Wednesday, May 30
Today was a rest day. The last few days have been sort of whirlwind and very active. They also have started early, which is fine, but not for consecutive days in a row. It’d be nice to wake up organically, so that’s what I did today. And even then, I was still awake at 7, but stayed in bed watching another episode of 13 Reasons Why, ‘cause I could. Little did I know that the first time I got out of bed I’d be hobbled by a pair of very unhappy calf muscles, protesting the events of yesterday. But I found that a handful of Ibuprofen and some gentle flat-ground walking can do the trick.
Breakfast was good: scrambled eggs, pancakes, some yogurt and pineapple juice. I headed out around 8:30 and stumbled into some shops to bolster the Peruvian economy. Hit an ATM to replenish and then took in the Inka Museum. Armando had said it was a nice collection of Incan artifacts that had been dug up over time by archeologists at various sites. It was interesting but the state of the museum was kind of sad. They are definitely not up on security or preservation and I wonder if they have any thought of having a lot of the artifacts last much longer in their current environment. It covered a lot more civilizations than just the Incas; the pre-Incan civilizations were included too.
After that I was determined to find the Starbucks, which I could see on the second floor in one of the buildings of the main square, but damned if I could figure out how to get up there. But where there’s a will there’s a way and some sneaking around inner courtyards found me the siren’s sign and up I went. An iced Americano to go was the best I could do for my usual iced coffee fix. I took it outside and settled on a bench in the sun to people watch. While on the bench, I was approached by hawkers offering me corn on the cob, Jello, teeth whitening toothpaste and a tripod. Never say that travel isn’t surprising.
The hubbub in the Plaza de Armas (main square) near my hotel has definitely picked up. Overnight they’d constructed a few massive shrines to saints in front of the churches on the square and I’d been hearing bands all morning. Just as I was ready to move off my bench, a band went by with a contingent carrying a statue of a saint on a pallet, the pallet carried on the shoulders of some very able bodied men. Where they were going or what the purpose was was a mystery to me. I’d need to figure that out.
When I’d toured Koricancha with Armando on Sunday I noticed an exhibition of Cuzco school artists, so decided to go back and take it in. I made my way back, walking a bit through different parts of Cuzco. Somewhere along the way I found some traditionally dressed women with baby llamas, and I couldn’t resist taking a photo of them (for a fee of course). After wandering a bit I found myself at Koricancha and walked through the ruins again since I found it so cool the other day. It’s thought to be a replica of the sun temple at Machu Picchu (or vice versa) which now I can vouch for having seen the sun temple at MP. The exhibition was on Art as a Means of Christianization. The Cuzco school in the 1400-1500s was influenced by the Spanish conquerors, who brought some European painters over to teach them the technique of the time. You can definitely see that in some of the bodies, particularly the musculature that I’m used to seeing in Caravaggio. I was very much struck by a statue of Our Lady of Hope or “The Virgin of the “O”” because you don’t often see a statue of a fully pregnant Virgin Mary and this was quite beautiful.
There were three other exhibits I saw, one on contemporary master painter Alberto Quintanilla, who really liked two-faced dogs. Another was a mural by Walter Barrientos Deza, which is meant to be a token of the current style of Peruvian art. The last was a contemporary artist on Light. The labels were all in Spanish in this part, so it’s hard to say what that one was meant to be.
By the time I was done here it was 1:30 and I hadn’t the foggiest how I would spend the rest of the day. Spending even more money wasn’t an option, so shopping was out. I headed back toward my hotel and ate at Green’s, an organic cafe next to the hotel. I had a wonderful Pisco mule with ginger beer and a sandwich of zucchini, red peppers and cheese on focaccia that was excellent. It has been ridiculously easy to eat both vegetarian and healthy here, which is a surprise if I’m to be honest. (Although I will admit that the Pisco mule likely cancels out the healthy sandwich, but hey, this is vacation!)
As I was wrapping up my lunch, I heard the music kick in again and it seemed like a parade was starting. I decided to go down to the square and take it in. Well, it seems as though this morning’s little show as I had my iced coffee was just a precursor to the main event. What I was seeing was the procession of 15 saints and virgins from the 15 neighborhoods in Cuzco heading for the cathedral. Some of these statues on the pallets have been carried, on foot, from 7 miles away! Once they enter the cathedral, the statues will stay there for 7 days. This Corpus Christi festival happens every year, 9 weeks after Easter. Tomorrow apparently they will be brought out of the cathedral and paraded around the plaza starting at 11. I will, hopefully, be well on my way to the airport at 9:50 as scheduled. As much as I’d like to see that, I have a flight to the Amazon to catch!
So I stood there for nearly 2 hours watching this parade. It was a little bit nuts but an amazing slice of culture served up right on my doorstep. Each saint or virgin statue had a team of men carrying the pallet it was on on their shoulders. There’d be some exaggerated pushing and pulling and straining to stay on course and get the pallet up the slight incline to the cathedral. In front of each pallet was a framework carried by younger boys, in their pre-teens and early teen years, who’d carry the wooden framework like their older counterparts were carrying the statues. It was funny to watch them match the men’s exaggerated struggles to keep the framework going and on track. It took me a minute to figure out what the framework was for, and then it happened. The procession stopped so that the statues ahead could be safely and slowly carried into the church, and all the the statues behind it were set down on their dedicated frameworks.
The statues were all decorated and shined up for the occasion with flowers and medals and other embellishments. The pallets appeared to be of heavy, carved wood. It was fun watching it and taking some photos to try to capture the emotion behind it. This is apparently Cuzco’s big event.
I broke from the parade to take in the Museum of Machu Picchu which is right down the street from my hotel. This has a collection of artifacts that Hiram Bingham and Yale University returned to the Peruvians several years back. There are also some of his own letters, books and photographs, which were really interesting to see. I also enjoyed the videos of the specialists who are continuing to do research at the site, and what they think advanced technologies may or may not show them in the future.
I took a bit of a rest before dinner to write up the blog and respond to some email. And then I went back to Inka Grill for dinner. That’s where I had my first lunch here in Cuzco. And in a twist of total non-creativity, I had the same meal, only with a Pisco sour and a Chalipo. Hey, I don’t know when I’ll get Pisco again!
As I get ready to leave Cuzco I’m surprised by how much I liked it, and I think a lot of that had to do with the procession today. I’ve never been so fully immersed in a culture like that and I think it helped me appreciate the city more. To think that when I woke up I didn’t know how to fill a “free day” in Cuzco. The travel gods offered up a fantastic experience. Can’t wait to look at my photos! The weather here has been delightful, bright blue skies and sun, not a hint of rain and high 60s in Cuzco, very comfortable. I’ve really lucked out. Let’s hope it continues!
Off to the Amazon tomorrow. Likely without a connection until late Monday, so I’ll catch the blog up then.
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