Day 137 of international places giving smiles – Remembering the ancient capital of Inca Empire – Cusco in South America
We are watching the brown mountains unfold outside the window from our small aircraft. We had never heard of this TACA airline before. As our plane descended over Cusco we are excited to actually enter the Inca civilization region of which we had heard so much.
Being 11,200 feet above sea level, we need time to acclimatize ourselves to this high altitude and are given coaca water or coca leaves to keep chewing regularly
In the afternoon our exclusive city tour starts with a visit to the San Cristobal Plaza to enjoy its panoramic view of the city. We get our picture with the local animal called Llama.
Then, we visit the San Pedro Market to soak in its local flavors and to learn about more of the products grown in the area which supply the whole city. We are surprised to know that there are hundreds of varieties of edible potatoes in South America. As a bonus we get to see a group of people dancing in colourful costumes announcing the local church festival to take place on the next day.
After this, the Korikancha temple welcomes us in all its magnificence; this temple, whose Quechua name means “Gold Enclosure” still bedazzles us with the thought of its gold covered walls. When the guide spoke about the three worlds and the immense knowledge of the ancient Incas about astronomy, I realized that there is an immense connection between ancient Indian and ancient Inca civilizations!
Then it is the turn to visit the Santo DomingoChurch. We then walk from San Blas, the artisans’ neighborhood, to the very narrow HatunRumiyoc street. We stop at the IncaRocaPalace, nowadays home to the Archbishop’s Palace and also at the famous Twelve Angle Stone. Imagine the heavy stones perched next to each other, the uneven corners fitting like perfect pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
We continue our walk to the Main Square to visit the Cathedral and its valuable and beautiful colonial masterpieces. At night, I took a well deserved rest back in our hotel, to get a respite from the chilly weather. Son decided to explore the city at night and was very fortunate enough to actually enter a place and watch a shamanic ritual and session being conducted by a local shaman priest! Wish I had gone with him for this once in a lifetime spiritual experience!
In the next afternoon, we visited a local textile store and also got to see from a closer point the huge statue of Cristo Blanco that overviews the city of Cuzco. we are very very lucky to see many traditionally dressed kids dancing in in procession celebrating the festival of St. Carmen. The idol was kept at the foot of the gold coloured statue in the main square. The locals were enjoying the live band and the dances, everything was an absolutely new experience for us. I don’t think any other tourists from India were present in the large crowd!
A visit to the bar was a must do for the boys while I preferred to spend my time in a church, listening to a mass conducted in Spanish and just soaking up the good energy of the place. We had to vist the local markets for souvenir shopping, some local scarves and bags. A coloufully decorated fountain was our landmark as we walked back to our hotel. The cold weather and tiredness made me want to stay in the room at night. Again I missed something wonderful…son told me that the city was alive and rocking with the Carmen festival parade..this time with local adults in colouful costumes.
Our corner top floor room at the hotel had a good view of Cuzco…and I slept gazing at the huge lit up statute of a shining white Christ blessing from above the city of Cuzco.
So which place made you smile today?
Be grateful for the places that make you smile!
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