Day 1 — A Stroll in Cusco

Friday — April 3

The damp clothes I set out earlier to dry have been put away. We had planned to dine at El Patio, the onsite restaurant at Los Apus, but we’re simply too tired to do food justice. I’m snacking on some crackers as I write this blog entry, trying to stay awake until 9:00p to get my body in sych with local time. Not that there should be any jet lag — Perú is in the same time zone as Washington DC; except that Daylight Saving Time is not recognized here.

Having last eaten a small snack on the Lima-Cusco flight, we were starving by the time we were ready to set out for our stroll around Cusco. Thus, the first item of business when Vidal came to pick us up was to get a bite to eat in order to recharge our fast-waning energy.

Leading us to Siete Culebras (seven snakes), a narrow alley just down the street from Los Apus, Vidal took a shortcut to the Plaza de las Nazarenas. Oh boy — the walk up the alley was short, but the slight uphill grade quickly left us breathless, reminding us of the necessity to slow our pace while at altitude.

Siete Culebras is named for the nearby House of the Serpents. The structure is what is known as transitional architecture. That is, it was built by Inca masons working for the Spanish conquistadors. The masons carved reliefs of snakes, considered symbols of wisdom in Inca mythology, into the Inca wall that forms the base of the house. We took a few moments to search out and find the reliefs before turning our attention to a nearby church that was a later addition to the Seminary of San Antonio Abad (built in the late 1590s). Any other time, we would have stayed longer to explore the church and get acquainted with the llamas that were seemingly guarding the entrance to Siete Culebras, but something more important was distracting us — namely, lunch.

Can you find the seven snakes of Siete Culebras?

Going down a steep, narrow, cobblestone street that anywhere else in the world would be pedestrian-only, but which we shared with vehicles, we made our way to what used to be called Wacaypata (Weeping Square, supposedly so named for the grieving that was done here when the ruling Inca died). Today it is the hub-bub of activity known as Plaza de Armas. Vehicles zooming by at a dizzying speed; locals and tourists crowding the stores, visiting the great stone edifice that is the Cathedral, sitting on the benches in the park; vendors hawking their wares — Welcome to Cusco!

Expertly, Vidal guided us to Yaku Mama's Grill, one of the many eateries rimming the controlled-chaos that is Plaza de Armas. Seated at a small table on the narrow balcony overlooking the plaza, we ordered a simple, yet tasty meal of sandwiches as we weren’t feeling adventurous enough to try Peruvian fare yet. In no time, what should have been a 15-minute lunch stretched to an hour as we feasted our eyes on the imposing Cathedral and the Iglesia de la Compañia (Church of the Company — a Jesuit church built over the ruins of Amarucancha, the palace of Wayna Capac, the last Inca to preside over a united empire.)

View of Plaza de Armas from our table on the balcony of Yaku Mama's Grill.

(Taking handheld photos for a stitch is not easy; forgive me for messing this one up. Nonetheless, it gives you an idea of what Plaza de Armas looks like. The building in the center is the Cathedral; the building at the right edge is the Jesuit church.)

As interesting as the magnificent edifices were, though, what really captured our attention was all the people in the plaza — street cleaners sweeping away trash; ice cream vendors doling out sweet treats; businessmen hurrying across the traffic-laden streets, briefcases securely clutched in their hands; mothers with their kids bundled on their backs; school children in colorful uniforms skipping around the park, delaying that moment when they have to go home and do homework; people sitting on benches, resting for a bit before resuming their walk towards unknown destinations; locals walking their dogs; women and girls in colorful costumes, baby llamas cradled in their arms, crying out “un photo, un sol.” And so much more!

Street scene — Plaza de Armas.

We could have stayed on the balcony at Yaku Mama’s for the rest of the day, but we had things to do, not the least of which was exchanging some dollars for nuevo soles, the Peruvian currency. Leading us down Calle Loreto (which took longer than one might expect because we frequently stopped to admire the incredible workmanship of the Inca walls on either side of us), Vidal took us to a reputable cambio. It felt odd to be exchanging money in what looked to be a camera shop, but as we later saw, this was not all that unusual — cambios seem to be located in just about any type of establishment.

Seeing as we were not far from the Qoricancha (aka Korikancha), we headed in that direction next. As it was nearing closing time, however, Vidal suggested that we enjoy the site from outside so as not to waste our ticket on a quick visit. We did not oppose this recommendation. From the front garden, we admired the imposing sight of the Church and Convent of Santo Domingo that sits over the ruins of the Qoricancha, the Court of Gold — one of the most important temples of the Inca empire. Dating back to around 1200 AD, the temple was also the principal astronomical observatory of the empire.

It is said that the walls of the Qoricancha, which was dedicated to sun worship, were sheathed in gold and silver that was removed to pay the ransom the Spanish demanded for the release of Inca Atahualpa. It seems that the golden disc of the sun, the holiest of the religious symbols of the empire, survived the initial looters, but eventually that too disappeared. Some historians believe that it was taken away and hidden before the main party of Spaniards arrived in the 1530s, but this is all conjecture. There has been no sign of the disc to this day.

The Church and Convent were consecrated in 1633. However, Santo Domingo was heavily damaged in the earthquake of 1650, making it impossible to inhabit. Interestingly, the Inca walls upon which the buildings were constructed suffered no damage from the quake. The current buildings are the result of the 1680 reconstruction efforts.

Just as I clicked the camera shutter one last time, the heavens opened up in a deluge. We’d been watching the storm clouds gathering, providing a dramatic backdrop to the brilliant white walls of the convent, and had hoped to escape unscathed, but Pachamama (Mother Earth in Inca mythology) had other plans. Putting away the cameras, we walked back to our hotel, unfazed by the liquid sunshine pouring down on us. We’d had an excellent afternoon and a little rain wasn’t going to deflate our spirits.

The Convent of Santo Domingo sits atop the ruins of the Qoricancha.

Tomorrow, Vidal will be picking us up at 7:30a to take us to some of the sites on the outskirts of Cusco. Time to put the Boleto Turistico to work. (The tourist ticket provides admittance to many of the sites in and around Cusco.) Until then …

Next Up: Day 2 — Tambomachay

Day 2 — Night Out on the Town

Saturday — April 4

As the rain came to an end and night fell, we donned our layers against the gathering chill, collected our tripods and cameras, and headed back to Plaza de Armas for some nighttime photography.

The Saturday night merriment was just starting to swing into action with locals enjoying a night out on the town. There were several wedding parties adding to the festive atmosphere — some getting ready to tie the knot at one of the churches on either side of the Cathedral; others using the nighttime ambiance of the plaza as a backdrop for their wedding photographs.

After our late — and very satisfying — lunch, we weren’t very hungry, but seeing that the restaurants were fast filling up, we decided to postpone our photography until after dinner. After perusing the menus posted outside the eateries rimming the plaza, we settled on Norton’s Rat Tavern.

Earlier tonight, the balcony at Norton’s was chock-a-block with diners.

In case you’re wondering, the “rat” in the name of the pub is not a reference to cuy, but rather to an old classic British motorcycle such as the one used by Che Guevara during his travels in the 1950s — a bit of trivia worthy of Jeopardy, wouldn’t you say. In any event, the establishment sits atop a corner of one of the most intact Inca structures around, the Accllawasi, where the “chosen women” of the Inca lived. At least that’s what I read and I’m sticking to the story.

Despite the increasing chill in the night air, we took two of the last few seats on the narrow balcony overlooking Plaza de Armas. Norton’s might have been a bit more touristy than we would have liked, but it was a great spot from which to do some people-watching. The food was tasty; the Cusqueña Rubia beers we ordered were cold and quite good — all in all, it met our needs.

When in Cusco you drink the beer that is brewed locally.

I’ve made mention of Plaza de Armas (Plaza of Arms), but have not said much about it. Let me rectify that omission. There seems to be a plaza by this name in almost every Latin American city. Here’s how Wikipedia describes these plazas: “… It is often surrounded by governmental buildings, churches, and other structures of cultural or political significance. The name derives from the fact that this area would be a refuge in case of an attack upon the city, from which arms would be supplied to the defenders.” That describes the plaza here perfectly.

As the capital of the Inca Empire, Cusco is said to have been built in the shape of a puma (symbol of strength) with the plaza located where the puma’s heart would have been — a bit of symbolism that points to the plaza being the cultural center of not just the city, but of the empire as well. Soil from each of the conquered territories was brought to the square and symbolically mixed with the soil at the “heart of the empire.” Before the conquest, the square was twice the size it is today. When the Spanish took control of the city, they reduced its size by building the Cathedral and the Iglesia de la Compañia.

You might recall I mentioned in a previous post that what is now Plaza de Armas was named Wacaypata (Weeping Square) during the time of the Incas. Well, they had another name for the square as well — Aucaypata, meaning the “Square of War.” It was so named because the square was also where pre-battle ceremonies were held. At the time, instead of churches, palaces of the Incas rimmed the square — one of which housed the current ruler, and the others housed the mummified remains of former Incas. The other half of the original Inca square was known as Cusipata (the Joyful Square); this is where all the festivities and drunken revelry took place.

Before we traveled to Cusco, I had read that one day in 1997 Plaza de Armas really did become the weeping square. Why? Overnight, the mayor ordered almost all of the native Andean trees to be removed, an action that greatly saddened the residents of the city. Only a few were spared thanks to the efforts of people who chained themselves to some of the trees and refused to be budged despite the threats against them. My subsequent research had not revealed an explanation for the mayor’s action, so I asked Vidal about this yesterday when we were having lunch at Yaku Mama’s Grill. He pointed out the trees that had been spared and explained that the mayor had the trees removed because they were blocking the view of the buildings!!!!!!!!!

I wrote a bit about the Cathedral in my previous post. Even though we did not visit it today, I should give equal time to the other grand edifice of Plaza de Armas — La Compañía, or to give its full name, Iglesia La Compañía de Jesús (the Jesuit Church). Some say it rivals the Cathedral in grandeur, which is exactly what the Jesuits intended. It is indeed magnificent, even though the clocks on either side of the building are out of synch (wink, wink). Originally built in the 16th century, over the ruins of Amarucancha (the serpent courtyard), the palace of Inca Wayna Capac, the church was almost totally destroyed during the earthquake of 1650. It was rebuilt and completed in 1668. I understand the golden altar is quite magnificent; time permitting, we’ll go inside for a peek before we leave Cusco.

OK the informative section of the blog is over; back to our evening. After dinner, we wandered around the plaza, taking in the ambiance of a Saturday night in Cusco. It was surprisingly quiet, but it was only 8:00p; the revelry probably started much later. In addition to the many international tourists, there were quite a few Peruanos taking advantage of the Easter break to visit the city. Kids were running around, their parents watching indulgently; teenagers were cuddling in dark corners; brides and grooms were posing in front of the fountain in the center of the park; long-time friends were sitting on benches, chatting and laughing. And then there were the ubiquitous tourists, clicking shutters in complete awe of their surroundings. No one seemed to have a care in the world, which was really nice to see even if it was just an illusion.

The Cusco Cathedral looks even more impressive at night.

A wedding party uses La Compañía as a backdrop for their photos.

On that note, we started our slow walk back to the hotel. It was only 9:00p, but the night chill was really making itself felt. Besides, another busy and exciting day was not far off and we needed our rest.

Next Up: Day 3 — Market Day in Pisac