Welcome to Cusco

Heights, History, and Hail

I can't believe that a week has already gone by, but I also can't believe that it has only been one week! I guess when you have been in three different countries and four different cities within seven days, your sense of time gets a little bit skewed. I have seen a lot of incredible things even just within the past 78 hours.

During the day on Sunday, Alvin, Linda, Tara and I all went into town in an attempt to explore. Thanks to my broken spanish we got off the "collectivo" (mini public bus) just on time and navigated our way to where we actually wanted to be. We explored the main square and parts around, casually looking for a place to eat. Soon our hunger overtook our curiosity and we stopped into a somewhat decent looking dining facility. What we weren't expecting was that our three course meal would take over two hours!! Although the restaurant was empty (always a traveller no no!), the food ended up being really good, and luckily no one got sick. Again with the use of my minimal spanish skills, we managed to find the stop where we could cram back into an over stuffed collectivo that would take us home.

That night, we had an incredible buffet dinner for our welcome dinner. It included a Pisco sour...a drink made with Pisco, lime and egg whites (either originated in Peru or Chile...they haven't stopped bickering over it yet). I also tried Ceviche for the first time. Ceviche is a traditional Peruvian dish, made of raw fish and seafood in lemon juice, with red onions, some other sauce and spices, and some veggies. I was pretty skeptical at first, but I was glad that I didn't miss the opportunity to try this dish (it is unlikely to find seafood that is edible this far from the coast). I was actually pleasantly surprised....it is not something that I could eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner (as I am told they do on the beaches in Lima), but it was really good. During dinner we were entertained with live traditional music and traditional dances. Other than being attacked by one of the devils during the "Devil's Dance" and nearly having a heart attack, I really enjoyed the dinner and the entertainment.

Monday we all geared up and headed out for our horseback riding adventure. For the first five minutes of the ride, I was definitely doubting my decision to deny the helmet that was offered to me. However, once we got past the steeeep, muddy, rocky beginning to the path, I started to enjoy the sense of royalty that horseback riding seemed to give me. Unfortunately, our ride got cut short after getting drenched with rain and then pelted with hail. Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed feeling like I was home again - freezing cold and soaking wet!
We continued by bus and then by foot to an altitude of about 4000 meters to visit an Incan archeological sight called "Tambomachay". This is a water temple where the source of the water is still unknown. The water was believed (and is still believed by some) to make women very fertile (I definitely steered clear of that stuff...). The Incans used to also keep and take care of very important mummies at this temple. We continued on to two other sights, one called "Pukapukara" and the other called "Q'enqo", before heading back into town for lunch.
After lunch, we were all ready for a siesta, but we had one last sight to visit. It became clear that the best had definitely been saved for last as we explored "Saqsaywaman" (no...not sexy woman). En route to Saqsaywaman, we went through one of the many tunnels that had been dug by the Incans. The tunnels went between the sights as well as from the sights into town, but most have been shut down. The tunnel we went through was short, but it was very very dark, small, and smelly. We came out the other side to find ourselves in the middle of a beautiful ancient atrium, lush with green grass and complete with a throne carved out of stone! Near by there was a rock slide that had been created by nature which two guys from our team decided to punish their bottoms on. After being entertained by the foul language that escaped the mouths of the men as they slid, we continued to Saqsaywaman. Saqsaywaman is an incredible fortress that took the Incas forty years to build. The walls used to be three times the height that they are now, and there is nothing holding the rocks together....they were fit together so well that the structure has lasted 800 years. There is still a celebration (which includes sacrifices and all) that takes place every year on the 24th of June (originally on the 21st until it was changed by the Spanish). In the walls, there were hidden animal forms which we were made to try and find. Among some of the ones we saw were a guinea pig, a llama, a snake and an alpaca. Overall, another very interesting and informative day!

Today was our first day at the school that we will be working at in Pumamarka. As we drove up to the school, the van was chased by tons of little kids who delivered a stampede of hugs and kisses as we piled out of the car. It was very overwhelming for me to see so many affectionate, happy kids and realize how difficult most of their lives are. Most of the children come from very poor families, and several have abusive or alcoholic parents. Peru's Challenge has done incredible work since it has arrived. When they first arrived, the school was one classroom with thirteen students of all different ages. Now the school has grown to 150 students and Peru's Challenge (with the help of the volunteers and the community) has built six classrooms, a kitchen, an office, flushing toilets, new sinks, a new mother's building, and a new building for the kindergarten classes. This month, apart from teaching, our goal is to finish the Mother's building (where they learn useful skills and sell the crafts they make whenever they get the opportunity to), and to weed and plant in the huge veggie "patch" that they have. After being introduced to all the classes, the team got to work in the garden as well as in the new building. I was one of the four who spent the time we had there sanding all the plaster off the beams on the ceiling. Tiring, but satisfying work.

Tomorrow we are off to Sacred Valley for two days, and I am sure I will have more stories to share soon! Thanks for reading :)

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