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On the trip north along
Lake Titicaca the fields were filled with people and animals. While people
joined in communal ayllu labor, llamas and cattle grazed on the remains.
When we stopped to photograph the oat harvest (top) these kids (bottom)
ran out to see the bikes. Oats are still cut and shocked using these small
hand sickles. We saw no machinery at all. These boys explained that they
are normally in school, but they don't attend during the cosecha (harvest).
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In Cusco we spent the
first few days making arrangements for our trip down to the jungle. Cusco
is also the jumping off point for trips to Machu Pichu and the Valle Sagrado
of the Inca. Cusco has Peru's most amazing mixture of Inca and colonial
architecture. From the Plaza de Armas one can see no fewer than a half-dozen
colonial era churches and cathedrals. Many of them are built on foundations
that date to the Inca's greatest city.
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To the left of the Iglesia
de La Compañia (above) is the Loreto Pedestrian mall (bottom). The
stonework that forms the base of the buildings on either side was built
by the Inca. This is a common site in the center of Cusco. The church itself
is built on the foundation of the palace of Huayna Capac.
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This massive gilt portrait
is in the entryway of Cusco's main Cathedral--also on the Plaza de Armas.
It is actually a combination of three churches. You may not photograph
inside, but the main altar is built from more than a ton of silver sheet.
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