Can't Think of a Creative Title So This Will Have To Do

Yesterday we explored the town of Cusco. We came across a traditional Andean parade. The people in the parade were local school children. I don't have any pictures because it was kind of hard to see but it was still cool to see traditions hundreds of years old still being honored. We went to two museums yesterday, The Inca Museum, and the Pre-Columbian Art Museum. Both were very similar to the museums in Lima. The Inca Museum did not allow pictures but this link should help in explaining Inca artwork. http://www.discover-peru.org/inca-art-forms/

The Art Museum was pretty interesting. There were thousands of years of history within a few feet of each other. You could see how each culture influenced future cultures. For example, the Huari round design became synonymous with that of the Chimu. The black urn is a Huari artifact and the urn below is Chimu. The museum had artifacts that demonstrated the religious beliefs of the Andean cultures. The staffs is below are from the  Mochica period. The circle at the top represents heaven, while the cat head represents earths, while the snake-like base represents the underworld.



















The Andean cultures also mastered the art of shell engraving. I don't recall what culture crafted this artifact but I believe it is Chimu.





Anyways, I've enjoyed my time in Cusco, hot water, good wifi and a more comfortable hotel but we're packing up and heading to Ollaytatambo .