Saturday, 8/22

Our little group of four had the luxury of breakfast at the hotel and a little more leisurely pack up time than those who left for the U.S. 7:15 rather than 4:30! We arrived at the airport in about 20 minutes and waited until check in opened at 8. We then proceeded rather quickly through check in, customs and immigration, and security. It is nice that water bottles are not an issue here as we can’t fill up at the nearest water fountain. The waiting area was very nice and had a few nice shops and a little coffee shop. Time passed quite quickly and we then boarded our plane for the one hour flight to Cusco, Peru!
Our trip officially turned into a vacation when we landed. After going through immigration, our bags were waiting for us, and outside the tour company met us with a van for us and all our stuff. I’m sure they shake their heads over these American women and their multiple suitcases!
It was a short drive into the heart of Cusco. Our hotel is on the Plaza de Armas – the Main Plaza. It is a large square with cathedrals on two sides, a lovely park with fountain and heroic statue in the middle. Around the edges are shops and hotels tucked under a colonnade. If it sounds completely charming, it is! This is a very old town, with a great deal of Spanish influence. It also really caters to tourists due to its proximity to Machu Picchu.
Another check in and we found our rooms. Sandy and I did some quick freshening up and met Alice and Kathy at the hotel restaurant for lunch.
At 1:30, our guide for the next day or so met us in the lobby. His name is Wilfredo – another George without the faith. He is indigenous and so is loyal to his roots. When I have more time, I will write about the indigenous peoples here. Their stories are heroic, hard, and sometimes brutal.
Anyway, Wilfredo’s job was to take us around Cusco and a couple nearby Incan sites. The first one we went to was a huge area where an Incan temple was constructed. There is not much left of it as the Spanish destroyed much of it and the stones were taken for other building projects. The site is call Saqsaywaman, which to our ears sounded like Sexy Woman so of course that is what we call it. We roamed around the now grassy grounds with large sections of stone wall rising up. The stones are huge and were quarried about 10 miles away and then dragged here over logs and with ropes. It completely boggles the mind to consider this. At the site, the stones were then worked so that there were interior interlocking bumps and fitted so exactly that there is no mortar, only stone on stone. One could not fit a piece of paper between them. The stones were stacked one on another by the use of very long ramps. This site was not actually ever fully completed but many generations gave their lives to it.
We left there and took a brief stop for a panoramic view of Cusco – so incredible. You have to
picture this as still such a vertical landscape. There are huge hills all around and often the snow topped Andes in the distance. Next was another Incan site but this a place of preservation of the kings and ceremonial ritual. We headed back through a narrow rock passage way – very grateful it didn’t have a roof! And out into an small open space where there were fitted rocks again and a sense of antiquity. This concluded our time outside of Cusco so back to the city we went. There, we stopped at a former Incan dwelling which is now a monastery. There are still remnants of the Incan rooms with their amazing fitted stonework and niches. We saw places where the Spanish had plastered over the walls to cover up what the Incans had done. There was also a lovely interior courtyard that was part of the monastery, green grass and geraniums spilling over the upper walls, with cyclamen pots on the lower ones. The gardner in me loved it.
Our final stop of the day was the cathedral right on the main square where we are staying. Actually, it is a cathedral with adjoining chapels on either side. However,these “chapels” don’t fit my definition! Again we saw the niches with figures in them, as we did yesterday. I am wondering if this is typical in Spain. Wilfredo pointed out one Madonna in very elaborate dress. It seems that her clothes are changed several times a year as some dedicated patron donates money for a new dress. The old ones are preserved but never used again! I was only imagining what the real Mary would think about all of that! The altarpiece was also covered in gold leaf and very ornate with figures set into it as well. In the larger cathedral, the altarpiece is made of silver – for me, preferable but not quite as flashy. But all very lovely to see. I found, though, that they didn’t inspire in me that sense of wonder and awe of God that I often feel in other cathedrals.
After Wilfredo left us at our hotel, we soon headed out to dinner at a restaurant on the square. Alice had sat next to a nice man on the plane, who has a sponsored child, of course, and he recommended this place. It was very nice and even had a section of Incan wall at the back. We are getting to be quite expert in recognizing this!
Dinner was very good and it was fun to chat about the day and all we learned. An early night was indicated so I think we were all in bed by 8:30 or 9!!! Our first full night of sleep since arriving! Thank you Lord.
Tomorrow we head out toward Machu Picchu, seeing things along the way, then a train ride, and the night spent nearby. It is very surreal to write all of this!

Blessings all.