Cusco

Last night after a light meal we went to the 'Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo', a centre set up to preserve the native arts of music and dance. We watched a number of local folk dances to lively Peruvian music and were even given the opportunity to dance ourselves if we wanted, but none of us wanted to.

Today we had a tour of the locval region, visiting a number of archeological sites where we saw again the amazing Inca construction techniques with huge stones cut to fit perfectly together without the need for mortar. We went to the Santo Domingo church which was built on top of the Qoricancha temple - to show the natives that our God is greater than theirs. Unfortunately the church has been knocked down several times by earthquakes while the Inca walls have remained standing firm. So much for object lessons!

The Incas joined their stones by using keying pieces or by cutting grooves in the tops of the stones that were filled with bronze once the stones were in place. They also used angles in the walls to provide bracing in the case of earthquakes.
Every where we go we're inundated with local women and children selling their wares or offering to let you take their picture with Llamas or Alpacas or even babies tied in a shawl on their back.



Tomorrow it's off to Machu Picchu so there won't be an update for a few days as we can only take a small amount of luggage on the train.