This morning we headed south toward Cusco. We made two stops along the way and the first was the famous Pisac Market. Pisac is the destination where travelers needing to purchase local souvenirs, gifts or pretty much anything for their peeps back home, get their retail therapy on! Mostly, the goods at Pisac are ceramics, textiles, jewelry and carved gourds. The prices are great if you’re willing to bargain and vendors here are more friendly than at Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu). If you’re savvy, you’ll plan on making this stop on a Sunday when the market is at its most colorful- showcasing farmers, butchers and fishmongers dressed in traditional mestiza garb, selling their products. It’s quite the sight to see women carving up goat, lamb, beef and fish right in front of you and in the middle of everything!
By the time we got there, I was hungry and made a beeline for Ulrike’s Cafe while my guests were out shopping. Ulrike, the restaurant’s proprietor, is a European transplant who now calls Pisac home. Her restaurant has a welcoming staff and more important…a clean restroom! This is the place where you’ll find travelers eating, reading and/or preparing for further travel around Peru. You can donate books you no longer want to carry around or purchase one for yourself for next to nothing. She is super nice and always at the cafe making her great food. Normally in my world, I’m not a quiche eater. It’s just one of those dishes that never occurs to me as something to order. But when I’m in Pisac, I crave only one thing to eat…Ulrike’s quiche! It’s so good that in an entire season, I never ordered anything else- although I’ve heard the menu offers a whole host of tasty selections! After eating and chatting with Ulrike a bit, I left to spend the remainder of our time there participating in Pisac’s best past times…people-watching and picture-taking!
From Pisac we continued south to Awana Kancha. This co-op was similar to the one in Chinchero where we had weaving demonstrations from the Center for Traditional Textile of Cusco. The difference at Awana Kancha was that we got to see all 4 camelids: Alpaca, Llama, Guanaco and the famed Vicuna with its super-fine wool. We were given a short presentation by Lucho who, with his two brothers created the idea of Awana Kancha (translated: Palace of the Master Weaver) back in 1989. He informed us of the history of the animals and their importance as a source of food and clothing in Pre-Columbian culture and the current peoples of Peru. We also were allowed to feed the adult llamas and alpacas some fresh alfalfa (their main food staple). How fun that was! Finally, Lucho handed several of us baby bottles filled with milk and allowed us to feed the baby alpacas. Trust me when I tell you….you’ve never seen anything cuter than a baby alpaca! After the feeding frenzy, a different type of mayhem took place when we were escorted to the gift shop where some of the finest baby alpaca and vicuna garments in Peru were available for purchase. Everything from sweaters, to table runners, to slippers, to hats, scarves and socks were at the ready and each with their own patterns- indicating the village they were from. And Lucho can tell you all about every pattern and village as if he was born there. Awana Kancha was so fun!
After we left the living museum, we wound our way through the mountains a bit and finally began our descent into the “navel of the world“- Cusco. This beautiful city was once the capital of the Inca Empire with its sister capital up north in Ecuador. From the hills above, Cusco reminded me of many European cities like Florence, Italy with all the red-tiled rooftops. And of course, this Catholic-influenced city wouldn’t be complete without the customary cathedral in the main plaza. It’s worth visiting- especially for the painting of a black Jesus and a portrayal of the Last Supper where the biblical participants are shown feeding on Cusco’s gastronomic delicacy…the Cuy! (guinea pig) Cusco’s original architecture however, offers a different twist. Over the centuries, the Spanish tried to destroy all Inca architecture but were mostly unsuccessful given the scale of the stone complexes in the capital. Where they could, the Spanish built on top of the original stone foundation and the result over time is an entire city with shops, restaurants and hotels built on beautiful, original stonework- compliments of the Inca!
We ate lunch at Incanto and its decor is replete with Inca stonework throughout the restaurant! We all marveled at it immediately upon entering and then sat down for another great meal. We also embibed on two of Peru’s favorite drinks: The Algarrobina, a drink similar to a Brandy Alexander or Kahlua (with milk) and the national drink- the Pisco Sour (similar to a Margarita or Whiskey Sour but better in my opinion). Both drinks are delicious but the Pisco Sour is my favorite for sure.
From the restaurant we walked down original Inca streets and stopped outside Korincancha. This “castle” if you will, was once the seat of power for the Inca culture during their reign. The King and his Coya or Queen would have ruled here at this epicenter (or navel) of the kingdom. In fact, housed therein are the thrones where they actually sat. Pizarro and his minions had their collective eye on Koricancha as they’d heard there was a treasure of gold here. History says the capitol had sheets of gold hanging from the walls and life-sized animals and corn stalks made entirely of this precious metal! Amazingly, you can still see where the Inca used sap to glue the golden sheets to the walls! This stop is a definite while here. Other must-see’s are the MAP (Museo Arqeologico Peruano), the San Blas neighborhood where all the artists and expats hang out and the famous 12-sided stone. I went out later that night to enjoy the city and its nightlife which was great. Cusco, as well as being beautiful at night, is also very safe at night. As much as I am able to get into and enjoy the familiar hub bub of a metropolitan area like Lima, Cusco was my favorite city in Peru for sure. Oh and I almost forgot….the entire city of nearly half a million is made in the shape of a puma! Enjoy the pics and see ya on Day 7!
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