Day 20: Saqsaywaman, Farm, JC, and San Pedro

It was my last full day in Peru. I started my day by going to visit the Cristo Blanco, a gift from the Arabs to Cusco for having them as refugees. The Jesus Christ statue is made of concrete and has marble powder painted over it. The views of the entire city were incredible.

Our next stop was the Manos de la Comunidad, Centro de Camelidos. I got to see and feed all of the different types of camelids that exist in Peru, including the precious and highly coveted vicuña. The vicuña is a wild camelid and its fur is the most expensive out of all them. I even got to see three Andean condors, which were massive. They looked like giant turkeys! I enjoyed petting and feeding the alpacas. They were the most friendly and fluffiest of them all.

After the llama farm, we went to another Inca temple called Saqsaywaman. This is where every June 24th, they have the Inti Raymi or the Sun God Festival. It marks the summer solstice. My guide, Carmen says she has been attending the festival since she was a child with her family and friends. The Incas used the shape of the mountain to make the zig-zags patterns that look like the rays of the sun. They even used rocks to make shapes like that of a llama and a puma’s paw.

I had pizza at Organika, a farm-to-table restaurant. The pizza was delicious! After lunch, I decided to explore some more on my own. I checked out “Calle Siete Borreguitos,” which is known for its pretty potted plants lining the steps of the street. There was even an aqueduct at the end of the street that was from colonial times.

I ran into various parochial ceremonies and parades. One of the ceremonies was for La Virgen del Carmen. They were parading up down in front of Saint Theresa’s Church. I took a gelato break at Sierra Gelato and had passion fruit (Maracuya) and dulce de leche (manjar) flavors. Another parochial parade took place near Plaza de Armas; they even had a person dressed up as a llama in the parade! A man was playing an electric violin in front of the Centro de Artesanías; he was a vibe.

Thanks for all of the fun, Peru. It was quite the adventure, until next time.Read more