Cuzco Cathedral

Read the start of our adventure here.

After a short time, we stepped out of the temple and into the street.  Our young friends had found a new set of victims, so we ducked into an alley, on our way to the main square.  Even on both sides of the alley, the ancient Inca walls still stand, with concrete and plaster on top.  Tiny doorways lead to shadowy cafes, and I caught a whiff of incense.  At any moment, I expected to hear the cantina music from Star Wars.

A hundred yards later, we emerged onto the main square, on our left the large monastery built by the Jesuits (he called it the "Jesus Company,") and in front of us, the massive Cathedral of Cuzco.  Our guide told of a secret tunnel that led to a nearby convent, where the nuns and the priests interacted freely, although children of those unions were killed at birth. I looked to my right, and saw the great Mecca for political-class city trash.

Starbucks.  We kept on walking.

Angel quickly negotiated for our entry into the main cathedral, and in one step across the threshold, we went backwards four centuries.

(Photo from Global Express Tours Website - Photography inside is prohibited)

I’ve always been astonished at man’s belief that building huge golden altars will curry favor with the gods, but here it seems to have been taken to a new extreme.  The cathedral itself holds several smaller chapels, each with a different saint.  The bishops are buried under the altar in the main chancery, and at every turn, an even more ostentatious display has been erected to some saint or another.  The eastern altar contains 3 tons of gold leaf, pressed over plaster-covered cedar.  The main altar contains over five tons of silver.  Philosophies of religious financing aside, it really is a spectacular place.  Huge paintings, centuries old, cover anything that isn’t already covered in carvings or precious metals.

Our guide told us that many of the artists were natives.  Then he pointed out why he thought so – most of the paintings contained combinations of pumas, round sun-disks, and condors, all symbols of the ancient Inca worship of Mother Earth.  They were discretely mixed in among the more traditional symbols of Catholicism.

Like the collection of robes worn by the bishops, woven with gold thread.

We stepped outside into the warm sun of the Plaza de Armas, and waited while Angel came around with the van.  The great thing about being a visitor to Cuzco – one need never feel alone.  A lady walked up to us, offering to sell us small gourds, hand carved into the image of an owl.  Today was her lucky day, since I had been searching almost a year for a specific carved gourd containing the Inca calendar, and she happened to have several.  She relieved me of about $23.

Before we could be molested by more native girls with baby lambs, Angel showed up with the van, so we headed off to lunch, where youngest and I feasted on alpaca steaks.  I wondered – before they ended up on my plate, had they ever been photographed by tourists?  If so, then I was getting my revenge.

Read the next chapter of our Cuzco adventure, "Sexy Woman and the Giant Sundial."