Tuesday, December 17, 2019, Machu Day #1 Background

Machu Picchu trip, day 1, December 17, 2019

New found friends that we have gotten to know assembled the below; this may help you understand what we witnessed on our 4-day venture to visit Machu Picchu.  Enjoy!

Our tour started early Tuesday morning at about 5:00 AM from our cruise ship.  We gathered together with our luggage in one of the dining rooms and awaited transfer to the buses.  Sixty people were on this trip so we needed two buses for the transfer.  The one-hour flight from Lima, Peru to Cusco was uneventful and we arrived in Cusco ready for a few good days.   We checked into the Palacio del Inca, or Inca Palace, which used to be just that, a palace for the Inca emperor.   Our hotel was built on its foundation.  Some original Inca walls could be seen throughout the hotel.  

The first thing we did in the hotel was gather in a large room where they gave us all a cup of coca tea to combat altitude sickness.  We were at about 12,000 feet and a few of us were feeling it.  Coca tea is made from the leaves of the same plant that the Incas chewed, allowing their workers to work all day without feeling tired or to stop for lunch.  In addition to combating altitude sickness, it is said to relieve fatigue, give you more energy and clear your mind.  It makes no claims about preventing pregnancy but with this group, that was not an issue.  We then sat down to a delicious buffet lunch.  The hotel was up to Viking’s standards and was very comfortable.

Gold, silver, and copper are still mined in this area.  The largest natural gas deposit in the country is near here but Cusco is mostly a tourist city.  From selling souvenirs to arranging tours or supporting tourists, most people are engaged in that industry. 

Our first tour stop was just across the street from the hotel.  The Temple of the Sun was the most revered place in the Inca kingdom.  Because of that, it was thought that the Spanish destroyed it and built their first church in its place.  The Spanish covered the walls with plaster and then painted them extensively.  In 1973, a large earthquake hit the city and destroyed much of the church, but many walls were still standing.  On close inspection, the walls still standing had their plaster covering fall off revealing that the Spanish used the Inca walls extensively.

The Inca covered their walls in gold shields instead of plaster and you could see where they used to be attached before the Spanish removed them.  I have a picture of a replica of a shield.  When the Spanish defeated the Inca emperor and discovered just how much gold the Incas had, they threw him in jail. They told him that he could have his freedom if he could fill up his cell with gold (24 tons) and fill up two more cells with silver.  So, the emperor ordered his people to remove the gold and silver from all temples in his land and bring it to Cusco.  Meanwhile, the emperor had a brother who had been standing in the shadow of the emperor all his life and saw his chance to move up in the world.  He made a deal with the Spanish that if they would eliminate his brother and make him emperor, he would double the treasure.  The emperor completed his task and the Spanish rewarded him with a quick death and made his brother their stooge for life.

On our tour we had our first close look at Inca construction.  All Inca walls were well made but they reserved their best stone masons to work on temple construction.  Some parts of the temple were not totally finished and we could see some small bumps left in the blocks to allow them to move the blocks more easily.  These bumps were intended to be removed once the blocks were permanently placed.

Water was very important in the Inca world and we saw an original channel running through a park to feed a fountain still producing water today from some underground source.

Our second stop was the Plaza de Armas.  Most Spanish cities had one.  It was where the citizens were to gather to pick up weapons in case of an attack.  The plaza was dominated by two enormous churches.  There are 14 large churches in Cusco, all with bell towers.  The first church was built by the Dominicans and the second was built later by the Jesuits. The one we went into was the Temple of the Virgin de la Navidad.  It was actually a basilica since the Pope said Mass in 1985.  We were not allowed to take any pictures in here but the interior was amazing. 

The decorations were mainly performed by local artisans.  The Spanish brought hundreds of miniature copies of famous paintings with them and they had locals paint enormous copies for the church walls.  Almost every wall had paintings on it.  The locals were forced to become Catholic or face dire consequences.  They were able to show some resistance in their paintings, however.  Some of the paintings had errors in them.  Sometimes this was because they were asked to paint things they had never seen before, but other times, they showed definite contempt for the Spanish.

For instance, in one painting, they were told to paint a lion next to some person.  They had never seen a lion and the face of the lion they painted was the face of a monkey.  Another painting was of a European scene that had llamas in the background, as well as local birds, including a rhea, a South American distant relative to the ostrich, instead of ducks near the pond.  In another painting of Mary, a serpent was woven into her dress but the most impressive “mistake” was in the rendition of the Last Supper.  In the center of the table was a roasted Guinea Pig.  Before the bread and wine, the last supper was a Passover Seder.  I doubt if a Jewish celebration would be serving such an entrée.  Around the table, all faces were white except for that of Judas.  His face was dark and he was snarling.  It was also the face of Pizzaro himself.  He had some Moorish blood in him and was very dark in complexion.  I’m not sure if these “mistakes” were overlooked or what, but there are many more examples of them throughout the church.

An amazing amount of gold and silver were used throughout the church.  At least ten chapels were seen along the outer edge containing large silver caldrons and gold objects.  The organ pipes were silver plated and the altar was gold plated.  When the Spanish arrived, they found Cusco a forest of Andean cedar trees. The Spanish cut them all down and used the wood to make seats for the choir in the church and the doorways.  Intricate carvings were made on these seats indicating a high degree of skill.  Balconies throughout town were made of the same material and beautifully carved as well.  No candles are allowed in the church because of the large amount of wood used throughout the interior.

Our final stop was the site of the last battle between the Spanish and the Incas.  It is called Sacsayhuaman, pronounced like “sexy woman.”  It was a fortress built to withstand attack of an army equipped with weapons they were used to seeing.  Pizzaro brought only 200 men but they all wore heavy armor and carried modern weapons.  They quickly overwhelmed the Incas.  The fortress still stands today much as it did five hundred years ago.  Its massive blocks must have required an enormous effort to move and erect.  The Spanish removed some of the smaller blocks to build their church and these have been largely replaced in a restoration effort.  The walls were built not straight, but in a zig zag fashion for stability.

Finally, we returned to the hotel for much-deserved rest to prepare for the second day. 

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Tuesday, December 17, 2019, Cusco/Inca #1, Peru