We Attend the Christening
Manuel's home was near the foothills of the mountains on the outskirts of the city. The christening was held in a stone church nearby in a small village. The handmade clay tiles seen all over Cusco were made nearby, as well as, the Sacsayhuaman ruins, where the second day of the Inti Raymi Festival would be celebrated. As you can see in the background the fortress walls were made of huge granite rocks joined so precisely at many different angles with no mortar, you could not slip a thin piece of paper into any joint.
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Jake & I look on as a member of our group tries his hand at making a clay roof tile.
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Manuel was deeply connected to the land and the mountains.
His home was very modest and simple. He owned very little but shared his food with the group and was happy and content and it showed and made an impression.
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Sacsayhuaman ruins were the setting for Inti Raymi and thousands had already arrived.
We found a place on the rocks to watch.
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Everyone sat all over the stones to watch the performance
Inti Raymi
The Sacrifice
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The last two days in Cusco we enjoyed all the festivities of the Inti Raymi Festival. The first day was pageantry all throughout the town, thousands participated, singing, dancing, parades, colorful costumes, and all kinds of different ethnic foods around the town square. Holly bribed, or I should say
made a donation to a priest of the magnificent cathedral to allow us in and
climb a circular stone staircase to the roof for a bird's eye view of the festivities. The second day was held just outside the town at the Sacsayhuaman ruins. People were everywhere, all over the stones at all levels. This was a re-enactment of the sacrifice of a virgin to the Sun God. The virgin made her way to the sacrificial altar but a goat was put in her place at the last minute. They cut the goat's throat and burned the entrails as an offering to the Sun.