Saturday, March 10, 2018- Cruise Day 46, Cusco and Lima

Saturday, March 10, 2018- Cruise Day 46, Cusco and Lima

We were pretty bleary eyed in the morning from the late return to the hotel last night.  Breakfast was terrific again.  As we prepared to load up, we encountered a large group of Princess Passengers who were loading up into 3 full sized tour coaches.  Janet spoke with some and learned that these passengers are touring Machu Picchu prior to boarding the Emerald Princess in Lima.  They had flown into Lima the night before and were on their way to Machu Picchu today.

Our vans took us on the opposite side of the Sacred Valley from our prior route to Cusco.  This route showcased some very fertile and productive valleys.  En route we learned a little about Peruvian politicians, corruption, terrorists, and how a Japanese man became President of Peru for several terms.  

In the center of Cusco, we toured the Santo Domingo, which was originally a huge Incan center of worship, but after Spanish conquest, it was repurposed as a Catholic Convent.  There are many original walls built by the Incans and there exhibits showcasing the construction techniques used.  There have been two terrible earthquakes since 1500, and during both, most of the structure built by the Spanish crumbled to the ground, leaving only the original Incan foundations remaining.  The Incans used mechanical interlocks intricately carved into the hidden interfaces between the enormous blocks.  The mortarless construction allowed some motion, but the interlocks maintained the structural integrity, not unlike the wooden structures in China and Japan.  

Next, we had lunch in the city square, which was an enormous plaza originally built by the Incans.  We had a chicken and potato main dish with rice, served with a sauce made of a mild pepper that looks almost like a carrot. There was Peruvian chicken soup with quinoa and bread with a local salsa for starter, and a delicious chocolate pie that was basically a melty brownie inside a tart shell, served ala mode.  It was definitely better than what was served on the train yesterday.  

Our final stop was the Cusco Basilica Cathedral, another Spanish Catholic structure built on Incan foundations and built with recycled Incan stone taken from Incan homes and other structures, and built with Incan labor. The Cathedral is very impressive and features a lot of gold leaf, and huge oil paintings.  We were not allowed to take any photographs inside either the Convent or Basilica.  Of note, is the indigenous artists who did the work under Spanish direction, took some liberties to express their individuality.  The most obvious example is a painting of the Last Supper, in which Jesus is seated at the table with his 12 Apostles, but at the center of the table is a platter that contains a roasted Chincilla (a rabbit like creature common in Peru), and the vegetables around the table are of Peruvian origin.  There are also quite a few dark skinned renditions of Jesus, and llamas and alpacas where there would normally be horses or camels.  Even the Holy Virgin and divine infant bear dark skin.  While not as high as European cathedrals due to the high frequency of earthquakes, this cathedral is easily as glorious as any found in Europe.  

At both of the sites we visited today, we were repeatedly swarmed by what looked like the same band of vendors selling jewelry, llama key chains, paintings and musical instruments.  They seemed to home in on Janet like flies to honey.  She was able to fend them off politely, but as the day wore on, they got more aggressive and needy.  It reminded us a little of China.

We flew out of Cusco Airport.  SInce we had only carry on luggage, we were able to skip the long check in line and go through security.  They did not require me to take out my laptop, and also did not impound any of the 5 bottles of water in my suitcase and backpack.  That was good since the tap water is not drinkable in Peru.  

When we loaded onto our plane there was a lot of confusion because at least a dozen seats, including ours, appeared to have been double booked.  However, it was the same Airbus A300-200 jet that we flew out on, and we were the same charter group with no new members, so we ended up just grabbing any empty seats, and everyone was seated.  That did cause a moderate amount of anxiety until the jetway door was closed and everyone had found a seat.  

The flight to Lima was under 2 hours, and it was easy to sleep since we were deprived of sleep from the night before.  Buses took us from the Lima Airport to the Port of Callao, a district of Lima.  Lima is a very large city with terrible traffic most of the time.  We saw some unusual carts meant for hauling vegetables, but filled with children and powered by a motorcycle at the rear.  That certainly didn’t look safe, especially in light of the heavy traffic and apparent disregard for traffic lights, lane markings and concepts of right-of-way by Peruvian drivers.  They easily make Boston drivers look like saints.  

As we approached the ship, the sun was dipping down below the horizon.  We boarded just about 7:00PM.  Our All Aboard Call was supposed to be at 5:30PM so again, it was a good thing we were on an official Princess excursion because they had to hold the ship at port for us.  

We had dinner in the dining room and shared details of our Machu Pichu excursion with fellow diners.  Then we attended the evening’s Musical’s Trivia.  We ended up playing with just Roger.  We came in second place by 2 points at the end of the game.

After showers, it was good to be back in our stateroom and bed.  It really feels like home after 46 days.  We were saddened to find paperwork on our bed when we returned to our room detailing options for disembarkation in Fort Lauderdale.  It’s hard to believe this is the final leg of our cruise.

Tomorrow is a Sea Day, and the second installment of Progressive Trivia.