Pachacútec

There was a great deal of pomp and ceremony going on this morning in the main square of Cusco, Plaza de Armas. The army and an entire marching band had turned out, as far as we could make out, to hand out gongs to a few dignitaries.

Pomp

Ceremony

The ceremonies made a diverting distraction on our way to the far end of Avenida El Sol, where we found a monument, erected in the 1990s, to influential Inca, Pachacútec. The monument is situated at the top of a tower in the middle of a busy roundabout - presumably the only location which wasn't already occupied by Inca ruins or modern infrastructure.

Pachacútec

Ascending the inside of the tower, each floor told us a little more about the 9th Inca (king), who was a great leader and visionary, and apparently lived until the age of 125. His fight against the expansionist Chankas was apparently a decisive battle and one in which women were said to have played a significant role; however, Pachacutec liked to tell the story of stone warriors that came to life and helped in the fray.

An old soul on an old sol

Having learned a little about the figure that made Cusco such a critical city of the Inca empire, we settled into Green Point 2, the second of the vegan establishments, on Plaza San Francisco. This restaurant is newer than its sibling on Carmen Bajo and benefits from a open courtyard with a distinctly Parisian feel (which may well have been due to the French music playing). We again opted for the set menu of the day, representing astonishing value for money at 10 soles for a four-course meal with a drink. Loading up on fresh salad, we then had a sopa de trigo (wheat) full of vegetables. While I followed with a 'pastel' of sweet potato, lentils, and tomatoes finished with basil leaves, K had a stew of quinoa with 'beet balls'. Quinoa juice washed it all down very nicely.

Sweet potato stack

We attempted a visit to Quorikancha in the afternoon - the 'navel' of the Inca universe and brainchild of the aforementioned Pachqcutec. This magnificent Inca construction was all but obliterated by the conquesting Spanish, who built a church on top of it. The current site was today further obscured by large groups of tourists, so we decided to return on a quieter day and satisfied ourselves with a visit to the small on-site museum. This gave a potted guide to Inca philosophy and sun worship, as well as some fascinating skulls displaying evidence of trepanning and cranial deformation.

"Hold still, this won't hurt a bit"

The latter, with their appearance of oval and bilobular alien heads, perhaps give credence to the theory of ET visitation on the pre-hispanic culture.