Cuzco

We arrived back in Cusco late on Sunday evening. We will be here until we depart for the US late Wednesday. We were very fortunate to see the Corpus Christi parade when we arrived a little over a week ago. Yesterday and today the main square was again filled with parades and celebrations. We are told we are very fortunate to see these celebrations, but I'm afraid that my only memory of Cusco will be crowded squares filled with colorful costumes. It isn't going to be anything like a normal, everyday life.

Yesterday, we went to see Saqsayhuaman (pronounced very much like 'sexy woman') ruins. This is very close to the city of Cusco, about a 15 minute drive up into the mountains. And it is now surrounded by the city itself.

One of the more interesting traditions here is that people will go into a park area, dig out a big mound of dirt, form it into an horno oven shape. Then they stoke a fire, let the coals die down, bury potatoes inside and cook them inside this hot, earthen mound.

We spent Monday morning on a walking tour of Cusco's central area. We saw Qoricancha which was originally a golden Inca temple. It was looted by the Spanish, who then build a church on top of the Inca foundations.

We also toured the Cathedral, which is filled with Cusco baroque gold furnishings. They are very elaborate and over-the-top. We did get to see the 14 Saints from last Sunday's parade who will spend the rest of this week inside the cathedral, before returning to their home churches…yes, in yet another parade!

We have a free afternoon today, and I am going to use it to rest my legs and take a nap. Tom is heading back over to the artisan market, to negotiate hat and T-shirt prices with the vendors, LOL. I'll post pictures of his winnings.