Thursday, May 4, 2017

Andean Adventure - Friday, April 21, 2017 - Day Seven - Cusco

Started our day off with a ritual Incan cleansing performed by Pedro an Incan Pacco, the Quechua phrase for a shaman. It was an interesting ceremony. Then it was on to the cemetery to talk about the Incan beliefs of life and death. The cemeteries look to be set  up like the Mexican ones. They also celebrate the Day of the Dead but have some differences from Mexico. From there we went to the local market to see the fruits and what is sold. The market was hectic, colorful, lively and very interesting. After, we had a cooking lesson using some of the ingredients we bought at the market. Our chef demonstrated lomo saltado a Peruvian dish with beef onions, garlic, peas etc. Our lunch was delicious. We also tasted some of the different fruits we bought. After lunch it was on to Sacsayhuaman, another Incan ruin. It started to drizzle a little and it got windy but the weather really held off until we got back to the hotel. Then we went to el centro/La Plaza de Armas, the Cathedral of Cusco, the monastery and the Templo del Sol. The architecture and different artistic forms were amazing. We went back to the hotel and had 2 hours before dinner so we went across the street to the market to stimulate the economy. We went to a buffet for dinner with lots of Peruvian specials. They had a modern pan flute band that was really good. Back at the hotel by 9:00. Another early wake up call tomorrow.

Photos of our Cleansing Ceremony


Pedro

Juan our guide translating Pedro's Quechua language for us

An offering to the gods

Members of our group

Us with Pedro

Views from the Cemetery









Views of the market



Some guinea pig


Cheeses

Chuta bread


Pig Heads anyone?


Views of  our cooking class




Me with our guide Juan

El Cristo Blanco

Views of Sacsayhuaman





City of Cusco





Views of the Downtown Cusco


The Cathedral

The old and the new

The Cathedral

Murals at the Monastery



Entertainment at our dinner





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