Cusco

Cusco is rather charming, if you can get the tourists and the business of tourism out of sight.  This isn't easy, but once you apply those filters, it is really lovely -- tiny narrow streets, beautiful churches, interesting people.  A glimpse:

Taxis can't traverse many of these streets.

Big enough for cars.

Not.

 

The main chapel.

Lots of balconies, often enclosed in this cooler climate.

One street here has only blue balconies.   

There's a giant white Jesus overlooking the city, donated by a wealthy family in 1945. The other one is a church steeple below.

Archway into the older part of the city.

And some oddities:

A walking ad (with handler) for eating cuy, guinea pig. 

Typical little, very heavy doorway

Plants growing out of the earthen walls. 

This was super weird -- a motorized horse and carriage.  The "horse's" head actually swayed with motorized movement as the carriage rolled through town.

We happened onto a religious procession, nothing unusual about that in this town of processions.  Here, Mary on her way to church. 

These angelitos led the procession.

Maria, beautifully dressed, out on the town, on her way.

Her honor guard, in cool red hats.

Maria had to duck to get past the gate, but then she went in with no problem.

 

We saw another procession the next day -- even more interesting, in a big-nosed way.  ??  Will post it soon.

Cuencan roof crosses

We're in Cusco, and overwhelmed by the tourism aspect of this town.  It seems to be what it's about -- and that's new thing for us.  Understandable, in that people come mostly for MachuPicchu, are here for only a day or two before or after, hungry and wanting to see and buy the beauty of Peru -- but it's ugly seeing and being a part of it.  Hopefully, we'll get a different sense of the city once we're out of tourist central area.  Below is the last of Cuenca (perhaps) - may continue with older Cuenca if we don't fall in love here. 

We'd noticed roof ornamentation on lots of older buildings in Cuenca, and didn't understand.  Franco, our naturalist/guide to Cajas NP had studied this bit of heritage, and explained that roof crosses came with the Spaniards (when they took over Cuenca in 1550s), as a way to mark homes' inhabitants by their class, heritage and faith.  All Catholics, of course, (by Spanish mandate) but some more worthy than others.

• Spaniards marked their homes with a simple marble/stone cross.
• Mestizos (indigenous/Spaniard mix)  used iron crosses and incorporated extensive imagery in their roof decorations --  angels representing conception; ladder for the passion of Christ; a cock representing St. Peter's three denials of Christ before the cock crowed; a heart, representing the heart of Christ, etc.
• Indigenous used rock/stone crosses, with imagery of the moon (from their traditional matriarchal religion), doves (for peace), and balls (for fun?).

Indigenous folks live here -- the moon still a part of their religious iconography.

Lots going on here, mestizo within.

Simple stone -- a true Spaniard lived within.

Mixed family, installed in 1964. 

Mixed and pretty fancy, installed 1914.

Mestizo, farmer, bringing all the imagery to play. 

Simple stone, Spaniard here.

Not sure, but it's iron. 

Another authority(?) told us that it was up to the family's godfather to place the cross.   They have a long spike for installation.

We found the area of Cuenca that historically has made the iron crosses.  Vulcan was an iron worker, and his statue hangs out in the area. 

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Big plaza in the ironworks area, with Vulcan and a volcano

Vulcan at work.

Many newer homes never get 'crossed', the tradition apparently is continued primarily in indigenous homes, while others sometimes put a cross on their home for decorative purposes, not necessarily adhering to the older class requirements. Some folks these days put other stuff on their roofs, modern variations of the tradition.  

: ) -- many of this modern type.

Cuenca markets, street foods and treadles!

We´ve arrived in Cusco, Peru, and it all feels so foreign, after getting to know Ecuador somewhat.  Still two Cuenca things to wrap up.  Here´s another on the street foods and markets of Cuenca, because they were so varied and interesting.

A tamale with chicken, steamed (here) in a banana leaf.  50 cents.

On Sundays one can find these outside on the churches, warm fried dough with sugar.  10 cents.

Quail eggs - 10 for $1, really tasty, and no cholesterol.

They get salted, peppered, then a spicy pepper, served in a bag with a toothpick.

Strawberries that must´ve taken hours to stack so beautifully.

Many ways to do piggies.  Whole pig,
 or the head, roasted.  Delicious, actually.

This specialty pig, done in the hills north of Cuenca is accomplished with a blowtorch, literally.  Blackened skin is a special treat.  Takes about 3 hours to blacken the whole pig, we´ve been told. The end result is very crispy black skin, and a raw rest of the pig.  Didn't try this.

Here, strips of skin are sliced off and sold.  Later the pig will be roasted further and consumed. 

Sometimes the pigs get just flattened out.   Also yummy.

We visited another market in Cuenca, on its busiest day. More stuff there.

In the medicinal section, datura and brugmansia flowers (the yellow to red and white ones) -- for medicinal and hallucinogenic teas.  

The market's own special happy Jesus shrine. 

Feet stuck in the chicken's internal cavity -- look kind of pretty this way.  Feet usually show up in soups here.

So many kinds of potatoes, with special uses, special flavors.

Guinea pig being sold in the market. Whets the appetite when they make their little "cuy, cuy, cuy" noise.

And in a market in the country, cocoa beans melted into this form, for you to do stuff with.

Beans, peas, lentils,corn, already cooked.

Surprise!  Treadle sewing machines are still sold new!

Fancy ones with special stitches. 

 Toys for sale in the market. Mostly plastic animals, dinosaurs, reptiles.