Inka Museum in Cusco

We slept in again this morning.   Jim is already worrying about the Christmas decorations that have to be put up after we arrive home next week.  It’s giving him sleepless nights.  Me….sleeping like a baby except for the scratching of my seventeen bites from Machu Picchu.   Jim doesn’t have a one!   If you go and are prone to bites remember to use lots of preventive lotion!

Our quest today was to visit the Inka Museum that is only a block up the hill off of the square.  We decided to play a game of Hand and Foot cards before going so it was after eleven o’clock before we left the hotel. 

Our wonderful clerk stood at the door and waved goodbye to us as we started off.

The first thing we noticed was that it was a beautiful cloudy day; and secondly that there was no traffic on the street!   We looked over to the Cathedral and saw hundreds of people attending a political rally.  We’d seen about ten vans full of people arriving last night with police escorts during our dinner; but later didn’t see anything happening.  I guess they all stayed the night in preparation for today’s event.  There is an election coming up soon and we’ve seen many posters and other events while we’ve been here but this is definitely the biggest yet!   Yury told us this evening that the election is scheduled for December 4th.

Soon we walked up the hill to the Inka Museum; the single lane street was void of traffic so that made the walk up easy.  The building has been there for many years.  There was a large photo of a professor visiting this same building back in 1925 so it’s been a museum for a long time.  Jim said that Hiram Bingham had removed many artifacts from Peru when he was here in the early twentieth century and they had remained at Yale University until 2007 when they was returned to Peru.  Many of these items are in this Museum.

The exhibit was very impressive and took us over an hour to visit.  Again, it was in a building with a central courtyard and I was allowed to take photos there.  Several artisans were busy in the courtyard with weaving and painting.    We purchased a very small gourd that had been carved by hand. 

We walked up to the small plaza where the expensive hotels are located to check out the restaurant that we tried to go to last night.  The clerk at the hotel said it was closed for remodeling.  But, while Jim checked that out I started viewing paintings by a young man who is in his fourth year of art school; they were beautiful and very tempting but we managed to break away and head back down towards the hotel where we played another game of cards while we caught our breath.   So the score today was even; we each won a game. 

Back to our room where we worked on our computers until 5:30 pm and then we went out for dinner.  We walked to the restaurant that Jim had found on Trip Advisor.  Oops….not open until 6:30 pm; that’s a first since we’ve arrived!

By this time we’d agreed that we’d really like to purchase a painting from the young artist that we’d met in the square this afternoon.  So up the hill we trudged and sure enough he was still there in the plaza with his paintings.   We chose a watercolor painting of a Peruvian village.  Back to the hotel where we were happy to see the manager Yury.   Had a nice talk with him and he assured me that I’d be able to eat a Cuy by myself.   As we were leaving there were fireworks being shot into the air along with the firecrackers in the plaza.  Lots of excitement and political speeches still be given in front of the Cathedral.  

Back to the SumaQcha Restaurant where we were greeted and shown to a table.   There the waiter explained that the whole Cuy would be brought out for photos and then taken back to the kitchen and prepared for me to eat.  Much like eating chicken; in fact they encouraged me to eat it with my fingers but I ended up using a knife and fork as it was easier.   Very tasty…I had it fried (Cuy Chactado) as that method was only half an hour to prepare; if it was baked it would take an hour as all Cuy is prepared fresh after it is ordered.   I had a stuffed green pepper that was breaded and baked along with several black Peruvian potatoes.   We shared a large beer and Jim enjoyed a plate of chicken and beef on skewers.

Delicious dinner and about double the price that we generally pay; the Cuy was S/60.00 (about $20.00) but it is the national delicacy of Peru and now I’ve enjoyed a meal of it while in Peru.   We decided to walk a bit and headed up one narrow shopping street and then back down in front of the Cathedral to watch the political rally that was still happening.   There were two old vehicles; both model A Fords from the 1920’s.   I managed to get a photo of one for the slideshow.

Back in the hotel by eight o’clock; I think this was our latest night out in Peru.  I hope you’ve enjoyed our day and below you’ll find the slideshow.  Remember…if you click on the slideshow it will take you to the larger version in Picasa.

Visiting Museums in Cusco

It’s nice to be back at the Inca Wasi Hotel in Cusco.  We slept until 8:30 am and barely made it down to breakfast before they stopped serving.  It’s going to be a slow and relaxing day for us.  Time to recuperate from our adventure at Machu Picchu.

By ten o’clock we were out the door to visit two Museums that are on our Tourist Pass and both are located with two blocks of the hotel.  Our first stop was at the Cusco City Hall.

The Museum of Contemporary Art is located on two floors in various rooms along with their meeting rooms and offices.   We were allowed to take as many photos as we wanted; what an unusual event!  We were surrounded by groups of school children but you’ll enjoy the photos of the hacienda style building with the inner court that all of the rooms are off of.  

Our next Museum was the Museum of Regional History.   No photos, but I took a couple for you.  This was very historical art and artifacts.  One of the artist who’s work was displayed is also known as the Peruvian Michaelangelo:  Aloisio Bernardo Joan Democrito Bitti who lived from 1548 – 1610.  He was an Italian priest who came to Peru and stayed.  

A quote was printed on one wall that I took a photo of so that we could pass it on to you as it is so beautiful.  It was written by Mario Vargas Llosa – Peruvian, Noble Prize in Literature 2010

                “Museums are as necessary for countries as schools and hospitals….They also heal,

                not bodies, but minds of darkness that is ignorance, prejudice, superstition and

                all the defects that isolate human beings from one another, and fester them and

                push to kill themselves.  Museums….they sharp the sensibility, stimulate the

                imagination, refine the sentiments, and wake up people in the critical and self-critical

                spirit.  Progress does not only mean many schools, hospitals and roads.  Also and

                maybe, above all, the wisdom that makes us capable of differentiating the ugly from

                the beautiful, the intelligent from the stupid, the good from the bad and the tolerable of

                the intolerable, that we call culture.”

It was about noon when we walked slowly back to the hotel.  Stopped at an ATM to get enough cash for the balance of our trip.  Then into the hotel where we enjoyed several hours of playing our favorite card game Hand & Foot.    We’d played one hand last Monday which I’d won; we continued that game and Jim beat me by thousands of points.  But he agreed to a second game and I reversed the trend and did the same to him.  The ladies at the front desk brought us a plate of delicious chocolates while we played cards in the atrium.  

We’re in the room now catching up on computer work and plan to eat dinner tonight at a lovely restaurant that gets rave reviews and is located on the Plaza.  I’ll let you know when we get back how good it is before I close the journal for today.

Jim found another restaurant close by but a short walk uphill that sounded really good.    We walked uphill for about three blocks and found two Museums to go to tomorrow along the way.  We also found some five star hotels.  But the restaurant was closed.  We’ll have to check tomorrow to see if it’s open.  So we resorted to our original plan and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at El Meson de Espaderos overlooking the Plaza.  While we ate there was a political parade around the Plaza that added some spice to the evening.   Great food and nice décor; always nice to see cloth napkins on the tables.   We each had a beer, shared a plate of blood sausage and fries then we each had a bowl of soup.  It has looked like rain all evening but we made it back to the hotel without opening the umbrellas.  

While walking home I snapped a photo of this sign in an expensive shop: Black Friday....shades of America have arrived in Peru!

Another day is over and we’re enjoying an HBO movie with Spanish subtitles right now.   Not sure of the name but it’s funny. 

Thanks for sharing our day and it’s a small slideshow tonight.

Traveling from Machu Picchu to Cusco

 It was another interesting night; we’ve discovered that there is a Karaoke Bar below us and the music plays until well past two o’clock in the morning.  To top it off after being so very careful with long sleeves and long pants yesterday; there was one of the dreaded tiny black flies in the room last night and I now have bites on my face and right arm….a dozen of them!  Like mosquito bites…not dangerous they say, just itchy!

By 6:30 am we were up and finished our packing.  Down to breakfast by 7:30 we enjoyed the company of three young ladies; two from France and one from Germany.  They’d climbed to the top of our mountain yesterday and shared their “hairy” tales with us; including that there were some people who’d climbed all the way up and then cried when they realized what they were going to have to do to get off of the mountain.   The down was much scarier than going up they said.  All three agreed that we were wise to stop when we did and that confirmed that we’d done the right thing.   We checked out of the hotel by 8:30 am and stored our three backpacks at the hotel for a few hours.

We walked towards the market area near the train to find something to take home.  I ended up with a refrigerator magnetic and Jim negotiated a great price on a small piece of Amethyst.  We walked in a new area near the train and found an absolutely beautiful hotel.  And, since the trains don’t run at night it would also be quiet!   Probably very expensive but beautiful.   I went inside and got a card so that I can look it up on the Internet for friends who might be going to visit Machu Picchu.

Soon it was about nine o’clock and we still had lots of time; out train doesn’t leave until 2:30 pm.  We found an empty bench overlooking the river that courses down the center of the village and watched the workers push cart after cart up the hill to the various restaurants and hotels.  There were propane gas canisters, huge bags of wheat, cases of beer, hundreds of bottles of water and sodas, etc.  You’re either going up or down in this town as there are very few level spaces with the exception of the soccer field.   Everything has to be brought in by train and it is at the bottom of the gorge; from there everything is moved with hand carts up to where it has to go. 

The sun was shining and it was getting warm on the bench so we walked back up to the hotel and got out our computers and books for a couple of hours.   Then back to the bench for more people watching and we also ate some of our snacks that we’d brought with us from Cusco.

Finally at one o’clock we checked in to the train station…had to show our tickets and passports to get inside.  There were benches, restrooms and refreshment stands there.  At 2:15 pm they announced the trains and we boarded our Inca Rail train for the hour and a half journey back to Ollantaytambo.   There were several tour groups so they easily filled the five cars on the train.  In talking with one of the passengers we learned that one of the tour groups was Overseas Adventure Travel; one of our favorites.  We had assigned seats and had no idea who would be sharing out table.   Soon they arrived; Michelle and Steve from Michigan.  

We never seemed to run out of conversation.  Steve is a twin…identical, but I didn’t hold that against him!  Twins always love meeting other twins!   They have a daughter back home and talked about what fun it was to FaceTime with her this morning.  Steve is headed home soon and Michelle is staying in Lima for a conference.  We shared experiences on climbing the mountains yesterday.  They were unable to get tickets for the one we climbed so went up the big tall mountain that is called Machu Picchu instead.  They got a late start and were disappointed when they found out that they were too late to go to the top; it closed early in order to get everyone down in a timely manner.  So, like us, they had wonderful photos but can’t say that they reached the top.  The big difference is that they are young enough to come back someday and make it to the top!

We said our goodbyes and headed for one of the many bus/vans waiting for passengers heading for Cusco.  They’d pre-ordered a taxi so had an easier, but much more expensive, ride into Cusco where they are spending the night.  We had to wait half an hour for the next train to arrive before we had a full bus but for ten soles each (about $3.00) it was worth the wait.  A taxi will cost you anywhere from fifty to more than a hundred depending on how well you negotiate with the driver.  Took a few photos along the way including a sunset for the slideshow.  

 

By 6:30 pm we were back in Cusco and walked the three block to our hotel; good to stretch the legs, and then enjoyed a big smile on the clerk when they saw us arrive.  Unpacked the bags and organized the room before heading to the restaurant where we each enjoyed a beer.  I ordered a Hawaiian Pizza to share with Jim and he also ordered an omelet that came with rice.  Perfect amount of food.

It’s going on ten o’clock and I’m looking forward to a quiet sleep and relaxing day tomorrow. 

Hope you enjoy the few photos in the slideshow and that each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day today with family and loved ones.