SAPO! Friday, 8/17/18

When Jimmy and I were in Cusco, Peru, on our way back from Machu Picchu in April this year, we came across a game called Sapo.  In Spanish, sapo literally means "toad."  Not frog, as I originally thought, but darned close!  Toads and frogs are interchangeable in this case to my way of thinking.

Dinner was to be at La Feria in Cusco.  While we waited on a table long enough for our Road Scholar group of 16, Elias, our fearless leader, above, led us to a back room where the game stood.  He gave us the rules and we picked sides, mostly men vs women, but we had more women than men, so a few of the ladies were on the mens' team.  The object is to get points by throwing a "coin" or medallion into the frog's mouth (max score), or at least landing in one of the holes near the frog.  Each person gets ten "coins," to throw toward the frog's mouth.  High scorer wins.

See the frog/toad with its mouth open on top of the board ? 

Everyone played and we all had a great good time.  Girls' team won that night thanks to Pauline, who managed to score big.  Nice birthday present for her, too.  When we were called in to dinner, we reluctantly left Sapo, but happily went in to eat.

Fast forward to June.  Jimmy had been thinking about Sapo since our return in May, and decided to build one in his new Tuff Shed shop.  This was a labor of love, undertaken at his leisure.  He studied online plans to get the proper sizing, and ordered the brass frog and coins from SapoMiami.

Man at work! 

Smart man -- rather than a bulky cabinet,

he made a shorter version with a pull-out drawer to retrieve the coins.

During late July and early August, the work on Sapo was mostly at a standstill because of the smoke and heat.  It was too darned unpleasant.  There's no A/C in the shop, either, but he has fans and a window to move the air around, just not smoky air!

Each hole corresponds to a number value below.  Cool arrangement!

I think he did a fantastic job!

He debated about putting legs on his Sapo, eventually deciding, yes, which he did yesterday, bringing the height up to approx 30". He has a good pitching arm. Poor guy, I know he knows just how bad my throwing arm is, as in, "I can't hit the broad side of a barn," but when friends and family are here, it'll be an entertaining sport we can all take part in. Meantime, I can practice and practice, and possibly become an ace!

Interruption ... April 18th, 2018

Into each trip a little misadventure may fall.  This is happened to us:

A glitch at Lima's airport cost us two days.  On Wednesday, April 18th, we checked out of our hotel 10:50ish for Cusco's airport and our 12:50 Latam Airlines flight to Lima.  At the airport, we sat and waited and waited and waited, along with a passel of others, for our gate to open.  It remained dark, and we were left in the dark about why.  Eventually, we learned our flight to Lima had been canceled.  No reason given.  Our group of 16 (below) had to retrieve our checked bags and skedaddle downstairs to join the LONG rebooking line, recheck our bags, and go through security again.  Road Scholar jumped into action and box lunches were delivered to us by their rep, which is what we were delving into about the time the pic was taken. 

Flights came and went, but not ours, people moved around us and disappeared and we sat ... waiting in the stuffy little airport, our connecting flight to Quito long gone.  We wondered what would happen to us.  Around 7:10pm, we finally boarded the flight to Lima and were in the air at 7:50.  The story we heard was a runway emergency occurred at Lima's airport which shut down the runways for 3-4 hours, and messed up all sorts of travel plans.  Good sports all, we understood that unexpected things (glitches) happen, but the not knowing what was going on was very frustrating.

Arriving in Lima, we were mighty disappointed to learn from the Road Scholar rep who met us there that we couldn't take the late Quito flight that night (already full), but would have to wait till tomorrow ... and that a bus would take us back to a Miraflores (Lima) hotel, 45 min from the airport.  Another "box lunch" hot off the grill, was handed to us minutes before we boarded the bus, which we ate as soon as we were on the bus (and it was delish).  We were at the hotel by 11 and in bed, sound asleep, by midnight.  Our group spent eight hours in the Cusco airport, wondering, waiting, and wishing.  Tomorrow we'll be split into two groups, a group of six lucky people (inc us) leaving Lima early, the other ten in late afternoon.

It got worse.  Thursday dawned sunny and our group of six left after breakfast for the 45-min drive back to Lima's airport, Road Scholar rep in charge.  At the check-in kiosk, a lady asked for our passports.  I dug in the dedicated passport pocket of my purse for the PP's.  Nothing.  Fool, I said, you must have put them in a different pocket.  Then I froze.  We'd had to hand over our PP's to the front desk of the hotel last night, and didn't collect them in our dazed state this morning.  No passports.  Hotel 45 minutes away.  My heart sank into my shoes.  The RS rep made phone calls (after sorta scowling at me).  A taxi was ordered to bring them STAT from the hotel to us at the Copa Airlines check-in counter.  The others went through and got their boarding passes.  

So ... our flight was to depart at 1:48 ... we hoped there was time.  More waiting.  Waiting-waiting-waiting!  Jimmy stood by the bags.  I walked, or paced.  An hour passed.  More.  After an hour and twenty minutes, I spied the girl from the hotel desk.  She'd seen us and was making a beeline in our direction.  I ran up to her, threw my arms around her, declaring, "I love you!"  We made the flight.  I hate these painful lessons.

Did I mention that the only flight we could get to Quito was by way of Panama?  Look at a map, Panama is completely out of the way. It took all day to fly from Lima to Panama to Quito, where another Road Scholar rep met us.  She'd also been waiting and was grateful we showed up.  This was supposed to be our sightseeing day in Quito and we arrived after dark.  The second group wasn't as lucky; they didn't get to Quito till 11:30pm.  No sightseeing for any of us.  It took us two days for what should have taken maybe half a day.  This is what happens when airports experience an emergency or a blizzard or hurricanes.  Sigh ....

The next morning we had to get up well before sunrise for the 8am flight to Baltra Island in the Galapagos.  Heck fire, we'd need a week cruising around the islands to restore our usual cheery equilibrium!

All is well that ends well.  We made it to Quito.

We even made it to the Galapagos Islands.

HOORAY!

If it's Tuesday, this must be .... 4/17/18

About the time you're pretty sure you've seen most of what the Sacred Valley has to offer, more will be revealed.  For instance, today the group began by visiting Convento de Santo Domingo located on Santo Domingo Square in Cusco.  Like so many other places in the Sacred Valley, the church and convent of Santo Domingo hold an intriguing history.  But, as in all things in this area, the story begins with the Incas and their Sun God ... and even prior cultures.

Possibly the most important and sacred building in the entire Inca Empire, Koricancha was the name given to the Inca Temple of the Sun.  When the Spanish conquerors arrived in Cusco, the temple was demolished and all the valuable contents taken (as in Gold).  Both the church and Dominican Convent structures sit on top of the original Koricancha foundations, but inside many of the original temple buildings remain.  Another site I consulted said the Catholic temple had been erected on the same temple as the Inca, to demonstrate the destruction and suppression of the ancient Incan "cult."

Original Incan stonework.

Korikancha (kori meaning gold) and kancha (meaning open ground or space) was dedicated to the worship of the Sun God: Inti.  Ancient chronicles describe Korikancha's walls as being lined with solid gold sheets that reflected the sun, life size llamas made of gold, and other gold and silver objects.  There's much more to read on this, if you're interested.  Google can get you up to speed.  BTW, there are several spellings of Korikancha: Coricancha, Koricancha, Qoricancha or Qorikancha.

Only part of the ancient curved wall (above) can be seen from outside.

After the fall of Cusco to the Spanish, the riches of Koricancha were plundered, and the Spanish were keen on removing all traces of the Incans, and replacing their temple with a Catholic Church and Convent.  In 1534 the Order of Santo Domingo arrived in Cusco and within a few years the church and convent were begun.

Altogether a marvelous edifice, no matter which way you look at it.

* * * * *

We laughed at the pronunciation of Sacsayhuaman -- sounds like "Sexy Woman!"

After Santo Domingo, the group went on a field trip to the Sacsayhuaman Ruins.  The bus ride alone up to the ruins was outstanding, but then ... then we're faced with this extensive grassy area with huge boulders placed systematically, and what to make of it?  A citadel located on a steep hill overlooking the city at 12,142', with the earliest occupation dating to about 900 AD -- wow, another marvel.

I'll simply have to quote from our Road Scholar information:  "The fortress of Sacsayhuaman forms the head of the Puma design of old Cusco.  It's a wonder of technical achievement and a testament to human will.  How it was constructed is a mystery since the stones aren't found in the region and most of the blocks weigh more than a ton.  The largest rock weighs more than 300 tons!  Sacsayhuaman is constructed of huge polygonal blocks which interlock with one another.  These stones are so precisely placed that a knife blade cannot be inserted between them."  There.  Just look at these pictures.  How does this come to be, we all wondered.  And we have no answers.

The walls are angled.

I climbed stone steps on the opposite side, another site of ruins, to get the photos, above and below, and labored climbing the steep steps.  One more time I can't grasp the hows and whys of what I'm seeing.  I'm sure I'm not alone on this.

What a gorgeous day we had for this outing.

L-R:  Ellen, Pauline, Mary Ellen, me, Debbie, Caroline, Linda, Sharon, Kari and Mary D.

So, what's a girl to do when she's overwhelmed by what she's seeing?  Form a chorus line!  We tried to coordinate our "kick" to the right, but (haha) that didn't work, so here we are on a warm, sunny day in Cusco, enjoying our Road Scholar trip to The Best of Peru.

* * * * *

Returning to Cusco, we wandered around some and stopped in at the Inka Museum.

Everywhere we go, we learn more and more and more.

If only one could retain it all!

Cusco's narrow streets!

Lunch was at Incanto.  My entree was the fish (below), but I didn't favor the green sauce on my potato.  I like almost all of the food at the restaurants we frequent.  Peruvian food is tasty and flavorful, but not spicy hot.  And some variety of potato is served per meal in a one of a million different ways!

Jimmy in front of the Casa Andina Hotel where we're staying in Cusco.

* * * * *

This evening's lecture wasn't a lecture in the true sense of the word, but more of an entertainment, showcasing Inca instruments.  Most were replicas (some of them 100-200 years old, as opposed to 500 or a thousand years old), and "Tito" could and did play each one.  We gave Gustavo "Tito" Leon, a university professor, a double thumbs up. 

Fascinating instruments.

Top left is a guitar with armadillo hide, and top right is a "feather flute."

Bottom right and left could be played, too, but I don't remember their names.

Nighttime in Cusco glows warmly.

After the musical "lecture," we walked to our dinner venue:  La Feria.

Salt and Pepper shakers.  Cute.

Before our dinners were served, Elias, our guide, ushered us into a back room where we could play a game called Sapo.  Each person gets ten "coins," to throw toward the frog's mouth (top of the table, left pic), and if the coin went in, that would be a BIG winner.  None of us threw into the frog's mouth, but some came close.  Various scores are achieved if a coin makes it into another hole (top).  I did okay, but Pauline was the big winner with a score of 2200 (it was also her birthday!).  Nice diversion to pass the time till dinnertime. Fun competition, and the Sexy Woman were the winners.

Yum!

We had a wonderful dinner.  One or two of our group ordered the roasted guinea pig ("Cuy").  Jimmy and I tried a piece, but didn't much care for the taste ... or maybe it was because we were eating guinea pig!  So ended another very full day, chock-a-block filled with all things Peru. 

This would be our last day in the Sacred Valley.  Tomorrow we fly to the Galapagos Islands for a whole new and different kind of adventure!  From the mountains to the seashore; awesome to sublime, literally.  I'm really looking forward to the second half of our journey.

Back to Cusco afternoon, Monday, 4/16/18

We four adventurers (Jimmy, me, Kari and Mary D.) who spent the morning exploring misty Machu Picchu returned in time to check out of our hotel (and have an early lunch).  We stopped at a few places before boarding the train back to Cusco.

This statue in Agua Calientes' Virgen del Carmen church is worshiped as the Lord of Tremors, or The Black Christ, because in 1650 when a massive earthquake flattened Cusco, the statue was taken out to the streets, and the earthquake stopped.  Revered ever since.

Another stop we made was at a museum filled with photos from Machu Picchu's "rediscovery," compared with recent photos -- quite amazing to see how MP looked when Hiram Bingham first saw the site.  The image on the left is dated 1912, the one on the right is from 2014.  Not much change in over 100 years -- maybe a little straightening, but otherwise left intact. 

I guess Agua Calientes townspeople know when to expect PeruRail to chug into town.  Otherwise, vendors and others crossing the tracks would get run over.

The ride back to Ollanytaytambo was just as much fun, including the tunnels, as the previous day's ride, and we were even treated to a "fashion show."  The Urubamba River roars downstream next to the track.

This character was part of the "fashion show,"

and very entertaining for everyone in our car.

After disembarking the train, we boarded a bus bound for Cusco where we'll spend the night.  But first (as we like to say), we stopped at Chincheros for a weaving demonstration.

For a small coin, Pauline and I posed with the "dressed-up" llamas and Indigenous ladies.

This striking black and white raptor of the high Andes is a Mountain Caracara.

At Chincheros, we were motioned to sit on chairs placed around the room, and graciously offered a cup of tea, and then the demonstrations began.  I took pics of the entire process, but we'd be sitting here, writing and reading, till cows walked through the living room, so I'll be brief.

She made her own "soap" from a root called saqta, which is a natural detergent. by shredding it, adding water and then washing the fiber in a bowl.  You see the root and shredder next to the white washing water.  We were all surprised to see the dingy and dirty-appearing fiber (in large bowl, left) come out of its bath white as snow.

"Weaving is a way of life in Chincheros, as important for preserving ancient traditions as it is for earning a livelihood.  Located in the Peruvian Andes on the Inca road between Cusco and Machu Picchu, Chincheros was an early Inca center built by emperor Tupa Inca as his country estate.  During Inca reign, textiles were woven and offered to make special occasions, from peace treaties and sacrifices to marriage ceremonies and puberty rites.

In Chincheros, children grow up playing with their mother's spindle and loom.  By age six or seven, most children learn to weave by watching their elders.  They begin by weaving jakimas, or narrow ribbons, before moving on to more complicated pieces."  (courtesy Road Scholar)  Everyone in the group loved this entire demo, the ladies and their traditional outfits of red and black.

Naturally dyed fiber/yarn on the wall behind the women.

After the demo, woven scarfs, runners, etc., were offered for sale.  Beautifully done, brightly-colored pieces.  Jimmy and I bought a couple of items, and the price was not excessive.  We like that when we do buy something, we're helping a community (and its members) be self-sustaining.

Well, how about this for a finale?  Pizza for dinner, and very good pizza, to boot.  In Cusco, (back to the high altitude of 11,000'), we enjoyed a Peruvian pizza.  After such an active day, and pizza in our tummies, it only took a few seconds for us to conk out on our comfy bed.  Tomorrow, we go to Sacsayhuaman.  See if you can say that fast three times!  How about once?