Friday, Aug. 29, 2003 - 10:10 p.m.
Today was a day of sightseeing around Cusco. First we went to the Museo Histoico Regional and checked out the exhibits of pottery and stonework made by Incas and Pre-Incas. They also had photographs of the damage of earthquakes at the turn of the century. Upstairs were many old paintings of the Cusco school of Art from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, as well as a few tapestries and furniture.
Next the guys and I went to the Coricancha Ruins and Iglesia de Santa Domingo. We didn't go inside the church but we did visit the museum next to it. At the base of the church you could see the impressive stonework foundation made by the Incas in the 1400's. During the 100 reining years of the Incas they stretched their empire from Columbia to Chile, with Cusco being the capital. Cusco means "near the center of the earth". Many of the streets and buildings of the city are still lined with the stone foundations the Incas made. When the Spaniards arrived and conquered the Incas (capturing the Inca Atahualpa, holding him for ransom and then murdering him) they destroyed many of the Incan structures and temples, building their own homes and Catholic churches above the temples, taking many of the stones away to build their own houses. However, much of the foundations and very large stones were left to remain, the Spanish just build their colonial structures on top of them. Descendants of the Incas still walk the narrow cobblestone streets of the city. Cusco is claimed to be "the oldest continuously inhabited city on the continent" (Lonely Planet). Now it has a modest population of 300,000, about the same size as Cuenca and due to it's colonial buildings, reminds me of it. It is also called "the archaeological capital of the Americas" (L.Planet).
Cusco attracts thousands of visitors each week because of its proximity to Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas. The Coricancha temple and other Incan structures were built around 1430. At that time it was built with walls lined with solid gold sheets, 2kg each, which the Spaniards promptly stole. This was a place the Incas stored mummies and was an observatory where the priests recorded the events of the night sky. The museum displayed artifacts of different eras, starting with the Pre-Ceramic period of 5000BC (arrowheads & stonework), then the Formative Period (pottery from 1000-800BC), Regional States Period (ceramics from 600-1000AD), the two phases of the Inca Period, Litica-stonework from 1,100-1438 and 1438-1532AD, and textiles, well preserved ceramics and also a few human skulls that had been deformed from a young age, using boards strapped around the head to give it a sloping forehead. A person with this deformity was considered to have social prestige.
Our next stop was the main cathedral at the Plaza de Armas (a great example of colonial art). Adjoining this are two other churches, Iglesia Jesus Maria and Iglesia El Triunfo. First we entered the Iglesia Jesus Maria, which was like a large chapel, its altar was very ornate and made of gold, displaying many figures and paintings of saints and holy people. Then we entered the main cathedral, built in 1559. It had a high ceiling, and many side altars and huge paintings of religious themes. In the center, opposite the main altar was a magnificent carved wooden choir from the 17th century. I gazed at the room of decorated seats in wonder, how many hours of manual labor did this represent, these wooden seats lined 3 sides with saints above. It was so detailed, the more you looked, the more you saw. Opposite this was the main altar, made of something like 1000 kg of silver with the white figure of Mary in the center. Behind this was the original main altar also made of carved wood. To the right of this was a large mural painting of "The Last Supper". In the center of the table, that Jesus and the 12 apostles are seated at, is a dish of roasted cuy (guinea pig), an Incan delicacy. I walked around silently and marveled, entering the last church (El Triunfo), from 1536, which is the oldest church in Cusco. It also had a beautiful ornate gold altar and even a small catacomb you could go inside to see.
After this we went to one more Art Museum, this one of contemporary art. James wasn't feeling all that great (his shoulder still ached from the night before), so he returned to the hotel. Ross and I went on to a few more places including the church of San Blas and the Museo de Arte Religioso del Arzobispa (at this point, getting pretty tired of Religious art). Next to the Church of San Blas we noticed a crowd and soon realized it was some kind of shaman ceremony. Many locals were in traditional clothing were there, (tourists snapping photos) giving the shaman coca leaves, some kind of incense was burning. The shaman held a few coca leaves in his hands, slightly rocking as if praying, offering leaves to the gods.
On our walk back we looked for some large rocks placed by the Incas in the 15th century to look like a puma (jaguar). Down a narrow pathway, only wide enough for pedestrians, as we neared the location, a few young boys with drawings of the rock approached us. One of them eagerly showed us the puma down a small pedestrian cobblestone street. We gave him a modest tip and I took a photo and asked his name. Immediately I was surrounded by twelve of his friends, all telling me their names. A few wise guys said things like "Michael Jackson" and "Tom Cruise". I shook their hands, laughing and waved goodbye.
