We've been to Perú and have sent a few eCards, which cover most of our news. With this quick post we put up pictures that didn't make it into any card, but which we don't want to forget about. First among them is this shot from the Inca Trail that leads to Machu Picchu. It's not from the Sun Gate, but just inside it, at the ... what? Sun Sentry Station?
Machu PIcchu, The Sequim of the Andes
News & Notes
Chinchero PE is one very interesting place. It is high (12,375') and it is grand. Julie and our guide Omar are looking at this scene of extensive Incan earthworks. We came to visit the Quechua Sunday Market, where we saw unusual corn and potato varieties. But we were captivated by other things as well. There was an old well-used Catholic Church built on Incan ruins. Also in 1964 Paul Simon lived here briefly - his room is the rightmost window in the church photo. It is claimed that he wrote the "Sound of Silence" in Chinchero. We certainly walked through many "narrow streets of cobblestones."
Julie and Omar Study the View
The Spanish from Pizarro on denied the accomplishments of the Inca for centuries. So it is with imperialism. Yet, over that time everyone in Cusco was reminded on a daily basis as they walked around town about the comparative abilities of the two cultures. For example, this stone wall, which is the back of the Convent, shows one example by the Inca (l) that uses no mortar and two examples by the Spanish (c & r) that not only use mortar, they use many of the Inca's stones. You tell us which walls are an affront to civilized people.
Comparing Inca and Spanish Masonry
Apparently, it is common in Cusco for groups to march around the central square, the Plaza de Armes. One afternoon high school marching bands circled the Plaza for reasons we didn't understand. We were impressed, though, by this girls' school brass band with its heavy emphasis on saxophones and style. The women handled the cobblestones with grace.
A Cusco Brass Band
