A Tour of a Peruvian Market, Cusco's South Valley, and the Churches on the Andean Barque Route

March 30: Day 7. After a very restful night’s sleep, and again being able to sleep a little later than usual, we ready ourselves for another day of touring and meet up with David and Linda for a really good breakfast.

Inside the San Pedro Market

Today we had our choice of excursions, one to the highlands outside Cusco, visiting several villages and the Maras salt fields; or a tour of southern Cusco and the valley south of the city. Feeling we had seen enough mountain highlands already, we opted for the latter while David and Linda decided to head for the highlands.

Our tour begins as we board our bus for a very short ride to the San Pedro Market, a typical mercado offering local produce ranging from fruits, vegeta bles and meats, to hand-woven sweaters, other apparel, and crafts.

Need a hog?

Entering the market, our senses are immediately enlivened by the arrays of colors and smells that permeate this city-block space. There are aisles and aisles of offerings that are sectioned and attended to by local mamis. Going from one shop to the next, we notice that often the items for sale are identical to their neighbor’s. So whoever’s able to make a sale either offers the best price or makes the best sales pitch.

All kinds of breads

As we go from section to section we see colorful displays of fruits, vegetables, breads, dried beans and lentils, cheeses, fish, chickens, hogs, and fresh-cut flowers. We also find sections of toys, knickknacks, souvenirs, and a whole variety of apparel and crafts. There is also a long lunch counter with many people eating while food is being prepared which accounts for the pleasant mix of aromas that fill our nostrils.

Really cheesy!

We leave the market and board our bus for a ride through southern Cusco. Our guide points out many landmarks and notes that Cusco serves as an educational hub for much of southern Peru with students from rural areas attending the three universities we see. On Cusco’s southern outskirts, we enter the South Valley of Cusco, a tourist name that was given to the set of attractions located southeast of the city. Running along the Vilcanota River, tourists can view the archaeological sites of Tipón and Piquillacta, Andean towns and villages with different traditions, and the churches in the villages of Canincunca, Huaro, and Andahuaylillas on the Barroco Andino Route. We are headed for the churches.

Chapel of the Purified Virgin of Canicuna

The Barroco Andino, or the Andean Baroque route, predates the Incas and runs through the South Valley and connects the Incan capital, Cusco, with the jungle of Madre de Dios and Lake Titicaca. This route was important for the transport of gold, silver, coca leaves, and animal fibers. Our guide tells us that the churches along this route served as resting points for travelers.

Inside of the Chapel

Our first church, the Chapel of the Purified Virgin of Canincunca, is located in an ancient Wari center next to the small lake of Urcos. We are told the construction of the chapel began at the beginning of the 17^th century. Inside the church, we see that the construction consists of a single nave with inner walls richly decorated with murals and gold leaf ribbons.

St. John the Baptist Church in Huaro

Many of the paintings represent flowers, fruits, birds, and symbols similar to those found in Andean textiles. While we consider the church to be lavishly decorated, our guide tells us that of the three churches we will visit, this one is the most austere. We also learn that the income generated by admission tickets and gift shop sales of the churches is used to maintain the churches and improve the living conditions of local inhabitants through the social work of the Jesuits.

Mosaic stonework of Church entrance

We board our bus and ride to our next church, St. John the Baptist Church, in the town of Huaro. Built by Jesuits in the 16^th century the church is noted for its decorations, paintings, and murals representing a blending of indigenous and colonial styles. Originally, local artists were commissioned to create the continuously changing murals and decorations, often one on top of the other. The present and final layer was painted in 1802 by Tadeo Escalante, an artist of both Incan and European descent.

The "Sistine Chapel of America"

Escalante painted scenes from the Old and New Testaments showing the aftermath of human life and his vision of death, the final judgment, ascension, and hell and incorporating Andean symbolism and colonial beliefs. What strikes us as we leave our bus and enter the church is the intricately laid stone mosaic entrance. Our guide tells us that this stonework had been paved with asphalt for many years and was only discovered fairly recently when repairs to the asphalt were being made.

Hungry?

Inside the church we find a choir loft, central nave, presbytery, and a main retable, but it is the murals with their violent depictions of death and hell that really grab our attention. Although the murals and decorations are in need of some maintenance, there is no question that this church is more lavishly decorated than the previous one.

We leave Huaro and ride to the Indian village of Andahuaylillas to view our final church, The Church of St. Peter the Apostle, considered the “Sistine Chapel of America.” Built by the Jesuits between 1570 and 1606, the church earned it’s Sistine Chapel moniker due to its exuberant baroque decoration with paintings and murals.

Want to pay for a photo?

We enter the church and are overpowered by the jaw-dropping display of gold, woodcarvings paintings, and baroque decoration. We learn that many of the paintings and murals are attributed to artist Luis de Riaño who did many of the works in the 1620s. The church also houses a collection of canvases from the renowned Cusco School, two massive pipe organs decorated by de Riaño, a Baroque altar with woodcarvings and motives covered with goldleaf, and a massive triumphal arch that frames the main altar. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any pictures inside any of the three churches on the Andean Baroque Route. We are guided into the church’s gift shop adjacent to the church.

Cusco Cathedral

The shop offers all sorts of religious items, many of them handmade, to encourage us to make a purchase and support the Jesuit social program. Jane selects a handmade wooden cross painted gold to give to a neighbor.

We leave Andahuaylillas and ride back to Cusco. We are back at our hotel before the highland excursion, so we decide to take a walk, get some lunch and explore our surroundings.

Chapel of The Monasterio (our hotel)

Barely a block away from our hotel we spot a pizzeria/café. Inside we order a sandwich lunch and start talking to the owner about his pizza and hours of operation, thinking this might be a good place to bring David and Linda for our dinner tonight. The owner, Eddy, is delighted in our interest and points to a table that he says will be reserved for us. We set a time and leave to continue our exploration.

Our hotel is just a couple of blocks from Cusco’s historic center and main public space, the Plaza de Armas (just like in Lima). Built during the colonial period, the square is bordered by two of the city’s most important monuments— the Cathedral of Cusco and the Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesus (Church of the Society of Jesus).

Templo de la Sagrada Familia

As we walk around the square and attempt to take pictures, it is obvious that we are tourists and we are bombarded by a deluge of street vendors selling their wares. Our guide told us that Peru has a fairly liberal immigration policy and people are flocking to Peru from many different countries, especially Venezuela. Unfortunately, there are more people coming in than there are jobs to support them, so the only recourse is for people to take to the streets selling anything that will eke them out a living. One particularly tenacious group is the street artists trying to sell their paintings, and we are repeatedly approached by one who calls himself “Picasso.” He has a whole armful of textured paintings on canvas that he thumbs through while delivering his sales pitch. We say “not interested,” and walk away.

Mmmm, pizza!

He follows. After repeating this process three times, Capt. Larry cracks and says “okay.” Jane selects a canvas of Picasso’s interpretation of Machu Picchu. We give him $30 USD and he leaves happily while we know we paid too much. We finish viewing the plaza and head back to our hotel and meet up with Dave and Linda.

David and Linda are delighted with our beer and pizza dinner suggestion. They are famished after skipping the “guinea pig luncheon” on their highland excursion!

Thank you, Eddy!

We head down to the pizzeria and Eddy has our table ready for us. We are being treated like famous celebrities and Eddy’s bonhomie seems genuine. Immediately after we are seated, a complementary tray of Pisco sours arrives at our table. Since this was our last day in Peru, we wanted to spend all of our Peruvian money and Eddy was glad to be the beneficiary! We ordered two pizzas and the beers kept coming to our table. We finish our meal and thanked Eddy for his hospitality and good food. Back in our hotel we turn in early for an early rise and travel day tomorrow.