Gold is sweat of the sun

Last week was in southern Peru in the land of the Inka.  Our base was Hostal Monarcha in Cusco.  It was a cute hotel just blocks from the Plaza de Armas.  Fernando and Sandra timed their wedding to align with all the major festivals:  Inti Raymi (festival of the sun), Corpus Christi and other local festivals showing off city and community pride.  

According to the tourism brochures, Inti Raymi is without question the number one event in Cusco, celebrated by the whole city and featuring a re-enactment of Saqsaywaman's Inca winter solstice festival, street dancing and much pageantry, around the Koricancha Temple and the Plaza de Armas. 

"Several reasons compelled the Inka civilization to make sacrifices and offerings to their king star, the sun.  One of them was that the Inka, as well as Cusqueñan nobility, were considered to be natural children of the sun.  To him they owed their existence.  If the corn harvest was good, it was necessary to be thankful.  If it was poor, then they needed to ask for a better one the following year. During the winter solstice in June, as the sun moved away and temperatures dropped, and water froze by dawn, it was necessary to ask the sun to return, that after twilight, it should not continue its journey towards the north." IntiRaymi2015.com

From sun up to sun down, we were greeted by the local people and their native toungue, Quechua.  They say, when in Rome, act as a Roman.  So, I ate CUY (guinea pig) and alpaca!