Cusco
Cusco is the oldest continuously inhabited city in South America. Like all cities taken over by the Conquistadors (the Spanish invaders), life revolves around the main square with its associated churches. The main one here is called Plaza de Armas. Most streets are made from cobblestones and are very narrow, only wide enough for one car at a time. This probably explains why the taxis are extremely small cars. Johan has, however, witnessed a major traffic jam involving 7 cars at a t-junction! There are no stop signs - cars drive and squeeze in in front of each other as they see fit, especially at junctions.
The (undercover) tourist police took us to a semi-dangerous, far-off market to restock our electronics. They were very willing to do anything from camera purchasing to being tour guides to purchasing bus tickets for us - hmmmm... Johan obviously did not want a further party (read middleman) involved, so we went back later on our own to get the electronics for cheaper. Janine also managed to accumulate quite a bit of wares - so much so that we had to ship a 10kg box home. She loves Cusco and especially a little German run restaurant called Granja Heidi which we visited no less than 5 times in the 2 days that we knew of it!
The foundations of many buildings are still beautiful original Inca masonry. Huge stones fit each other perfectly and were designed to withstand the many earthquakes that destroyed much of the rest of the city in the past.
There are many myths and legends surrounding the chief Inca city of Cusco - some tour leaders show you maps with the "old" Cusco in the form of a puma, and state that it was designed by the Incas in such a shape. They are also quick to point out many puma figures in the masonry (which is not too obvious to anyone else, perhaps including the original builders?). But as one guide said - "mythical tourism" is now Cusco's bread and butter - stories were made up (and other histories were mixed in) over the past few decades that amaze tourists and result in the sale of more (often unrelated) souvenirs.
We also visited one or two of the main cathedrals. A highlight included a huge 6m x 4m (or bigger) painting of the last supper where a guinea pig (a Peruvian delicacy) is pictured as the main meal! This may have been the inspiration for Janine to try a guinea pig (called cuy here) for lunch. She will write more about this in her culinary blog, but I could not look at the poor thing, outstretched on her plate, complete with teeth and eyes. She was brave though and struggled through her childhood pet memories to try to finish the beast.
The (undercover) tourist police took us to a semi-dangerous, far-off market to restock our electronics. They were very willing to do anything from camera purchasing to being tour guides to purchasing bus tickets for us - hmmmm... Johan obviously did not want a further party (read middleman) involved, so we went back later on our own to get the electronics for cheaper. Janine also managed to accumulate quite a bit of wares - so much so that we had to ship a 10kg box home. She loves Cusco and especially a little German run restaurant called Granja Heidi which we visited no less than 5 times in the 2 days that we knew of it!
The foundations of many buildings are still beautiful original Inca masonry. Huge stones fit each other perfectly and were designed to withstand the many earthquakes that destroyed much of the rest of the city in the past.
There are many myths and legends surrounding the chief Inca city of Cusco - some tour leaders show you maps with the "old" Cusco in the form of a puma, and state that it was designed by the Incas in such a shape. They are also quick to point out many puma figures in the masonry (which is not too obvious to anyone else, perhaps including the original builders?). But as one guide said - "mythical tourism" is now Cusco's bread and butter - stories were made up (and other histories were mixed in) over the past few decades that amaze tourists and result in the sale of more (often unrelated) souvenirs.
We also visited one or two of the main cathedrals. A highlight included a huge 6m x 4m (or bigger) painting of the last supper where a guinea pig (a Peruvian delicacy) is pictured as the main meal! This may have been the inspiration for Janine to try a guinea pig (called cuy here) for lunch. She will write more about this in her culinary blog, but I could not look at the poor thing, outstretched on her plate, complete with teeth and eyes. She was brave though and struggled through her childhood pet memories to try to finish the beast.
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