Friday was spent exploring the beautiful Inca city of Cusco. We began with the ornate churches and cathedrals around the central plaza. With their 100% gold-plated altars, they were a little OTT for me, and the silver-plated alter looked more like something you would see at a primary school fete. However, they serve their purpose of displaying enormous wealth to the locals, who put all of their Catholic faith (and too much of their little money) into the Catholic church. They are so pious that, when an earthquake struck in the C17th, the locals carried a statue of christ through the streets to save him. When the earthquake stopped (as they all tend to do after a period), they assumed that Christ had quelled the earthquake. And so, christ is also, in Peru, a protector against earthquakes! The other thing I noticed was the graphic and gory nature of their depictions of the Crucifiction. They all feature blood ´spurting´from christs body, and symbols of self-flaggelation at their feet. Maybe the Peruvian catholics have some links to Opus Dei?????
Today, Saturday, we are off to Puno, the main Peruvian city on Lake Titicaca.
The highlight, however, was a large mural of The Last Supper, featuring a small roast guinea pig, legs in the air, on the central silver platter - Clearly an Inca interpretation of this religious event, given that guinea pigs were a sacred Inca culinary delight!
Our next stop was the Inca site of Qoricancha, partly destroyed, then built upon, by the Spanish after their conquest. Interestingly enough, during the 1950 earthquake that hit Cusco, the Inca walls remained intact and upright, whilst the spanish cathedral collapsed, and had to be rebuilt - A testiment to Inca architecture!
After soaking up enough history and culture for the morning, Mum and I hit the local markets. There were so many beautiful local textiles, carvings, crafts and artwork, yet I unfortunately had so little free room! If only Id had an extra three backpacks, and a donkey to carry them! I did however, manage to get palm off my counterfeit Peruvian money to some persistent local aretists. I figured this was justified, given they would be able to use the money themselves, and they were overcharging me!
That evening, we attended the Cusco school of art and culture for a display of traditional Peruvian dance. Despite being a little like a school production in the local hall, it was rather sweet, and gave an insight into Peruvian dance. Lets just say, however, that it is not the most delicate,or energetic, of dance forms!
