4 May: After our brief stay in Lima, we flew to Cusco, to focus on seeing some of the spectacular scenery and ruins in the heart of the former Incan empire. Cusco was the capital of the Incas, who dominated the Andean region for roughly 100 years until the Spanish conquest in 1532. At its greatest extent, the empire extended from present day Ecuador south to present day Chile, eastward from the Pacific coast, up across the highlands and Andes Mountains, and part way down into the Amazonian basin. “Inca” (or “Sapa Inca”) originally meant the person who ruled over the whole empire, although today “Inca” most often refers to the people of the Incan empire collectively. The Quechua-speaking people of today’s Peru are their descendants.
After settling into a charming B&B in the San Blas neighborhood, with its great view of upper Cusco and the surrounding hills, we explored the old city on foot. The streets in this part are narrow and paved with cobblestones, lined in many places by the unmistakeable and incomparable Incan stone masonry with its hand crafted polygonal stones fitted perfectly together. At the textile museum we saw some exquisite examples of traditional Peruvian woven fabrics and watched a woman demonstrating weaving on her backstrap loom. We went through displays on the history and process of chocolate making at the chocolate museum then went to a small restaurant to sample more Peruvian cuisine. We ordered from the menu of the day: a limited choice of appetizer, main course, dessert, and beverage for one fixed and inexpensive price (a commonly available option at many restaurants). Among our choices were papaya juice, quinoa soup, and alpaca.
