Thank you friend for sticking with me through this long and rather posting-delayed adventure. Sorry it takes me so long to get everything up and blogged (partial fault goes to Andy for hoarding most of the photos). Life sure does have a tendency to keep me busy! (Also…I’m lazy)
We saved the center of the Inca Empire for our last day in Peru. Somehow, it seemed fitting. I am, of course, speaking of the magnificent Qurikancha (aka the Temple of the Sun or now known as the Church of Santo Domingo). Right there in Cusco was one of the most important structures to the Inca royalty and civilization. The Sun God was the most powerful deity in Inca religion. So, his building had to be the most magnificent and awe-inspiring. History has it that the entire courtyard was filled with life sized golden statues of everything the Incas held dear, including plants, animals, and people.
When the Spanish Conquistadors took over Peru, they immediately melted down these precious golden statues and shipped everything back to Spain. And to further diminish the remaining power of the Incas, they built a church on the existing foundations of the Inca temple. The strange thing is that the Spanish never asked the Incas about their engineering or building methods, I guess they thought they were clearly superior. However, after several major earthquakes, the church’s walls continue to crumble while the original interlocking Inca walls continue to stand. It’s such a waste that all that knowledge wasn’t preserved. Sigh.
Anyhow, some of the original Inca ruins can still be seen throughout the church. For a small fee, you can gain entrance to take a peek (though the convent and school are off limits). Hint: there are bunch of local tour guides loitering at the entrance of the museum. They seem to belong to the same group/company, so the rates were fixed ($10 for the entire tour). We found a guide that spoke decent English and I’m glad we hired her. There is so much history and the descriptions of the exhibits/rooms inside the church are either in Spanish or non-existent.

The remains of the old courtyard, the one originally covered in golden statues. Can you imagine what it must have looked like?? By the by, you can see basically where the Inca temple stops (stone walls) and where the Spanish church begins (white plaster walls).

Whenever they could, the Spanish tried to use the existing Inca architecture. For instance, the white plaster arches sitting on top of the Inca walls. I guess you may as well use what you've already got, right?

In this part of the museum, you can see how perhaps the Inca walls are so sturdy. The stones interlock on the interior, like Tetris pieces. But on the outside, it just looks like a square/rectangular stone.

The Incas believed that the very heart of their empire was right in this spot. They brought soil from all the corners of their conquered lands and joined them together in this courtyard. Okay...where I'm standing is only an approximation. But, you get the idea. It's a cool spot.
We still had some time to kill before our flight back to Lima/Texas. So, we stopped at the local farmer’s market. It’s always fun to see farmer’s markets!

How about some pork? I know it looks gruesome. But the meat was so fresh, that there was no smell and no gore. Just people buying good meat to feed their families that day.
We could’ve ordered a nice hot bowl of soup…but there was one more Peruvian dish that I wanted to try before we left…

Pollo a la Brasa! It's a deliciously fire roasted rotisserie chicken served with fresh french fries. Yum!
And with that, our adventure to Peru was at an end. We tried so many new things and saw such wonderful sights. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience and I’m so glad we got to visit. In the end, travel is a never ending pursuit. The more you travel, the more you realize you’ll never be done traveling. And I’m okay with that.
You can see more pictures of our last day in Cusco by clicking here, or browse all of our Peru pictures by clicking here.




















































