Ruins

For not having any plans this weekend, it ending up being a very nice and relaxing couple of days. It has been pretty quiet with the four others gone and only 4 of us left now, but we learned today that we are getting 3 new housemates next weekend: 2 girls and a boy.

Yesterday, Saturday, the three of us that were here did absolutely nothing! We slept in late since we were all out late on Friday night for the last night celebrations. We ate lunch, lounged around the house, watched some movies, took an afternoon nap, ate dinner, and turned in early to bed.

Today was much more exciting however and I felt a lot less lazy since I actually changed out of my pajamas and left the house! Claire, Michael and I went out after lunch to find out about the soccer game and were upset to discover that we had already missed it as it was an afternoon game at 1:30. We decided to walk around the Plaza and San Blas since we were already downtown and I ended up running into Mario and his friend who walked around with us. There was a procession of the saints happening at the large cathedral in town when we walked up that at first we mistook for a wedding or a funeral. There were many people gathered around playing music, dancing in costumes and about a dozen men were holding up a statue on poles.

After some looking around at the few shops that were open since many close early on Sundays, we went into Jack’s Café, an American owned restaurant with American food. I got a tasty strawberry milkshake for only S6 which is about $2.

I have to visit the rest of the sites on my tourist card I bought last weekend when we went to Machu Pichu by tomorrow, so I decided to part from the group and do some site seeing on my own for the rest of the day. I took a taxi up the mountain above Cusco to another ruin on my card called “Q’enqo.” It was nothing too spectacular and was pretty small with just some caves and a bunch of rocks that I didn’t understand since I didn’t have a guide to tell me the history of the site. I just walked through it and took some pictures and was on my way to the next ruin.

Saqsayhuman was a ruin we passed by on the bus on our trip last weekend but I was able to actually walk through it today and get some great pictures. It was very beautiful and large with many areas of rocks, caves, stairs, terraces, etc. Again, I did not have a guide with me so I didn’t know what any of it meant, but I’m assuming it was another Inca city by the similar architecture and its proximity to Cusco. In the fields of Saqsayhuman and surrounding, Peruvians of all ages, children to adults, were playing soccer on their day of rest. Numerous families were out with their dogs and women brought their lambs and alpacas to graze the fields for grass. I wanted to join in a game with the kids but I was stupidly wearing sandals and I was also carrying a lot of money that I didn’t want to set down unattended.

I walked up another mountain nearby to Cristo Blanco which was built above the city in 1944. It is a large white Jesus Christ statue that is illuminated at night and you can see from all over Cusco. On the way up the bugs were terrible and I had to swat them away from my face just to see! On top of the mountain you could see all of Cusco; it was truly magnificent! There was a little man playing the flute dressed in traditional clothing. I sat up there for about twenty minutes talking with two guys from Spain and embracing the view of such an amazing city. They said the walk down was only 20 minutes, but in sandals I wasn’t going to try it. I took a taxi down to the plaza for S7.

I had an hour to kill before I went to watch a dance show on my tourist card so I decided to find out about going to the city of Pisco which is directly west on the coast and features a marine life reserve called Paracas. I found a bus company that goes there for $68 and takes 14 hours so I might try to see if any other volunteers want to make a weekend out of it with me before I leave in July to see some really neat animals that I won’t get to see on my jungle trip. I went to a few shops, bought a fake North Face jacket for $20 since it is freezing here at night and I am running low on warm clothing, bought a cute yarn bracelet with alpacas on it, and finally a present for my brother Andrew.

At 6:45 I headed for a show at the Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo on the main street, Avenida Sol. It featured native music, dancing and costumes for an hour. I really enjoyed seeing it even though most of the moves were fairly simple. The costumes and music made it all come together really nicely and the women were very pretty with their long braided black hair. They had some of the costumes on display from all the regions of Peru to see up close. They were extremely elaborate all with different accessories and hats.

I just got home and had pesto pasta for dinner and I think I will go to bed early so I can finish the rest of the things on my card tomorrow before work. I have a few more museums to see and an Incan man monument.

Michael and I are going on a 3 night tour to Arequipa this weekend which is supposed to be beautiful and look like a European city since many of the buildings there are made with white brick from the volcano nearby. Also on the tour we get to see the deepest canyon in the world called Colca Canyon where the condors fly.

I am STILL sick though and this cough and runny nose will not go away. My house mom made me some special tea last night but it didn’t work and I was up all night coughing and have been all day too. I am a bit homesick because I miss my mom and dad and I wish I could give my dog Tito a big hug every time I see a stray puppy.
I hope all of you are doing well back home and enjoying the summer weather! Adios!

-Hillary-