May 23, 2019 Cuzco

MAY 23 Thursday

Today is a free day to rest up and explore Cuzco.  After the usual breakfast buffet, we head towards the Plaza de Armas (main square has this name in most cities).  The first shop we stop in is the first time we run into "fixed prices" - usually it is almost expected that you will bargain.

At the plaza there are many children leading a protest that has something to do with education.  There are two churches on the square, the larger Cathedral, and smaller Iglesia La Compania.

The Cathedral, above, was built using blocks pilfered from the nearby Inca site of Sacsaywaman.(Pronounced like sexy woman!) It was begun in 1559 and took nearly 100 years to complete.

The other church was built upon the palace of Huayna Capac, the last Inca to rule their undivided empire. Built by Jesuits in 1571 and rebuilt after an earthquake in 1650.

This impressive statue of an Inca king is in the center of the plaza.

The plaza is busy with peddlers offering all kinds of excursions, tours, etc.  Greg says about 25% of the people are trying to sell something.  Most accept "no, gracias" or just a shake of the head.
We set off to attempt to follow a walking tour listed in our Lonely Planet book.  Many of the streets are cobblestone.

Streets often change names at intersections, or so it seems to us, and some are more like alleyways.

but we find our way along to the Church of Santa Clara.  (No photos).  They incorporated mirrors into their inside decor as an incentive to entice curious indigenous into the church in colonial times.

Next we come to the San Pedro Market, a large indoor market with a mix of foods, crafts and tourist souvenirs.

 The first few rows  of vendors when we enter are all making and selling fresh juices of all types.

There was a whole aisle of cheeses,

ground corn, grain and spices, many nuts,

fruits and veggies

and an aisle of "meats", (term used generously), which included delicacies like pigs feet, beef hearts and cow snouts (gross!)

The nearby street had shops selling about anything you could think of from cell phones to mops to faucets, hats, potatoes and more. Some individual vendors on the sidewalks, too.

We walk through some of the oldest Inca ruins in Cuzco, around the Courtyard of the Serpents. Many inca walls in the area.

 The Incas had cobblestone irrigation channels that funneled mountain water to the city.

Across the street is the Palace of Justice, with a nice mural.

There are two  protests going on nearby.  One on the stairs

and another down the street with probably close to a hundred people shouting and waving signs.  Not sure of the topic, but something to do with sex...

On a little side street, we get turned around and I attempt to ask a pleasant young man outside a restaurant for directions. Many restaurants have a person standing outside where their menu is posted.  I think we got the directions, but we were getting hungry and the young man was trying so hard to communicate, that we decided to stop here for lunch.  It was called Deva and wasn't very busy, but seemed a nice place.

They brought us some corn beer, along with fried corn, as an appetizer.

I chose a baked pork with sweet tamale and crisp potatoes and a small salad made with red onions and spearmint.

Greg ordered a ceviche (atop potatoes) topped with a pretty flower.

 The chef, Federico Schaerer, came out to talk to us and confirm the order. (Our server spoke no English). He asked Greg how spicy he wanted the dish and after some discussion they decided on just a touch of spice.  Good choice, since Greg said it was plenty spicy.   It took a while, but both dishes were worth the wait.   Federico came out again when we finished and asked how we learned about the restaurant, so we gave kudos to the server who had been standing outside by the menu and helped us.  Nice experience.

We head back to our room for a break around 2:00.  Greg wants to visit an artsy area called San Blas, so we set out again, up hill, stopping at shops along the way.

 Better quality items, more hand made things.  There are a water fountain and a temple at the top of the hill.

 Pretty flowers, too.

In another shop, we are looking at placemats when a young man (maybe British?) tells us about a shop he found that had excellent prices.  He gives some directions, which I didn't quite get, but he did say it was near the Chocolate Museum, so I look that up and we head there.  Greg feels sure we're going the wrong way, but goes along.  Eventually we find the Chocolate Museum and come to discover that he must have meant the Coca Museum - a whole different place - and Greg was right.   We hike back to the room and call it a night.  Greg goes out to have a beer,

but I'm beat.

Greg notes that businesses here seem to be grouped, with laundry services on one street, seamstresses on another, electronics on a 3rd, etc.  The exceptions are food, restaurants, alpaca shops and souvenir shops which are everywhere!

Tomorrow's adventure will be exploring the Sacred Valley area, working our way toward Machu Picchu!