So this morning we woke up just before six to get ready for our flight to Cuzco! We get to the airport and the flight was pushed back because our original flight was canceled, but security was kind of lengthy so it wasn't a big deal.
The flight to Cuzco was just over an hour. I got to see some cool snow-capped mountains. Now, Cuzco's airport is the 8th highest commercial airport in the world. So, what is it like to land at an airport like that? Well, pretend like maybe you think your plane is going to crash in the mountains, mix in a little of the movie Con Air and then add thoughts of "what did I learn from watching the movie Alive?" And I've never seen it, but maybe some Snakes on a Plane scenes. Then the plane landed just fine.
We met our driver at the airport and he took us and the other people in our group (5 total) to our hotel in Cuzco. The hotel is right of the plaza so it makes it easy to get around. I felt a bit winded walking up the stairs, but no more than if I were to walk up the 7 flights of stairs at work:).
We got our room and then met our guide for the next 4-5 days, Vidal, and he first took us to the main plaza and explained some of Cuzco's history then took us on a tour of Cuzco Cathedral. After spending a summer in Spain and then visiting Rome I kinda maxed out on cathedrals a few years ago, but this was impressive! It was probably one of the most beautiful cathedrals I've seen. Then I started thinking.... Oh, slave labor and cheap labor. Thanks Masters degree! The Spaniards basically worked the Inca to death in the gold and silver mines alon with construction.
However, some native painters did some fantastic religious paintings. The Virgin Mary is often depicted in paintings as having a triangular body. Tis was the result of the artists combining Incan religious elements into Catholic art. Pacha Mama is Incan Mother Earth and is symbolized by a triangle, thus, since Mary gave birth to Jesus, see where I'm going? Also, in the paintings of the Last Supper they're serving guniea pig.... And Judas is dark skinned while all the other disciples are white (which is a not so subtle commentary on how the Spaniards may have felt about the Inca....)
Lastly, in order to help convert the Inca they brought a statue of Jesus, but they made him dark skinned (which, seeing as how he was Middle Eastern makes a heck of a lot more sense than blonde hair blue eyed Jesus) and the statue is still here and it is seen as a protector from earthquakes.
Next, we all needed some food so we went to eat. Dad had a quinoa dish with cheese that tasted like polenta and I had alpaca meat. It kind of tasted like lamb chops, but was a bit tough.
After that people were getting pretty tired from the altitude (even though I got winded that once, I'm okay, maybe because I'm use to having breathing problems?). Dad and I walked around the plaza, looked for some alpaca clothing (because I need some gloves!).
Now we're packing (much) smaller bags for the next three days when we go to the Scared Valley and Machu Pichu.
We leave in the morning to head to Pisac and then Ollantaytambo for the night. Apparently their are ruins next to our hotel (not near our hotel, near to).
The flight to Cuzco was just over an hour. I got to see some cool snow-capped mountains. Now, Cuzco's airport is the 8th highest commercial airport in the world. So, what is it like to land at an airport like that? Well, pretend like maybe you think your plane is going to crash in the mountains, mix in a little of the movie Con Air and then add thoughts of "what did I learn from watching the movie Alive?" And I've never seen it, but maybe some Snakes on a Plane scenes. Then the plane landed just fine.
We met our driver at the airport and he took us and the other people in our group (5 total) to our hotel in Cuzco. The hotel is right of the plaza so it makes it easy to get around. I felt a bit winded walking up the stairs, but no more than if I were to walk up the 7 flights of stairs at work:).
We got our room and then met our guide for the next 4-5 days, Vidal, and he first took us to the main plaza and explained some of Cuzco's history then took us on a tour of Cuzco Cathedral. After spending a summer in Spain and then visiting Rome I kinda maxed out on cathedrals a few years ago, but this was impressive! It was probably one of the most beautiful cathedrals I've seen. Then I started thinking.... Oh, slave labor and cheap labor. Thanks Masters degree! The Spaniards basically worked the Inca to death in the gold and silver mines alon with construction.
However, some native painters did some fantastic religious paintings. The Virgin Mary is often depicted in paintings as having a triangular body. Tis was the result of the artists combining Incan religious elements into Catholic art. Pacha Mama is Incan Mother Earth and is symbolized by a triangle, thus, since Mary gave birth to Jesus, see where I'm going? Also, in the paintings of the Last Supper they're serving guniea pig.... And Judas is dark skinned while all the other disciples are white (which is a not so subtle commentary on how the Spaniards may have felt about the Inca....)
Lastly, in order to help convert the Inca they brought a statue of Jesus, but they made him dark skinned (which, seeing as how he was Middle Eastern makes a heck of a lot more sense than blonde hair blue eyed Jesus) and the statue is still here and it is seen as a protector from earthquakes.
Next, we all needed some food so we went to eat. Dad had a quinoa dish with cheese that tasted like polenta and I had alpaca meat. It kind of tasted like lamb chops, but was a bit tough.
After that people were getting pretty tired from the altitude (even though I got winded that once, I'm okay, maybe because I'm use to having breathing problems?). Dad and I walked around the plaza, looked for some alpaca clothing (because I need some gloves!).
Now we're packing (much) smaller bags for the next three days when we go to the Scared Valley and Machu Pichu.
We leave in the morning to head to Pisac and then Ollantaytambo for the night. Apparently their are ruins next to our hotel (not near our hotel, near to).
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