A full day in Cusco: sightseeing, strolling, and painting my own Torito de Pucará

Sandwiched between a full day of seeing a lot of Incan sites and a long day visiting Rainbow Mountain (next post, most likely), I had a day focused entirely in the city of Cusco itself. It started with a quick bite and coffee in the nice breakfast room of my hotel (Quinta San Blas by Ananay). No pic of the food. Not sure why. Was pretty basic as I recall, but fine.

My guide met me at the hotel, which as the name implies, was in the San Blas neighborhood, and we ventured off to start a counter-clockwise circuit around some of the city's highlights. Covered a good amount of ground, as illustrated by my google maps activity.

For what it's worth, Apple tells me we did 18,818 steps that day.

Snapped a couple of scenery shots heading out of San Blas.

At the Sapantiana Aqueduct we stopped for a little ritual involving coca leaves, rinsing my hands in the waters, inhaling some kind of aromatic (nice for the sinuses), and expressing a little gratitude for being alive. No pics or video of that, but did document the visit with a shot of the aqueduct.

From there we continued through the neighborhood of San Cristobal, which is very photogenic.

Next scheduled stop was the Mirador de San Cristobal, which overlooks the city center. Also features a life-size Torito de Pucará, which unbeknownst to me at the time was foreshadowing for my afternoon crafty session.

After the Mirador we made our way around the city, with a stop at La Vicuñita Factory (I wasn't in the market for any luxury textiles, but if you are, they do a nice job explaining everything and have what looks to be a nice selection) before passing along a few stretches that offered some historical nuggets and general orientation. My next shots of any interest or import were at the Arco de Santa Clara.

I perked up when we approached Mercado Central de San Pedro.

This is where I'd spend an hour plus on my own and walk out with a bag full of random things to try. But I just had time for pictures, so I snapped a few and kept it moving.

After my tour I met my colleague for a spin through Qorikancha. Nice scenery.

Did not have a lot of time there as I needed to get to an afternoon painting activity. So we grabbed a quick lunch at Jack's, where they served up a nice lemonade and American-style quesadilla. Solid.

Refueled, I went to meet my activity leader in Plaza de Armas. She then led me uphill to her studio, which is a bit west of San Cristobal and north of Santa Ana. Not sure what part of town it is considered, but it's Alma - Arte y Cultura. Will need to catch your breath on the way up. She was huffing and puffing a bit, too, which made me feel better.

Studio is friendly, inviting, and well equipped.

Wine was offered, but given the altitude and the rest of my schedule I had to refrain. Lástima, as I am curious about how that Peruvian Malbec tasted. Would have been a nice complement to the lesson I was getting in traditional and popular Peruvian music. When I mentioned that I don't mind me some cumbia now and then she popped on Grupo 5.

If you know me, you know I'm not particularly artistic. At least not when it comes to painting, drawing, etc. So while I painted maybe 75% of my Torito, the instructor was kind enough to gently smooth out my mistakes and take over the detailed brush work that was beyond me.

He is now proudly displayed here at home. And one nice touch of the experience is you get to name your Torito, then she translates that name into Quechua. I suggested El Viajero. She told me there was not really a direct translation, but offered two options. One was 'Chaski', which refers more to an official role of Incan relay runner or messenger. The other she came up with was 'Purinkichu', which she said translated more as happy wanderer. We went with that one.

After my session ended I meandered through the city center before dropping going back to the hotel. It was a glorious afternoon. Beautiful temperature, some nice sunlight. Good day exploring & experiencing Cusco.