Today we had a relaxing start which was excellent after the train torture of yesterday. Our meeting time was for 10 am. I happened to wake up early and had breakfast at 5:30 and enjoyed the hotel lobby by myself until almost six when another couple from our group came to sit with me. When the dining tables were filling up the waiter opened the bar and gave me a table and chair there so I could continue online and it was great. Very quiet so I was able to catch up a little here.
Madeline stayed at the hotel for a 'me day' and I joined the others for a walking tour. Our hotel is nicely situated just a couple of blocks from the historic center of the city. We saw the Inca ruins that were long covered up by a Dominican monastery which partially collapsed in the 1950 earthquake. The ancient treasure was discovered then and the Dominicans were then required to open their doors to the public to share this lost heritage.
The carved stones were fit together perfectly without mortar and withstood the damage of even the earthquake except for the Temple of the Sun. It has one long crack which is blamed on the weight of the church built above it. The Incas used a system of fitting the stones tightly together with some being grooved out so others could be cut oppositely with extensions to fit in the grooves. The lintels were rounded to give more support. The Temple of the Sun was open to the sky so that built in projections would cast shadows foretelling the dry or rainy season. It has windows in which at the solstices the sun would perfectly project onto the opposite wall. On one June 21 it rained and stormed and no shadows were cast so sacrifices of llamas and other animals and gifts of fruit and baskets of bread were brought to the altar set between the windows to appease the angry God of the Sun. The rains stopped and even to this day there is a festival of the Sun with a big feast. The Inca people celebrate with dancing and parades to thank the Sun God for blessing them
We visited the cathedral which was ornately decorated with the gold and silver the Spanish stole from the Incas at the time of the conquest. The altars are solid silver and the paintings depict biblical figures in Inca style. The Madonnas have long, soft, black hair which is the pride of the Inca woman and the men are in colorful Peruvian garb.
One of the paintings is of The Last Supper. This is always a popular depiction in Christian and especially Catholic churches. The Cuzco Last Supper, by Marcos Zapata (1753) is a unique blending of European religion and native culture. On the plate in front of Jesus as he blesses the bread is the traditional Peruvian delicacy of roast guinea pig! Known as 'cuy' the guinea pig is a traditional Inca sacrificial animal.
Some of our group followed up the tour with lunch at a restaurant where cuy is the featured dish. They said it tasted a lot like duck. It is served roasted whoIe and the platter is decorated with vegetables and fruits. I, however, enjoyed lunch with Madeline, Carolyn, and Carol in the hotel dining area of the lobby.
After lunch we joined those who went to the Alpaca factory. No they don't make alpacas here but do create beautiful clothing with the very soft wool. We learned how they shear it, and we also learned how to tell the differences between the various types: baby alpaca, second alpaca, and maybe alpaca. Maybe is, of course, the cheapest as it is synthetic. Many of the group bought sweaters or scarves for themselves or to take home as gifts.
Back at the hotel it was time to repack for the journey to Lima before heading out for an evening stroll through the beautiful lighted central square which was full of people enjoying the spring evening. There was a wedding at the cathedral and the cars out front were decorated. High above the city is a lighted statue of Jesus Risen. It would have been fun to sit and watch awhile but we were walking to a farewell dinner with local entertainment.
The buffet was served after our toast with Pisco Sours. We had dinner with Mike and Ursula and compared notes on our day. Back at the hotel we all visited awhile. Craig came to our room for help with moving his books from his broken Kindle to his iPad by way of my tablet. I listened to Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me while I soaked in the deep tub and relaxed.
Highlight of the day for me was while walking to dinner a little boy tried to have me buy a llama key chain. This child selling/begging is continuous and no is my usual answer. But this child of about 9 walked along and asked where I was from. I said America and he began a recitation...America, USA, Capital is Washington D.C., President is Barack Obama, before him was George Bush the son, before him....and went all the way back to Nixon. First President was George Washington, Ben Franklin discovered electricity. He went on and on and so I stopped and told him how smart and cute he was and that he should keep studying in school. I then gave him a dollar and told him that I did not want the key chain but that he deserved a reward.
It is Saturday morning at 7:00 am and I am going to have breakfast and start on the next part of my adventure.
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