Most of today was spent in the bus en route to Cuzco. At about 3:30, we arrived at the bus station in Cuzco and I taxi’d to the Wild Rover Hostel. Within a few minutes of arriving at the hotel (and in hindsight a bit too impatiently) I booked a Salkantay Trek starting Thursday morning and ending Monday night. I then walked around Centro Historico and immediately noticed that today wasn’t a normal day. The streets were packed with locals, especially gathered around the entrance of churches.
According to Enigma Peru.com, “The day after Palm Sunday in Cusco day is Lunes Santo, or Easter Monday. This is one of the most important days of celebration in Cusco during the Holy Week and features a procession for El Señor de los Temblores, Lord of the Earthquakes. Legend has it that on May 31, 1650, a major earthquake hit Cusco, and when a statue of the crucifixion Jesus Christ was taken out of the church, the quakes suddenly stopped. The procession starts at the Cusco Cathedral with the statue decorated in red ñucchu flower, symbolizing the blood of Christ, and winds its way to Plaza de Armas over the course of six hours.”
I had a vegetarian (but still unhealthy) dinner at a restaurant near the main Plaza and then watched the final moments of Jesus being carried around. It was interesting to see how religious most of the people in Cuzco were. At the last moments, I noticed genuine prayer in many of even the secular-looking locals.
Afterwards, I walked back to the hostel and am planning on heading to bed soon.
