Saturday May 25th 2019 - Cusco

Today was a free day in Cusco. Sarah had decided to do a walking tour but, of course, I would not be fit for that. Charlotte and I decided we would take a bus trip to see the sights of the city. Prior to that I had a talk with Henry to let him know how difficult I was finding the trip. He reassured me that it would get better from now on. He said I could stay on the bus at any stage if I felt I couldn't cope  - but of course there would be many occasions when staying on the bus was not an option. However, he succeeded in getting me to be a bit calmer. Meanwhile Jim did not seem to be clued in as to what had been decided the day before as the plan for the day! Are we just too old for this kind of adventure? At any rate Jim and Sarah headed off to the walking tour and Charlotte and I headed for Plaza de Armas to get a bus tour.

At the plaza there was a woman  there with brochures about the panoramic bus tour. We signed up and paid 70 soles which was less than 20 euro so very cheap. The tour was to leave in 10 minutes and it was 9.45 am.  The ticket said 10.15 so we were happy enough to sit on a bench and observe proceedings and when it was more than 15 minutes when the guide, Junior, showed up we were not unduly bothered.  Junior said he would be back in 10 minutes so we sat on and were joined by a lovely and very friendly Argentinian girl. Then we were joined by a Peruvian girl. At about 10.40 Junior returned and gave us a spiel about Plaza de Armas. The original square was called Huacaypata, meaning "place of crying" in Quechua. The rebel leader Jose Gabriel Tupac Amaru who led a late 18th century uprising against the Spanish colonists was executed by dismemberment in the plaza in 1781 as a warning to others who might have followed in his footsteps. He became a mythical figure in the Peruvian struggle for independence and is honored with a statue in the middle of the square.

Unfortunately we never got to see the central fountain and statue close up because of renovation works.

The two most well known religious buildings are on the square - The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin, also known as the Cathedral of Santo Domingo, and the Church La Compania de Jesus. The plaza is surrounded by colonial arcades housing shops and restaurants. Vendors dressed in traditional garb continuously attempt to sell paintings, jewellery, keyrings, finger puppets so we became very adept at saying "No gracias" while eyeing the goods in case we might be tempted. I did buy 2 pendants and some keyrings to distribute to friends.

Back to Junior and our bus tour! Having informed us about the square and the surroundings Junior announced we would now walk 2 blocks to the bus. My heart fell as I was barely able to walk 2 steps! I had expected to be able to get on the bus there and to be able to see the sights without any exertion. Off we went in the direction of our hotel and my heart sank lower as I knew that journey would require me stopping to catch my breath at least 10 times. To give Junior his due he was observant enough to see I was in difficulty so we stopped many times. I felt awful as I was convinced I was spoiling the experiencer for the other people. Half way up Junior suggested getting a taxi to the bus and I was ushered into the front seat and Charlotte, the Peruvian and the Argentinian got into the back and Junior got in and saw on the Argentinian's knee! Shortly afterwards he got out and we continued to the side of the road opposite Coricancha which I recognised from our journey in to Cusco the previous day.

Coricancha is now a Christian monastery which stands on what was once a holy Incan temple. The Coricancha was constructed in the middle of the 15th century and was the spiritual centre of the Inca empire. It was dedicated to a number of deities but its most precious sanctuary was to honour the sun god Inti, the most revered figure in the Inca religion. Inti was depicted by the Incas as a sun with human features with sharp outwardly flowing rays of sunshine framing his face. Coricancha's Temple of the Sun was decorated with gold ornaments and artifacts believed by the Incas to be Inti's sweat. The Inca empire came to an end in 1572 when Spain finally conquered the last of the Inca stronghold. The Spaniards built a Christian monastery on top of Coricancha destroying much of the temple and melting down its unique gold treasures.

However, it was far from appreciating and bemoaning Coricancha's lost treasure that I was at this stage as we were standing on the footpath opposite wondering where the bus was. Junior was there with 2 other passengers and he said the bus would be 2 minutes. We didn't have much confidence in that as Junior was constantly on his mobile and we  were trying to figure out his frantic phone conversations. 20 minutes went by and I decided we would demand our money back. Charlotte had no confidence that we would have any success but I tol Junior, in no uncertain terms, that we wanted our money back. The Argentinian girl took pity on my fragile state and asked the woman in the nearby Casa di Cambio if I could sit in there out of the heat. I really appreciated that. Meanwhile Charlotte was getting very angry with Junior. Another 2 passengers arrived by taxi but still no bus! Finally we could see the bus at the bottom of the hill and we had to cross the road. The other passengers got on but I told Junior we would not and that we wanted our money back. Then the boss man appeared and gave me 100 soles. I did not have 30 soles change only 20 so he went looking for change. Charlotte did not realise that I had both the 100 soles and the 20 so she proceeded to follow him everywhere he went. Anyway it got sorted and we were only out of time and energy. We got a taxi for 5 soles back to Plaza de Armas where we made our way up to a pub for Charlotte to get a restorative glass of wine and me water. Then it was time to meet Sarah and Jim after their walking tour.

The free walking tour started outside Chicha restaurant and they went to Plaza San Francisco where there were a lot of children dressed up and practising for the Inti Rami festival  which was coming up.

The Chocolate Factory

When you see this rainbow flag you would be forgiven for thinking that Cusco is the centre of the gay community. However, this flag is the flag of Cusco representing the diversity of their Inca/Andean history and acknowledging Quechuans and other groups  who are descendants of the Incas as a vital part of the community. The flag is in fact slightly different to the gay pride flag in that the Cusco flag has an extra blue stripe. The colours are red, orange, yellow, green, sky blue, blue and violet.

This is the Iglesia de San Francisco.

The sign showing that this is a UNESCO world heritage site.

The Sacred flower of the Incas and the national flower of Peru called cantuta but known by Peruvians by its Quechua name Qantu or Kantu.

They stopped at this house on Calle Marques. It belonged to the Esquivel family who were given the title by King Carlos 11 of Spain for services rendered in the conquest of Peru.

The Cathedral in Plaza de Armas

The Church of the Society of Jesus in Plaza de Armas.

In Loreto Alley there are Inca walls on either side. The Incas did not use cement but worked stones so they fitted perfectly and were interlocked in a combination that could not be budged. The walls were designed in such a way that they could withstand an earthquake. 

That coat will make a great jumper!

This walking tour was totally wasted on Jum because he cannot remember where he went or what he saw! This was obviously reconstructed from the original because the blocks were numbered in order to reposition them in their original places.

I think this was in the grounds of the Santa Catalina Monastery. This convent was built on the Accllahuasi, The Accllahuasi is a quechuan word meaning house of the chosen ones or Temple of the Virgins. This was the Inca place where women, chosen for their lineage and beauty, lived in perpetuity and offered as eternal wives to Inti, the God of the sun.

We finally met up with Sarah and Jim and we went to Green's for lunch. Green's is an excellent organic restaurant so we ate and drank well.

Isn't my face a picture! It shows the effort it took to get up the stairs to the restaurant. My drink was lemonade with lemongrass.

Obviously my breathing was a bit easier at this stage!










Following lunch we were to go to the Inca museum but it was uphill and I couldn't face it so I sat in the Plaza and waited till they came back.

The courtyard in the Inca Museum.

Across the road from the hotel at Paprika restaurant.















When I got back to the hotel I had a real meltdown as I had come to the limit of my endurance of breathlessness. I have to admit that I told Brian and Carol and, as a result, they were worried about me and started to consider how I might be got home. By the time we regrouped at 6pm to plan for the next day and collect the laundry I was a bit more composed and then the 4 of us went out to a nice restaurant chosen by Charlotte where Jim and Charlotte had mixed skewers - beef heart and alpaca - and I had beef hearts (as I had promised myself to try them when I was planning our trip). There was a huge amount but I could eat very little. Sarah had stuffed peppers but it was a very small portion so she and Charlotte had pineapple carpaccio with raspberry ice cream and pecan nuts. Then it was home and early to bed for the early start in the morning.