1-21-20 - Leanne - Cusco city tour

The morning is spent packing, repacking, storing bags and recovering. After yesterday’s crazy hike, Reynaldo shows up at a reasonable 1 pm for a city tour of Cusco.  The mini-gang is excited — all except one. “You said we were going on a train,” shares Ashley surprised by the van picking us up. She was out of sorts for the rest of the day. 

First stop is the main Cathedral in Cusco which was filled with altars and architecture spanning Neoclassical architecture to Venetian to Baroque. The guide is quick to share that the admission doesn’t stay local as it goes to Spain and Italy — an apparent point of contention.  The cathedral was erected by Francisco Pissarro who conquered the Incas.  The gold in the cathedral is very impressive and noteworthy with golden covered three tier altars, carved wood altars, incredibly large renaissance paintings, large descriptive murals and even their own large painting of The Last Supper.  (Guinea pig served on their rendition).  It’s clear that there is a huge influence of power and politics in this church’s ambiance. There’s even a statue of a man on a horse conquering an Inca.  

For some reason, Reynaldo’s tour made us feel terrible as Catholics as he describes the horrors of the brutal conversions and killings.  He even shows us the door with a skull over it as supposedly this area allegedly was the room where those Incas were tortured or maimed if they didn’t convert.  Some of these abuses were documented and  suppressed for years.  Most churches we enter we immediately feel the beauty of our faith but with this guide leading, not this one.  

By now, we are getting a sense that our guide is both anti-Catholic and anti-Spaniard and definitely into sharing the darker shades of Peruvian history. By now Ashley has had it and starts the “teen bicker.”  The teen bicker usually starts with her telling anyone and everything that she doesn’t like history or travelling and how she’d be happier at home. Homesickness has taken a higher level here in the second half.  

To problem solve out of this one, responsible parent Leanne calls in the big guns: Starbucks. With free Wi-Fi, comfy seats, and Frappuccinos, any homesickness can be alleviated within 15 minutes or less.  From Tokyo to France to here in Cusco, walking into any Starbucks feels like walking into our Starbucks back home. We find caffeinated solace at our “Instant America” right here in the square where Incas and Spaniards faced off.  Starbucks therapy: nothing like it! 

So we park the girls into the Starbucks while John and I head out for more culture and historical findings. Here is where you can really see how the Spaniards literally erected buildings right over Inca foundations.  The Inca structures used to be covered in inches by of gold but it was all chipped off the stone foundation by the Spaniards who enriched themselves and Spain. 

Strolling through Cusco’s narrow alleys and stone streets, we pick up the girls – latte’d up now and smiling - for our final city stops.  We run into an angry protest of a mining company in front of the courthouse; more than 200 villagers are there to protest a mine expanding in their town because it is polluting water and ruining their village.  “Mom, what is that?” asks Ashley. “Democracy,” shares Leanne. Note to self: Take girls to next Women’s March.

Next up, another Sun Temple up in the hills of Cusco.  Here we see our first llamas grazing. The bottom boulders are Flintstones-style massive.  Huge cut stone boulders up to 12 feet high — some with even dinosaur fossils from when the continent was under the sea millions of years ago — support the temple’s foundations.  It’s just amazing to think of the manpower all these cities must have required to cut this stone and erect these structures over 500 years ago.  Without the wheel or strong horses, mind you.  In fact, building was how Incas paid their taxes. Instead of a money system, Incas had citizens logged the hours working for the state and in turn were given government rations of what they needed in food and clothing. 

We subsequently head to Cristo Blanco, a statue of Jesus with  hands outstretched looking over all of Cusco.  A symbol of Christianity that seemed tainted after this morning’s church tour.  Yet it shouldn’t shake our faith. 

To find our light, we hit our new hotel in downtown Cusco and then head to an Italian restaurant called La Osteria.  Leanne orders guinea pig, which is a local Peruvian specialty, as Ashlynn looks on horrified by the act. John ends up belting a few opera songs out in the restaurant and we call it a night. Oh yes there was a Pisco Sour, the national drink of Peru, in there too.  Just one.