The Imperial City of Cuzco
We spent a day exploring the city of Cuzco, Peru. It is known as the ‘Imperial City’, once the
capital of the Inca Empire and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a lively city rich in history and
reveals both the Incan and the Spanish presence. So join me as we wander
through the streets, peek in shops, watch the people and absorb what it’s like
to be in Cuzco …..
Starting in the main square you see two beautiful Cathedrals. The larger one is the Colonial
Cathedral. There are also shops, people
enjoying the square and busy streets.
Then as we walk the streets we see statues, monuments, a children’s play area and decorated walls …
We continue exploring and find ourselves in a neighborhood. Always built up on the hills the families
that have settled in the homes get together and build steps; therefor, there
are several really long stair cases just waiting to be climbed! Of course we climbed one and saw some awesome
images of Cuzco from ‘the top’.
Since we were already in the neighborhood we visited with a few
Peruvians on the street – simple phrases like “Hola” for hello and big
smiles!! The people of Peru are all very
friendly and always seem to be busy doing something to help raise money for
their families. I think I mentioned in a previous chapter that
there is no government assistance like WIC, CHIPS, Unemployment, Medicaid,
Social Security Etc. for anyone in Peru.
As families migrated from the Andes they picked some land and started
living on it – sometimes with as little as cardboard and sheets of fabric. Everyone in Peru works! As they earn they do improvements on their
homes. So in the next set of photos you
will see the many stages of the homes in the general population. At the end you will see much nicer homes –
like here, a small number of people in Peru have a lot of money.
We also toured the Colonial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption
of the Virgin. While it boasts over 400
paintings, and well over 12 alters all decorated with a lot of gold, gems and
statues, they do not allow any photography inside the Nave. So the photos we have are outside and in an
area designated for the many archaeological artifacts and relics.
More soon ☺
Jan 🌷🌷🐾🐾
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