cuzco and the sacred valley

just before we left arequipa we took a few shots of the main plaza all lit up

then we booked a late overnight bus up to cuzco

we went in the sleeper class in the bus which was much better. especially for a daddy longlegs like myself. you do get bored tho...lol

from our hostel u can just tell.....rien francais!

outside the cathedral the lamb of god

twilight over cuzco. a much more andean influenced town than arequipa. but the colonial influence is still strong. it was once the heart of peru and the andean kingdom. very rich and very powerful until the spanish came thru and looted it of its vast treasures

we embarked on a bus tour of some monuments and sacred valley. which is shown above

alissa in front of the ruins of pica. it was the gateway to cuzco from the coast in the past. although not a sacred site it was very important. many people lived up in this mountain town. built high for defense as well as to preserve the valley for as much farmland as possible

the view from above. some of the greenest parts of peru we have seen so far. their chilliwack i suppose

some of the still standing structures. at the peak of the pica ruins

on these terraces they grew corn and potatoes

they have re-done or are in the process of redoing the thatching on the roofs

at the top. huffing and puffing again

from the bus we passed through alot of farmland

your typical peruvian market. bright colors. very similar stuff. lots of alpaca wool, silver and tourist trinkets abound. its a barterfest

haha knockoff central

this is at the ruins of olyantambo. it was the resting place of the famous inca general oly. he built this place in 120 years. the huge boulders alissa is clinging to were dragged several kms and up a steep hill. you can see how impressive it is by how small the seams are between the boulders

everything is built into the hillside

the view of the town across to the opposite hills where the graineries were. the high winds served as a way to dry and store crops securely. the town is an interesting mix. the first floor of many of the homes are original andean and the second floors are colonial built. showing of the metizo mixture of modern peruvians

the guide explained the anatomical differences of andean paople. they have an inverted triangular shape(not like the brazilian hourglass, she emphasizes begrudgingly) because their lungs are so much bigger and require bigger chest cavities. they often have red cheeks because of increased hemoglobins. due to the lack of oxygen they also were quite short and stout. altho it has been almost bred out they also would have had bigger noses to warm the air before breathing in. alstho some of her explainations were shaky, it was interesting

you can see how enormous the boulders were, some up to 500 tones

awesome cacti

some of the excavated ruins from above

flowering

the path down to the town from the ruins

they kept most of their water sources from underground springs and wells so that the water supply couldnt be contaminated by dead animals or poisoned by enemies

across the valley

the ruins from below

after all this we went to chinchero, called the birthplace of the rainbow. when we arrived it was quite dark so we dont have any pictures but it was a colonial village and church which was sensational. most of peru is roman catholic. this was a great church iun that it blended alot of andean traditional belief and those of traditional catholic. this in itself is interesting because in my experience catholicism has held a reputation for being quite conservative and unyielding to change or reform. she explained that when the missionairies came to convert the andean people they found it quite hard. so they adapted to suit their goal. they used alot of mirrors in the churches toi attract the andeans as they believed that one could see into their soul with a mirror, so they used to come to church to see these mirrors which the priest places around statues of jesus. jesus himself was depicted with an andean slant. in the crucifiction poses his head faces down to the earth which is the god of the andean people instead of to heaven toward god. he is pictured wearing a andean skirt instead of the loincloth. his face is darker, alike to the andean skin color. he is shown with a puffed cheek whcich refers to andeans often chewing cocoa leaves. paintings of mary are often shown of her working as andean women always are.

the famous painting of the last supper by leonardo davinci was recreated by the famous cuzco painter marco zapata. it is massive, perhaps 30 ft by 30 ft, displayed in the cathedral in cuzco(which by the way rivals any church i´ve seen in europe). it is similar, showing the last supper with the apostles gathered around the table but with subtle differences. the bread being broken is a larger andean bread, instead of lamb it is guinea pig. there is corn and peppers and other native foods on the table spread. when the bishop saw the finished product which had been commisioned by the church he was furious, so he insisted that zapata change the skin color of judas to the darker andean shade, while everyone else was white. this was his punishment for making such a piece of art. zapatas response was to make the skin color of judas the betrayer andean but he changed the face of judas to that of the spanish conquistador pizzaro.

hence the interesting blend over the centuries of the two cultures to what the peruvians are today. sooo interesting, especially with a love of history and the catholic background