The day 3 (Friday) update is coming a little late because we had a busy day visiting 5 museums and 1 cathedral and we had two excellent meals in between.
We had breakfast and left for the day according to the plan that we had discussed the night before. Our first stop was the Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art. It was quite small with only 3 galleries. Some of the paintings were really good and given the lack of exposure in a small city like Cusco, it was quite impressive. The artwork wasn't by any famous artists rather it was the work of upcoming local artists. As a consequence, we were allowed to take pictures with flash which isn't usually the case when the artwork is older and by more famous artists.
Our second stop was the Museum of Regional History one block diagonally across from the previous one. This museum chronicled different periods in Peru's history from the Inca emperors to Spanish Viceroys and how Christianity incorporated local Pagan symbols to form a version that the locals could relate to easily. For instance, in a Peruvian rendering of Jesus' Last Supper painting by a local artist, Jesus and his apostles are feasting on guinea pig and drinking chicha. Guinea pig holds religious significance for the locals and chicha is a local fermented corn drink. Another section of the museum chronicled the life of a Peruvian born historian Garcilaso de la Vega whose father was Spanish and mother Quechuan giving him a unique wholesome perspective on ancient Incan rituals/history and Spanish conquests. Quechua is the term used to describe local indigenous people.
Our third stop was the Museum of Popular Art that was in the basement of the municipal tourism building where we had bought our Boleto Turístico passes. It was a small museum that housed all the entries submitted to an annual local art competition. As expected, there was a range of quality on display but the most interesting pieces were the ones that had been winners in the past. The quick trip to this museum was another glimpse into the artistic talents of the local populace.
The next museum that we visited was in the basement of the Qorikancha archaeological site that we had visited yesterday. There wasn't any new information for us except that we got a little more visual display of the mummification process that the Incans used. Another new fact that we learned was that Incans performed brain surgery using their tools (and Coca tea as anesthesia) with a respectable 65% survival rate! For twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, that's quite remarkable.
After this, we stopped for lunch at an organic restaurant called Green's Cafe. The food that we had there was the best that we have had in Peru so far. All their ingredients were organic and grown locally in the Sacred Valley (that we'll tour on Sunday). Everything tasted divine.
After lunch, we visited the famous Cathedral of Cusco that was built by the Spaniards. The Cathedral is flanked on both sides by two churches that are different in architecture since they were built during different times. We hired a tour guide who gave us interesting information about the Cathedral, the two churches and the Peruvian version of Christianity. For instance, it is traditional in Europe and North America for churches to display Jesus as the main figure. However, in the local Quechuan pagan religion, owing to the importance attached to Mother Nature, all churches in Peru show Mary (mother of Jesus) as the centerpiece. As the guide told us, this shift in focus and inclusion of other elements of the local religious beliefs (guinea pig, chicha) was an attempt by the Spanish Catholic missionaries to ease the conversion of locals to Christianity. Another interesting element that is incorporated in the murals and paintings of this Cathedral is the depiction of Mary wearing a dress that resembles a canopy so that she looks like a mountain. This was done because mountains hold special status in the local religious belief as protectors of the region. Similarly, instead of drawing camels, local artists have drawn llamas to make the preaching more digestible for the locals. In fact, there was a painting depicting a battle between North African Muslim Moors and the Christian Spanish armies in which the Muslims were riding llamas instead of camels!
Our last museum of the day was the Pre-Colombian Museum of Art. This museum is a sister museum of the famous Larco Museum in Lima that we wouldn't have a chance to visit when we go to Lima so it was a surprising treat. The museum chronicles different eras and civilizations that were found in South America before the Incans. For all eras, a sampling of the pottery, woodwork and metal artifacts was on display. Some civilizations' work was so modern that we wouldn't be surprised to find those pieces in a modern artsy cookware store!
The first 4 museums were covered by our Boleto Turístico but the last one had a separate entry fee.
After visiting our last museum, we were quite tired so we did some quick shopping in the old streets of Cusco that have been preserved with the same names since the times of the Incans. Then we decided to have dinner at La Bodega. The restaurant is run by a family in what used to be their home. It had a long waiting line but we were lucky to find comfortable seats in the waiting area so we decided to wait. We ordered a salad and a pizza and both were excellent. By this time, after having walked around 10 km through the day without any long breaks, we were really tired and took a cab back to our hotel. We went to sleep as soon as we got back since the next day was going to start really early at 4 am.
I'm writing this update on Saturday evening as our train takes us back from Machu Picchu. We'll send the update for today (Saturday) when we get back to the hotel.
We hope you're enjoying the updates :)
We had breakfast and left for the day according to the plan that we had discussed the night before. Our first stop was the Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art. It was quite small with only 3 galleries. Some of the paintings were really good and given the lack of exposure in a small city like Cusco, it was quite impressive. The artwork wasn't by any famous artists rather it was the work of upcoming local artists. As a consequence, we were allowed to take pictures with flash which isn't usually the case when the artwork is older and by more famous artists.
Our second stop was the Museum of Regional History one block diagonally across from the previous one. This museum chronicled different periods in Peru's history from the Inca emperors to Spanish Viceroys and how Christianity incorporated local Pagan symbols to form a version that the locals could relate to easily. For instance, in a Peruvian rendering of Jesus' Last Supper painting by a local artist, Jesus and his apostles are feasting on guinea pig and drinking chicha. Guinea pig holds religious significance for the locals and chicha is a local fermented corn drink. Another section of the museum chronicled the life of a Peruvian born historian Garcilaso de la Vega whose father was Spanish and mother Quechuan giving him a unique wholesome perspective on ancient Incan rituals/history and Spanish conquests. Quechua is the term used to describe local indigenous people.
Our third stop was the Museum of Popular Art that was in the basement of the municipal tourism building where we had bought our Boleto Turístico passes. It was a small museum that housed all the entries submitted to an annual local art competition. As expected, there was a range of quality on display but the most interesting pieces were the ones that had been winners in the past. The quick trip to this museum was another glimpse into the artistic talents of the local populace.
The next museum that we visited was in the basement of the Qorikancha archaeological site that we had visited yesterday. There wasn't any new information for us except that we got a little more visual display of the mummification process that the Incans used. Another new fact that we learned was that Incans performed brain surgery using their tools (and Coca tea as anesthesia) with a respectable 65% survival rate! For twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, that's quite remarkable.
After this, we stopped for lunch at an organic restaurant called Green's Cafe. The food that we had there was the best that we have had in Peru so far. All their ingredients were organic and grown locally in the Sacred Valley (that we'll tour on Sunday). Everything tasted divine.
After lunch, we visited the famous Cathedral of Cusco that was built by the Spaniards. The Cathedral is flanked on both sides by two churches that are different in architecture since they were built during different times. We hired a tour guide who gave us interesting information about the Cathedral, the two churches and the Peruvian version of Christianity. For instance, it is traditional in Europe and North America for churches to display Jesus as the main figure. However, in the local Quechuan pagan religion, owing to the importance attached to Mother Nature, all churches in Peru show Mary (mother of Jesus) as the centerpiece. As the guide told us, this shift in focus and inclusion of other elements of the local religious beliefs (guinea pig, chicha) was an attempt by the Spanish Catholic missionaries to ease the conversion of locals to Christianity. Another interesting element that is incorporated in the murals and paintings of this Cathedral is the depiction of Mary wearing a dress that resembles a canopy so that she looks like a mountain. This was done because mountains hold special status in the local religious belief as protectors of the region. Similarly, instead of drawing camels, local artists have drawn llamas to make the preaching more digestible for the locals. In fact, there was a painting depicting a battle between North African Muslim Moors and the Christian Spanish armies in which the Muslims were riding llamas instead of camels!
Our last museum of the day was the Pre-Colombian Museum of Art. This museum is a sister museum of the famous Larco Museum in Lima that we wouldn't have a chance to visit when we go to Lima so it was a surprising treat. The museum chronicles different eras and civilizations that were found in South America before the Incans. For all eras, a sampling of the pottery, woodwork and metal artifacts was on display. Some civilizations' work was so modern that we wouldn't be surprised to find those pieces in a modern artsy cookware store!
The first 4 museums were covered by our Boleto Turístico but the last one had a separate entry fee.
After visiting our last museum, we were quite tired so we did some quick shopping in the old streets of Cusco that have been preserved with the same names since the times of the Incans. Then we decided to have dinner at La Bodega. The restaurant is run by a family in what used to be their home. It had a long waiting line but we were lucky to find comfortable seats in the waiting area so we decided to wait. We ordered a salad and a pizza and both were excellent. By this time, after having walked around 10 km through the day without any long breaks, we were really tired and took a cab back to our hotel. We went to sleep as soon as we got back since the next day was going to start really early at 4 am.
I'm writing this update on Saturday evening as our train takes us back from Machu Picchu. We'll send the update for today (Saturday) when we get back to the hotel.
We hope you're enjoying the updates :)
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