| Drew's Peru Trip | August 1999 |
-Parque del Amor
-Parasailors at the Lighthouse
-Lima's brightly colored buildings
-Tom and Drew
-Tom
-Arabesque in the Twelfth Floor Window
-The Quartet
These pictures were taken through the plane window en route from Lima to Cuzco.
-Cordierra Blanca 1
-Cordierra Blanca 2
-Jesuit church
-El Catedral
-Colonial Balconies
-Tom in the Plaza de Armas
The Incan walls are made of hard basalt blocks without any mortar between them. It is still unknown exactly how they were able to fit such huge stones together so tightly that you cannot get a knife between any two blocks. These walls were designed to withstand earthquakes. Since the blocks are uneven, there is no single seam of weakness where the blocks meet. Even in corners, every other tier was made by a single block that rounded the corner so that there would be no seam from top to bottom. Building walls incline towards the inside so that they support each other. In some places, small stones at the base of the walls are placed to act like rollers during a quake.
On a typical day in Cuzco, we'd learn about how some Inca construction survived major earthquakes while the Spanish structures built on top of it collapsed. We'd return to our hotel where the window and toilet seat would fall off at a touch.
Coricancha means Gold Palace in Quechua. In Inca times, this was the center of worship in Cuzco. The building was plaited in gold and studded with emeralds and turquoise. In the courtyard was a garden with life-sized golden statues of llamas, trees, birds, and butterflies. Here golden corn was ritually planted. The building included temples to the sun and moon decorated with huge disks of gold and silver, respectively. When the Spanish arrived, they stole the gold, painted over the Inca walls, and converted the building into a Catholic church, and the building's history was forgotten.
During an earthquake in 1950, the Spanish walls and paintings cracked, revealing the Inca walls underneath. Since then, the building has been restored to its original state (sans the gold). Unfortunately, not a lot is known about the original state of the building or its use. A large block found outside the building was placed into one of the chambers which was then called the Sacrificial Room. Today, it is thought that this room was a temple to the rainbow that contained a large golden disk painted the seven colors of the rainbow which were reflected onto a shallow pool of water on the floor.
Many Inca buildings were designed with three windows and three doors. A room that couldn't accommodate three windows could be given a triple frame. This is thought to be symbol of their three laws 1) Don't steal 2) Don't lie 3) Don't be lazy.
-Courtyard and Tower
-Patch of Spanish Painting
-"Sacrificial" Room
-Triple Framed Window
The city of Cuzco is shaped like a puma. This site, which overlooks Cuzco, forms the head. Its name comes from the Quechua "Sasa Oma" which translates to Head of the Puma. The puma's teeth were formed by zigzag walls, and its eye was formed by a resevoir.
Sacsayhuaman was used as a fort during the Incan struggle with the Spanish. At this site, 2000 Quechuas fought for 15 days against 200 Spanish soldiers. Despite their greater numbers, the Quechua, with their club weapons and lack of battle savvy, lost to the Spanish.
The site was probably not designed for battle but for storage. It is estimated to have taken 77 years to build Sacsayhuaman, but it only took a few years for the Spanish to dismantle it to use the stones for their own buildings.
-The Puma's Teeth
-Red Roofs of Cuzco
Qenko is Quechua for labyrinth. At this site, cave tunnels lead to an altar where animal sacrifices were made to Pacha Mama, Mother Earth.
-Cave Entrance
-Sacrificial Altar
Tambo Machay was a sacred bathing place of the Incas. The water is still pure and drinkable. A watchtower across the road protected the temple.
-Triple Cascade
-Watchtower Ruins
-An Alpaca
-Overlooking the Sacred Valley
The Inca fort at Pisac is a great vantage point to oversee the valley. Because it is difficult to attack, the Spanish opted to destroy its water source rather than attack it directly.
The terraces at Pisac are currently being restored. Retaining walls keep the soil from eroding in the area's heavy rains. The soil itself was imported up the steep mountainsides by the Incas.
The hillside near the fort was once an Incan burial site. At death, all people were mummified, put into the fetal position, and buried in mountain sides. The Spanish raided most of the gravesites to collect the golden idols that were sometimes included in the tombs.
-Terraces and Fort
-Fort's View of the Valley
-Water Fountain
-Tom Contemplates the Meaning of It All
-The Trio Before the Terraces
-Graveyard
-Granary
-Terraces
-Princess's Bath
-Fountain
-Overview of Bathhouse
-Candelabro
-Archway
-Sea Lions at Play
-Sea Lions Lounging
-Drew in Desert
-El Catedral
-El Catedral with Arch
-Fishing Boats
-Ocean meets Desert