6th June 2017

Our hotel is located on Avenida El Sol, a long, wide, and bustling road lined with a mix of local and tourist shops. It stretches to the heart of the city, ending at the historic Plaza de Armas. With no fixed plans for the day, we perused the city map over breakfast and decided to visit yet another Inca site to the north. My phone’s satnav plotted a route, estimating a 40-minute walk. What it didn’t show, however, was the steep elevation, the thin mountain air, and the countless steps we’d have to climb!

Despite the challenges, my mobile guided us accurately through the narrow, winding streets and the absurdly steep stairways to our destination. We took frequent breaks, pausing to catch our breath and gulp down the precious, thin oxygen. I now fully understand how John Peel suffered a fatal heart attack here; the elevation is a dizzying 3,800 metres!

At the highest point, we encountered a couple from our tour group and lingered for a while, chatting about the tour. Later, we bumped into them again at another part of the site, where we came across a poor imitation of ‘Christ the Redeemer.’ Afterwards, we walked with them down to the Plaza before eventually parting ways.

What a lovely place this central Plaza is! As expected, it was thronged with tourists, but there were also many groups of children practising their dances for the Peruvian winter solstice celebration (on June 21st) to be held at the site we had just visited. I couldn’t help but wonder if they realised just how little oxygen there is up there!

Feeling hungry, we found a tiny restaurant just off the square. We ordered food and drinks, then passed the time checking the internet while we waited for our food to appear.

Fully satiated, we made our way to the Inca Museum. Deceptively large, we wandered through its many rooms, marvelling at the wonderful artefacts on display. The Incas were, and still are, an incredibly clever and artistic people. It’s a shame the Conquistadors ever came across them.

After fully immersing ourselves in the museum, we sat outside on its steps for a while, watching the dancers practice their movements to the beat of a drum or the sound of a flute. It was absolutely charming to witness.

Our next stop was the Cathedral (Templo de la Compañía de Jesús), built in 1571 and occupying one side of the Plaza. As expected, it was dripping with gold and famous for housing the largest altar in Peru (21m x 12m). Exhausted from climbing many steps, we paused to take photos from an upstairs window overlooking the Plaza below. We then descended into the building’s crypt, which added a certain atmosphere to the visit. The cathedral also holds one of the most important Peruvian paintings, which depicts the marriage of Sir Martin of Loyola and the last Incan princess, Lady Beatriz Nusta. A bit of early Spanish propaganda, if you ask me!

After a rather circuitous route, we returned to the hotel for coffee and a much-needed rest.

Later, around 7 pm, we ventured out again to visit the Plaza. Even more groups were practising their dances, occupying regular spaces all around the square. We sat and watched for ages, completely fascinated by their movements. Each group seemed to be telling a story through their dancing, and some choreography was more impressive than others. We guessed there would be a competition to determine the best group of the day, as the dancers were so focused and clearly determined to get it right.

It was a heartwarming sight, groups of teenagers practising their dance moves in public, clearly enjoying every second. We couldn’t help but think that you’d be hard-pressed to see something like this happening in the UK, maybe in Trafalgar Square. Such a shame.

As the night wore on, it grew decidedly chilly, so we decided to return to the hotel. On the way, we stopped to chat and have drinks with a few members of our group we discovered in a bar, before retiring to bed.