Two weddings, two funerals, a gravedigger, a dead dog - and an engagement!

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We usually find when we're travelling that we see a wedding, simply because our trip involves looking at temples and churches or being in a community's main square.

In Chivay we saw a wedding procession complete with supporting brass band and, on our first evening in Cusco, the bride and groom emerged onto the steps of the cathedral amidst the fiesta and fireworks.

We saw funeral processions in Puno and Cusco, complete with American hearses of some vintage. Jen saw a man digging a grave by the side of the railway between Puno and Cusco. The number of dogs wandering the streets, alone and in packs, meant that we were surprised that there weren’t more dead dogs lying about but David did see one alongside the road whilst travelling on the train ‘twixt Puno and Cusco.

The highlight, though, was last night in Cicciolina restaurant in Cusco. We sat down and noticed a young couple at the table in the bay window, with a dozen red roses arranged in an ice bucket and on the table. They had eyes only for each other and the staff were especially attentive. She couldn’t keep her hands off him, stroking his face and Jen kept up a running commentary because she could see the girl in a mirror, whilst David could only see the recipient of this attention. As the courses and accompanying wines (they must have been on the gourmet menu) came and went the lad started sobbing, much to our surprise. He composed himself and moved to a different chair in order to be closer to the object of his affection. We couldn´t see what was going on so easily, but she suddenly started sobbing loudly, he resumed his earlier seat and she announced through her tears to the entire restaurant that he’d asked her to marry him. She was flashing a large band on the ring finger of her right hand and the diners all clapped enthusiastically. Inevitably, Jen then started drawing unfavourable comparisons with the rather less romantic circumstances of her engagement...!

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