20240613 Celebrity Galapagos and Machu Picchu trip, Day #15 - Cusco, Peru

Celebrity Xpedition Galapagos and Machu Picchu trip - Feeding, petting, eating, and wearing alpaca in Cusco, Peru

We got to sleep in, at least a little bit today as our day didn't start until 9:00 AM. Every little bit helps as the next two mornings will start stupidly early. 

Spending the last several days at higher altitudes certainly helped acclimate us as we both felt good getting up today. None of the huffing and puffing from that first day in Quito, Ecuador at 9,400 feet, even though we're over at 11,000 feet today. Don't get me wrong, I still get winded very easily, but I'm not fighting for breath and I slept well with no headache.

We grabbed breakfast and met up with our fellow travelers to start our day in Cusco. We walked from our hotel, the fabulous Palacio del Inka, to the Church and Convent of Santo Domingo of Guzmán - a Dominican church built on top of and with materials from the sacred Inca temple Qorikancha.

The central courtyard

Keystone arches

We walked up to what was a sacred Inca altar. It used to contain a golden idol, but like most of the Inca gold and silver treasures, they were taken when Spaniards arrived and melted.

Touching the altar is said to bring blessings. Touching it with your left hand was said to bring babies to your extended family and touching it with your right hand was said to bring luck. No point in taking chances.

The entrance to an Inca tunnel that led to other structures

The nearby terrace offered sweeping views of the city

Viva Peru carved into a hill - notice that it is above us

A carving of a crest with a llama, a tree, and a cornucopia at the bottom on the adjacent hill - also above us

Interesting door hinge engineering - it was almost like a staple driven through the door and hooked to a look in the door frame

Catholic artifacts

And, right down the hall, Inca artifacts with their view of the various entities that make up the universe

More perfectly cut Inca stones - a massive earthquake in 1950 caused much of the modern portion of the church to collapse but the Inca portion remained intact

A keyhole opening that used to hold precious stones to display specific patterns on the wall at specific times of the year - the Spanish destroyed it

Incas used the technique of removing certain stones from a wall to reduce the overall weight of the wall while simultaneously lowering its center of gravity, making it more resistant to earthquakes

Me, taking a photo that shows off the precision construction of the Incas

Several consecutive windows are perfectly aligned

In the rare instances that Inca construction wasn't perfect due to a chip or other imperfection, small stones were shaped to exactly fit the gap creating the perfect repair

It was an interesting juxtaposition of modern-day catholicism mixed with centuries-old Inca religion and architecture.

From there, we took the van high up in the hills to the Sulca textile workshop and museum. 

An alpaca

Weaving using a traditional loom

They have four different types of camelids in Peru

We were allowed to feed the animals before being shown a demonstration of how they get the various colors in their yarns. 

From 12 natural shades of cotton to amazing natural dyeing techniques producing a rainbow of colors of alpaca yarn, the process was fascinating. We also watched as a worker hand-spun alpaca fur into yarn.

Twelve natural shades of cotton

This yard was all hand-spun and dyed with natural colors

We walked across the way to their museum/store where wall hangings were on display and available for purchase. Yes, there was a "No Photos" sign, but she said it was fine to take photos.

All of these were incredibly impressive as they are woven one line at a time, even with all the different colors on a single line

This was mounted on a mesh-like structure and you could see through the gaps

It was all quite striking, but alas, nothing that would fit into our décor. We walked to the next store where they offered sweaters, capes, and much more. They got us here as we both bought an item – a cardigan sweater for me and a sweater for Arlona – both made from 100% baby alpaca.

No, that doesn’t mean that they shave baby alpacas. Baby alpaca is a yarn made from the very first shearing of a mature alpaca. They compared their 100% baby alpaca items to competitors' “maybe alpaca” where alpaca yarn is mixed in with other synthetic yarn to produce a cheaper and somewhat inferior product.

We hopped in the van and headed for our next stop, the Inca complex known as Saqsaywaman.

From there, we could get another view of the Statue of Christ we saw on Monday

Remember those carvings in the hills? They're well below us now - the overall shape of the city is said to resemble a Puma which was sacred to the Incas

This place is another example of Inca engineering where stones fit perfectly together without mortar

A holy area on a natural hill

The largest stone in the complex

Rather than make straight walls that would be prone to collapse, the Incas used a wavy zig-zag pattern that created superior structural rigidity

The foundation is five meters below ground and consists of sand, gravel, and larger rolling stones that allow the structure to absorb energy and not flex and collapse – the same technique is being used today in modern building engineering in earthquake-prone areas

Spaniards took many of the stones from here to use in their own construction

Not one stone matches yet they all fit together perfectly

On the way out, we passed a group of these trees with a paper-like bark

We returned to the plaza where a music festival for schools was underway. Students were taking turns performing to the cheering crowds of other students.

A stylized Inca flag showing the colors of the Incas and the Inca Sun in the middle

Our next stop was the Cusco Cathedral.

The Cusco Cathedral

Unfortunately, this is one of those catholic churches that does not allow photos. It is too bad as they had an amazing depiction of the Last Supper that was created by a local artist. He took some liberties. Judas, in the lower portion, is the only one with dark skin and the only one not looking up. You can see the bag of silver coins that he was given for betraying Jesus in his hand. In fact, his face was patterned after Francisco Pizarro, the Spaniard credited with conquering this area and pretty much universally despised by Peruvians. The really funny thing is the meal itself – if you look at the platter in front of Jesus, you’ll see a guinea pig!

As it turns out, most of that painting is reproduced on our admission ticket, so I found a workaround for the no photos rule. Score!

After touring the cathedral, we went to our lunch spot, Calle Del Medio.

The food was artistically plated - this was small shrimp on a purple potato mash with smoked trout

The main course featured alpaca tenderloin – yes, the same animals we were feeding earlier today.  The meat was firm, low in cholesterol and fat, and tasty. Arlona said it reminded her of liver but I didn’t get that connection.

After lunch, we went back out on the square for a few minutes and then started walking back to our hotel.

It was perhaps a ten-minute walk and it let us see a little more of the city. Yesterday, I met a woman from Pennsylvania who recommended a supplement that she picked up at a local pharmacy. She said it really helped her knee pain. We found a pharmacy and grabbed a blister pack. I have to admit, it seems to be working. We might have to try to buy more in Lima tomorrow.

These art pieces formed dividers between opposing lanes on a divided road

Someone asked yesterday to see Arlona's jewelry we bought in Machu Picchu. The earrings are a little small to show well, but they are a multicolored swirl design in the same colors.

We got back to the hotel and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. We met fellow passengers for dinner, sporting our spiffy new alpaca sweaters. We have to get our bags packed tonight as they have to be outside our door at 6:30 AM tomorrow and we have to be on the bus for the airport at 7:00 AM. We will make the one-hour flight to Lima, take a short tour, attend a mixology class, and have our final dinner together at the Westin Lima tomorrow night. Our transfer to the airport will take place Saturday morning at (ugh) 3:10 AM to catch our 6:40 AM flight from Lima to Panama City, Panama, connecting to Orlando. That means early bedtimes for the next two nights for us. 

So with that, I will wrap up what has been a feeding alpaca, petting alpaca, eating alpaca, wearing alpaca kind of day.