Posted 4:37 PM by MelanieandSteve
CUZCO AND INTI RAYMI, PERU, 20 June – 24 June

LINKING WITH INKAN CULTURE IN CUZCO: A month and a half after our first stop in Cuzco, we returned in time to acclimatize for our trek to Machu Pichu and to experience a week of celebrating summer solstice Incan style.

DISCOMFORTS IN CUZCO: We have had many highs and lows in South America, but we have not been this “high” since Bolivia in May. Flying from Venezuelan sea level to Cuzco at 3026 meters (nearly 11,000 feet), we felt fatigue from altitude compounded by twenty hours of travel to get there. So we slowed down for some in-city exploration.

COMFORTS IN CUZCO. CENA, CINE, AND CLUBS (DINNER, MOVIES, AND CLUBS): Life in Cuzco was comfortable. There were comfortable accommodations, many museums, a plethera of places to eat, innumerable internet spots, and a sweet century old gym with last century's lifting equipment still in it. Evening entertainment came as easy as one, two, three. One-stop night spots offered 1) dinner, 2) early evening movies, and 3) late night club music or cozy fireside chatting. As night fell, nightclubs covered their dance floors with comfy couches to make movie theaters. They featured all new-releases and a movie menu of meals like pizza or popcorn and drinks. When the credits rolled, they pushed the couches close to the fireplaces and converted back into clubs. We made up for lots of time lost on mainstream movie culture and this time, Mel stayed awake to see Star Wars III.

CUZCO, THE CENTER OF THE WORLD: Cuzco is the oldest continually inhabited city in the Americas. To the Native American Cechuans, it was the naval of the world and the crossroads to all corners of the Incan Empire. Today Cuzco lies at the commencement of the fertile "Sacred Valley" and is homebase for travel to several surrounding archaeological sites including Machu Pichu. We captured as much of the Cuzco environs as we could.

INTI RAYMI, NIGHTS AND DAYS OF PLAY: People came from all over for Cuzco's winter solstice celebration on June 24, but well in advance, there were daily parties and parades. The indefatigable fanfare outlasted us with street parades spanning as long as 15 hours until 3 in the morning. Each night in the plaza, large groups danced to a Native American drum and flute. They wore regular clothing like jeans and shirts and went skipping through the square unpretentiously and practically unnoticed by others like shaddows or playful nymphs. Later we learned that these were rehearsals for more glitzy day shows. When we saw the plaza parades, the same dancers stepped and spun in full color costumes to large marching bands. It was a treat to see the same show in such different lights. Mel loved the magical moonlit rehearsals best.

24 JUNE, INTI RAYMI, WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION:

The winter solstice celebration on 24 June was a day-long convoy from one ceremonial site to another. All rites were relayed in the Inca's Cechuan language and we followed along with a printed Spanish program.

QORIKANCHA: We saluted the risen sun at the plaza and archaeological site of Qorikancha. This former Incan celestial observatory was historically a place for religous rites and home for mummies who were brought out each day for fresh air, sunshine, and offerings of food. We think they usually were not that hungry. The walls of Qorikancha were once covered with over 3000 pounds of gold until Spanish conquistadors looted it. Now, the same walls are foundations for the Spanish-built Santo Domingo Church forming an interesting combination of Cechuan-Columbian architecture. Perhaps testament to Cechuan spirit, several earthquakes have demolished the Spanish Santo Domingo portions of Qorikancha, but the beautiful Cechuan walls have never crumbled or cracked.

SALUTE TO THE RISEN SUN AT QORIKANCHA: Brightly costumed Incan soldiers, musicians, dancers, and other supplicants to the emperor of the Incas performed and made offerings of maize and of coca and then solemnly bowed down as "The Inka" (the emperor) soluted the sun. The hundreds of performers and hundreds of thousands of spectators then joined in a procession to Cuzco's main square.

HAUKAYPATA, CUZCO’S MAIN SQUARE: Plaza de Armas, Cuzco’s main square, was once the Cechuan Main Square of Haukaypata where legend was the Inka Huaskar was given a gold chain long enough to wrap around the entire plaza. The much saught-after chain has never been found. Here the Inka delivered a short ritual of coca leaves praying for forgiveness of wrongs and asking for good wealth in the following year. Then the massive crowd convoyed one more time to the main setting for the solstice celebration.

SAQSAYWAMAN: A steep walk up Incan stone stairways, cobble-stoned walkways and an eroded mountain path led to Saqsaywaman, or “Satisfied Falcon”. This largest and most impressive of ruins in the Cuzco area included a series of fantastic Incan walls made from all different shaped polished stones that were as heavy as 400 tons. The perfectly crafted boulders were set together without mortar and assembled so snuggly that we could not slide a fingernail between them.

SAQSAYWAMAN SEATING: There were expensive stadium seats set up in the flat grassy parade ground, but we did much better. We sat on a more comfortable grass terrace on a steep bouldery hill with a sweeping view of the ruins, cliff walls, and central stage for the show. We found our spot two hours pre-show, so with a picnic of popcorn and snacks, we had time to relax in the sun and even lie back in the grass for a noon-time siesta and snooze.

THE MILLION BODY BLANKET AT SAQSAYWAMAN: The crowded hillside was blanketed with people. The only drawback of arriving two hours early for good seats was that in these tightly packed crowds, trips to the bathroom were nearly impossible. There were no pathways through the crowds and maneuvering through the seated hords required balance, creativity, and even rock climbing skills.

SOLSTICE CEREMONY AT SAQSAYWAMAN: We watched vividly costumed performers coming over the ridge of a hill in front of us to the parade ground. Dozens of "messenger runners" crested the hill waiving Incan rainbow-colored flags. It was a vibrant pallate of color. These messengers, looking like mythical Greek runners, descended curving dirt paths and took their places as guards above the arena of colorfully dressed re-enactors.

THE PROGRAM AT SAQSAYWAMAN: An opening of ceremonies followed, and then a ritual of the corn, ritual of sacred fire, and simulated sacrifice of a llama. The Inka ended with a prayer to the Sun God. Following the three-hour reenactment, Incan subjects carried the Inka away on a throne and Inti Raymi was officially over. The dancing and performers continued for hours.

STILL GOING, AT SAQSAYWAMAN: There was perpetual flow of exiting spectators but somehow the audience still seemed to grow. Long after the Inka left, we finally climbed down from our perch on the hill and looked back. A quilt of human bodies still covered the hill. Over an hour after the show, the trails on our walk back to town were still so packed that we could only take tiny shuffles to walk. In the main town, however, this was the calmest night we had seen all week. Inti Raymi was finally over.

MORE TO LEARN NEXT TIME:
Inspired by the ceremony at Saqsaywaman, we embarked on a series of new excursions from our homebase Cuzco to learn more about Incan culture and history.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: Xuris M., Christophe B., Kim T., Emily W., Skip S., Maria B., Sabina.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO: Clay and Dolly