Day Four in Peru - Cuzco

The next morning is a bright blue day. We grab breakfast at the hostel; scrambled eggs, bread, peach nectar, and Peruvian coffee. Jhon, the hotel clerk, maps out an ATM so we can get money, and he and his helper mark up the map with places to see. Our 2-3 block walk was through the busy commercial area, lots of sights and sounds. We try to blend in as much as possible (Mister stands out like a sore thumb). The bank is closed for renovation, but a lady offers to share a taxi to another bank, and another lady says there is an ATM down at the post office. We follow her and find out she is a manager of a hotel in the square.


We get our money and walk up the street to the Santa Domingo church. On the way, Mister stops in a bakery and talks (mostly with his hands as they are gesturing wildly) with the lady about all the different pastries in the case. He comes out with a bag and we walk up to find a textile museum and gallery. They have authentic woven items here, with names and pictures of each craftsman. Two Peruvians are in the back of the gallery using old looms to show how the weaving was done. We walk through the museum and I get lost in the shop. The colors and variety of the products is amazing. I buy a table runner and scarf as Mister sits outside eating his pastries.


We continue to the Santa Domingo church. Peru has a very strong Catholic population and some of the largest, most intricate buildings are their churches and cathedrals. This cathedral was built by the Spanish on top of an Incan temple. You can see the far superior curved stonework of the Incans. Mister takes the time to purchase and light some candles for his mother and then we start walking in the general direction of the Plaza de Armas.

We find ourselves in a narrow alley which is called Loreto and has ancient Inca walls on both sides of it.



It is so amazingly straight and with the same little waterway down the middle that we have come to accept as part of their system.

At the end of the alley the view opens up onto the Plaza and it is indeed spectacular with the huge La Catedral which is flanked by the Iglesia del Triunfo on one side and the Iglesia de Jesus Maria on the other. Across the way is the Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus which is very ornate. We sit down on the steps leading to the cathedral to get our bearings and decide where to go. We are approached by several people selling trinkets and we just politely say no.

We decide to go into the Catedral, opting for the audio tour as opposed to a guide. It is very well done and as we near the end of the tour, we come to a painting of The Last Supper done by an Andean artist. The interesting part of it was that the main meal in the center of the table is a guinea pig. Hmm.







The architecture of the building is so beautiful but I have thoughts that it is just too too busily decorated. If I was attending service there, I would be way too distracted to listen.









As we leave the building I am hungry so we start making our way to the next plaza. We stop and peek at the Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus as we head to the Plaza Regocijo and look for a restaurant. We settle on a nice outdoor cafe called the Cuzco Bar and Grill on the plaza and sit back and enjoy our meal: spaghetti w/fresh tomatoes and olive oil for me (sooo good) and a steak panchetta for Mister. As we are eating we are serenaded by a Peruvian 3-man band and constantly bothered by street hawkers. I lose my patience (and since I was hungry there wasn't much left) and loudly say NO. Ugh. Not during a meal please. It is my ONLY complaint about the country.



After lunch we grab a cab and head to San Blas which is supposed to be an area of artisans craft shops.

We weave our way through many small street and alleys and spot a few really cool shops -- two that I really enjoy. The first one is a Coca shop and has many different products that are produced from Coca (yes, it is used for things other than Coke Cola and Cocaine). I try a candy, but seriously, to me it tastes like I am eating what alfalfa smells like. Not a big fan. People here chew coca leaves as a medicine for stomach issues including the altitude sickness that is so prevalent here. I am glad that I have not had to experience that first hand.





The second shop is a silversmith who uses a fine silver thread and crochets it into jewelry pieces that she uses in earrings and necklaces. So very pretty -- silver is very prevalent here and I admire her work for quite awhile.

As we leave San Blas on foot and head back to the Plaza, we are just enjoying watching the locals going about their lives and find it all so interesting.

We round a corner and our eyes lock on an older couple dressed up, arm in arm and it looks like they are out for an evening stroll before dark. We follow them for awhile, but have to stop at an ATM and lose them, oh well.















We head back into the Plaza de Armas so that perhaps Mister can get some good shots as the sun is going down. I grab a bench and sit to just watch the activity in the Plaza and soon, here comes the little couple still arm in arm strolling the plaza. They are just too cute.



 The light is not meant to be though since the clouds are covering the sun so after awhile we decide to head back to the hotel and call it a night. We get back to the hotel to use the internet and book a room for the next day as well as check on our flight. We are also out of water and juice so Mister goes out into the neighborhood to retrieve those items and then it is off to sleep for us as we are hoping to hit one last set of ruins early tomorrow morning before flying back to Lima.