Cuzco

What a magic and vibrant city!
Our explorations today of Cuzco, the heart of the (Inkan) universe, started at the Coca Museum. We learned about the benign effects of these leaves since ancient times ( see pic of Inkan chewing coca - note the cheeks!) as anesthetic, restorative, for ritual purposes etc. and bought plenty of products for the trail and as presents. It is only legal in Peru and Bolivia - yes, an extract of one of its ingredients is used in the complicated chemical process of producing cocaine: it takes 300 kilos of coca leaves to produce 1 kilo of cocaine ...
Locals use coca leaves regularly to increase their stamina - certainly needed when I think of the 13-hour workday of our hosts near Chivay😏💪
Then on to the Plaza de Armas, the main square, where there was a folkloric dance competition of students from all over the province in celebration of the Cuzco anniversary - we watched the lively, colourful presentations under the brightest sunny sky from a restaurant terrace on the plaza.
The Cathedral, built on the foundation of an Inkan temple, is simply breathtaking in its scale and grandeur - you begin to understand the effect of Spanish Catholicism on the mindset of the locals in the 16th/17th Century. The cui (guinea pig) on the table in the depiction of the last supper, however, is one sign of how indigenous rituals fused with and changed the newly dominant religion.
And finally, the Archeological museum gave us a sense of historical perspective by allowing ample space to the rich pre-Incan cultures reaching back to 1000BC (first cultural artifacts: 5000BC).
Resting on the Plaza de Armas soaked in sunlight, wandering through the narrow alleyways - a relaxing way to gear up for our Machu Picchu hike. It's goodbye to Cuzco and findpenguins for the time being at 5:40 tomorrow ...Read more