Cusco - Peru

Our flight from Lima to Cusco was hairy. As we approached Cusco, the plane was swallowed by clouds and swirling mist. After an aborted first attempted landing and some prayers, we were informed that the pilot couldn’t land the plane because of poor visibility and our flight would be diverted to another airport. Halfway to the new airport, we were informed that the weather at Cusco had improved and we would be returning for another attempt at landing. Thankfully, after circling around several times the pilot managed to land the plane. Without a doubt, the pilot was more successful at converting new Catholics than the conquistadors; there certainly weren’t any atheists on debarkation!

Like a bejewelled button in the centre of a crushed green velvet cushion, Cusco is surrounded by lush mountains. The quaint town is an infusion of its Inca and Spanish heritage, with Spanish terracotta tiled roofs lending charm to sombre Inca walls, ingeniously constructed with interlinked trapezoidal granite stones. The old section of the town is dominated by the Plaza del Armas from which a spiders’ web of delightful narrow medieval streets radiate. Caught within this enchanting web is a multitude of bewildered deracinated tourists upon which the local touts descend with arachnid ardour selling tours and bright alpaca wares.

We stayed in a beautiful hotel which was just off the Plaza del Armas and, because it was out of season, the hotel was reasonably priced and had hot water! (Many places don’t have hot water!) On arrival we were given coco tea and told to rest for about 3 hours so that our bodies could acclimatise to the altitude. After the obligatory nap, we discovered a lovely little restaurant that became our local haunt, called Sabor de Casa (House of Flavour) which served delicious trout ceviche (raw fish marinated/cooked in lime juice) and lip-smacking soups. Peruvian food was fantastic.

There is so much to do and see in Cusco that to record them all would require turning this, already too long a synopsis, into an essay. Sometimes complimentary and sometimes contradictory, Spanish and Indian influences are everywhere. For example: often Christ is represented as an Indian; a painting of the last supper includes a traditional Peruvian meal of roast guinea pig; there are carvings of naked Indian women in the choir stand (definitely not the usual conservative Catholic thing); and baroque alters are full of carvings of Inca designs.