Cuenca, Continued

Cuenca Day #5: In the morning we took a tour to the ruins of Ingapirca which means “Inca Wall”. On the way to the ruins we passed stands where they were cooking whole pigs with a blow torch. Our guide told us that they use this technique to cook the skin only (people eat the torched skin). The rest of the pig is cut up and cooked in other ways. When we reached 12,000 feet, we left the paved road and passed through verdant mountains where the local people raise trout.

Ingapirca is located at 3160 meters, approximately 1 ½ hours from Cuenca. The Incan ruins here are 600 years old. There are also ruins here from the Canari people that date back 3000 years. The Canaris were conquered by the Incans, but some of their culture was integrated into Incan society. The Canaris were a matriarchal society that worshiped the moon. The Incas were a patriarchal society that worshiped the sun. Here is where the Incan boy “Huaynacapac” became king at 5 years old when his father died. He married the Canari princess “Paccha” when the Incas took over their society.

At this site we were able to see both Incan and Canari ruins, like: the Temple of the Moon (Canari) and the Temple of the Sun (Inca). The Canari used river rocks and mud to construct their structures, while the Incas used square stones positioned in perfect alignment (a design thought to be used to withstand earthquakes).

In the afternoon we visited a very unusual art museum with our Spanish instructor. It was called “El Prohibido”. The art depicted demonic creatures and scenes relating to sex and death. The artist is from the Amazon where he is currently developing a lodge. One can only imagine what it will be like.