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My favorite cafe
I sit at the same cafe every morning and read...here is me enjoying it once again.I spent the past weekend taking advantage of how close I am to so many Incan ruins and playing the tourist role. My roommate, Alex, and I traveled around Cusco and the Sacred Valley. Saturday we went to the market here in Cusco which was quite an experience. The market is enormous and there are hundreds of people from the 'campesino' (the sorrounding rural areas--farmers and such) selling fruits, vegetables, maize, beans, and fresh meat, amongst other things. We definitely turned a lot of heads as we were probably the only non-Peruvians there!
On Saturday afternoon we took the City Tour with a guide around Cusco...we went to Incan museums and ruins, and Catholic Cathedrals. The Cathedral here in Cusco (you can see a picture in my last entry) is pretty incredible. There are a dozen chapels inside, over 500 paintings, mirrors, and two gigantic alters (one plated in gold and the other in silver). The most interesting painting was a version of the Last Supper with Cuy (roasted Guinea Pig) as the main cuisine. Unfortunately, I couldn't take any pictures inside the Cathedral, but found a copy of the painting online and included it below.
My tour of the Sacred
San Pedro Market
There is a market a few blocks away from downtown Cusco...here is just a small portion of the market. The local come here on Saturday mornings and barter for different foods and supplies. Valley on Sunday by far exceeded my greatest expectations. We spent the whole day in a bus driving through the Andes (amazing!) and stopping at small towns to go to their markets and visiting incredible ruins. We visited the ruins of Pisac and Ollantayambo, which were both extensive agricultural and irrigation ruins that were cut into the mountains by the Incans (I can't believe how advanced they were!). Seeing the ruins required a lot of hiking (and come climbing), which I wasn't expecting, and I was wearing a skirt and sandals that day (eee!), but I made it. If you like to hike, this area of Peru has a lot of great places to hike through! I've posted some of the highlights of both of all the ruins, although pictures can't quite capture the reality of it (also, I tried not to overwhelm you with pictures, but it was difficult to choose the best ones).
I am now in my second week of language classes which are going pretty well. I can't believe that I will be in Cusco for only a few more days. I've been able to meet a ton of people, and also was able to meet
up with my old college roommate, Kelli, who coincidentally lives in Cusco! It's been nice being able to relax and travel a bit before I start working in Lima next week. Also, I've only been sick once so far, and it was only for 24 hours...cross your fingers that I will remain fairly sick-free!!
Things I've learned over the past week: 1) Peruvians are selfish with their change (coins)...because everything costs so little here, you usually pay with coins. Many places won't even take (or change out) your bills...I've learned that coins are more valuable to me here than bills, which are monetarily worth so much more! 2) You are not supposed to flush toilet paper down the toilet...oops!
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Bethany
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Hehe, you two are Skype nerds too! Rock on. :) I'm looking forward to reading more about your trip, although it's making me miss Peru an awful lot. We'll just have to take a little trip over there sometime soon.