Belly button lint

We have now arrived in the heartland of the Incas - Cusco, Peru. We´re a bit daunted by all the archaeological sites we want to see in the area over the next week, but we´re looking forward to seeing it all.

The official name of Cusco has now been changed back to the Quechua (the language of the Incas and still spoken by millions in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador) name of Qosq´o. Either way, the name means "the navel of the world", as Cusco was the seat of power for the wide-ranging Incan empire.

Strangely enough, this is the second "navel of the world" that we´ve been to in the past 3 months. Easter Island is also known as "Rapa Nui" in the local Polynesian language. However, it was originally known as "Te Pito O Te Henua", which also means "the navel of the world", as the original settlers believed that they were at the center of the world. Considering Easter Island is a tiny island set adrift in the ocean thousands of miles from any other land, we could see where they came up with this idea. And even though New Yorkers still believe that New York is the center of everything, the name "New York" sadly does not mean "the navel of the world". (I think "New York" is originally French or something ;) )

Unfortunately, though, we won´t make it to the original "navel", the omphalos at the Temple of Delphi in Greece.

Now this leaves us with two key questions. First, if the earth is always referred to as "Mother Earth" or "Pachamama" as she´s known in these parts, then why would it have a navel, let alone two?

And, of course, the more important second question: who´s the daddy?