It was at this time that the rest of the group took off on the Inca Trail. I was last minute as far as my going to Peru and to do the Inca Trail you have to sign up at least a month ahead of time. In total about 500 are allowed on the trail a day. This was not a bad thing, as I would learn later, I was in no condition to do the trail. I had not trained on Mt. Rainer like the rest of the group had. Thankfully though, 2 days later I would do my own easeier version of the trail with one of our guides. Before that time though, I had a day and a half in Cuzco.
With a half day in Cuzco (and it being a bit too late to visit the museums) I decided to visit one of the Cathedrals in the Square. I would happen to do Companion of Christ Cathedral. The Cathedral itself is beautiful inside, but very Spanish. All the Saints and figures from the Gospel are made to look like white Spanish shepherds or medieval style mothers. It fit for the time period when it was built, and also due to the fact that it was the Spanish conquest that brought over Catholicism in the first place.
What role does Companion of Christ Cathedral play today? Well part of what it does is provide schooling for the homeless kids on the street in Cuzco, and also provides a market for the local people to present their wares. It is very much a part of the Cuzco community.
Later on I'll get into more of the darker side of what was done, and also the fact that everything I write about here was what I saw or read about it in the museums. There are no doubt things at all the holy sites (be it Pre-Incan, Incan, or Catholic) that I don't know about.
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