More of Cusco

As you may remember, every day at 3pm, I go out with a teacher to a different site in the city. At each site the teacher provides a guided tour in an effort to help me better understand the history of the city, and of the Inca civilization. Today I went to the monument of Pachacuteq, the 9th leader of the Inca empire, and the man esteemed for the expansion of the Inca empire. His image is reproduced here in a massive bronze statue set on top of a stone column. We walked up a winding staircase to the top where we had a fantastic view of the city. Yesterday we went to Quoricancha, Temple of the Sun, and Santa Domingo. Quoricancha was once an extraordinary display of Inca masonry and wealth. The Temple of the Sun was the main astronomical observatory for the Inca. In Quechua the name means Golden Courtyard as the temple was once adorned with gold panels on walls and ceilings, and housed life sized gold figures, solid gold altars and a gigantic golden sun disc. Not all our trips are to museums as one day last week we went to San Pedro market where I purchased fruit, cheese, nuts, oatmeal(!)and other things I had been missing. Many people have asked about the food and I have to say that on the whole it has been pretty bland and boring. Every meal includes rice, and often potatoes as well. Sometimes there is the addition of chicken, and once I had fish. Last night I ventured out to a restaurant and ordered a traditional Peruvian dish of lamb with salsa verde (green sauce). The lamb was very flavorful and tender, the sauce added more flavour, and there was the ubiquitous rice with potatoes and carrots. It was delicious but not particularly memorable. Next time I hope to be able to try alpaca. And now I must do my homework and some studying - no rest for the wicked! Chau