpture of the crucifixion was initially intended to be more relatable to the Incans and convert them, however it ended up stopping the horrific earthquake of 1650 (rumor has it) and that gave it a new name Cristo de Los Temblores. It is now a sacred piece in the Cuzcan tradition.

Mercado San Pedro: Bustling market full of things we’ve never seen before… including a not very hungry Mas 😦 tons of Cusco/Peru swag and alien fruits.

Ciccolina: Yummy Peruvian/Italian restaurant with an excellent view of colonial architecture. We had some delicious gnocchi made from Peruvian potatoes, some toasts with mango chutney, wasabi prawns and a quite nice lamb shank.

Centro Qosqo de Arts Nativos: we had a tourism pass that let us get in to a lot of historical and cultural sites, including a traditional Andean dance show, so of course we went. Phenomenal music that felt like the beginning of El Condor Pasa by Simon & Garfunkel and lots of stomping, shouting and courting on stage. The standout… the dance where the men channel the male alpaca in order to woo the ladies.

Museo de Pisco: pisco is the national spirit of Peru. It’s like if you made wine in the way that people make whiskey… made with grapes and everything. Delicious drinks and a fun little salted dehydrated corn… think popcorn but instead of little corn nebulas it’s more like corn teeth.

Trattoria Nonna: starting to get our appetites back… we had a big ol veggie calzone right before bed. YUM.

Day 3-ish

Three Monkeys Coffee: cute little food court but colonial era, Cuzco-style. Avocado toast that was like $4 and was TOO much avocado, good coffee … what more can you ask for! This was our last stop before hopping in a taxi and heading through the Sacred Valley… more on that soon!

¡Hasta luego!