Cusco

What can I say about today other than it was eventful.  As many of you may have heard, there is a strike going on in Peru.  They are fighting to get higher wages.  They had escalated their protests, blocking streets, attacking vehicles (not people), marching through the city chanting, yelling and screaming, setting off firecrackers, etc.  Well, we got to experience it all first hand when we were leaving our hotel. After getting in our vans to go to the next hotel to drop luggage off, one van was able to pull away before the protestors reached them; however, the other was quickly surrounded first by protestors followed by the police with their riot gear.  While we were never in eminent danger, it was quite the experience to be that close.  In the end the only causality was the van tire which was slashed by a protestor. 

Once situated in the hotel, we headed to Temple of the Sun which was an Incan.  Later the Dominicans came and tore down much of the temple and built a cathedral and monastery on the site.  We learned about the Triology of the Incas - Condor (representing the Gods and the over world), Puma (representing all living things and the present) and the Snake (presenting the dead and underworld).  There were also three rules for morals: Help your neighbor, pay your taxes, and work for the Gods.  The three morals - don't lie, don't steal and don''t be lazy and finally the three worlds.  The Triology is also represented by the three doors going into the temples.  We also learned about some of the dualities of the Incas, for example, male/female, sun/moon, gold/silver.  It was interesting to see how these two worlds (Incan and Spanish) collided. 

From there we headed to the Cathedral of Cusco which took over 94 years to build.  There were 11 different chapels in the church - ranging from from very rich to very poor.  The most expensive chapel has a Jesus made out of Agave.  When people would pray to him, they burnt candles which have discolored him.  They thought this was a miracle and he now has more than 1000 different outfits that get changed every Thursday.  Also they have a painting of the Last Supper in which Judas was painted depicted as Pizarro. 

For lunch we went to a local restaurant for a buffet which all the kids seemed to enjoy.  Apparently they loved the sushi. 
Since the strike had closed most of the local business, our guide found a market that was through a "small door."  After spending some time here, we headed back to hotel to figure out what the evening would  hold for us. 

Before dinner, we went to chocolate factory here.  We learned how the Peruvians make chocolate (much the same as Ecuadorian).  We sampled some coca tea and chocolates and chocolate jams.  We walked through some other parts of the city, heading to St Blaise Square where there was an artisan market and the Hilario Medivil museum.  He was known for his depiction

of women with extremely long necks representing llamas.  We also got to see the Twelve Cornerstone on Hacun Rumiyoc The stone is important because it fits perfectly between the other stones.  Some people also believe it represents the 12 kings or the 12 months of the year.