Cuzco and Chincero

We were collected by Rene and Hector at 8am to drive to Chinchero, famous for its dying, spinning and weaving of sheep and llama wool. The village has decided to continue to wear traditional clothes and this makes the Sunday markets popular with tourists.  The village itself is of traditional style with stone bases for houses and the upper levels finished with mud bricks. 

Chinchero is above a beautiful valley and on one side of the 17th C church is the second largest Inca settlement at the time of the Spanish invasion.  We walked down to the terraces and to one of the sacred rocks which had a narrow tunnel cut through it as well as various alters cut into the surface of the rock.  Rene said he intended to get married at another sacred rock in the deep valley bbelow the terraces.  The Inca Trail used to follow the valley through to the Sacred Valley.

We went to a cottage industry cum home where we were shown the steps to dye and spin wool and also to knit and weave on various types of looms.  Dyes included local leaves for green, sulpher for moderating greens to yellows and dried and ground cochineal beetles for reds. 

The rain started as a number of additional tourists began to turn up.  We went through the open market which included food stalls, fruit and vegetables as well as the vendors of weaving.  Meryl bought a piece of weaving from an older lady sitting by the side of the market.  There is a lot of work in it - maybe more than 3 months of weaving not considering the spinning and dying of the wool.  It is made from sheeps wool and natural dyes have been used.  It cost the equivalent of $70 AUD.  Also bought some knitted binis and Siew-Gim got a nice bag and a scarf knitted by the master craftsman who had learded his skills from his father.  This family knits special hats with patterns specific to Chinchero one of which Rene has and another of which he is ordering for learning the traditions of his people.

Went into the colonial church when the 11am serv ice started.  The ceilings are covered in paintings and there were some grim reminders of the subjugation of the native population by the Spanish in the paintings on the walls and over the entrance.

We went a gallery where weavers are working where there are products for sale.  I did get a nice bag there made from woven cloth and coloured by natural dyes.

We went up two towers today: one at the colonial church at Chinchero where we sneaked up the bell tower; then in the main square where a guard charged us to pop onto the roof of one of the central churches and from which there was a great view of the cathedral.