This is a must see. We took the train and stayed a night in Aguas Calientes listening to the first winter rains. The next morning was misty but the sun came out.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Cusco
The main impression in Cusco is of the placement of a Spanish colonial city on top of the Inca ruins. This includes the Iglesia de Santo Domingo and the fortress/battleground of Sacsayhuaman. There are contemporary craftsmen. The metal plate is of Inca constellations and their gods.
Lake Titicaca
We visited the extroverted Aymara speaking indians on their floating reed islands and the more reserved and elegant Quechua-speaking indians on the island of Taquile, where we had fresh trout and quinua soup for lunch in an open air restaurant.
Puno
The Cholas are acculturated indians with a little Spanish blood. Here they come in various occupations and levels of wealth/dress. I have included a picture of one of the alternatives to taxis, because they are so charming. Puno is the port to the Peruvian part of Lake Titicaca.
Arequipa
I have nearly a hundred pictures to choose from. I have made a tiny selection. One is of the relief carvings so typical of the White City, one is the picture of the Calle Cordoba in the Monastery of Santa Catalina that is on my wall in Bogota, and one is the library in the Franciscan Monastery.
ChanChan
This site is shown in the Smithsonian Magazine. It is later than the Moche culture and was taken over by the Incas. It was an urban society with irrigation and harvesting of life from the sea. In the extensive ruins only one of many palaces has been restored. It must be protected from the rains of el Niño
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