January 31st

Cusco

Today was our first day in our apartment in Cusco so we spent it walking around town and getting oriented. Our apartment is only a few blocks from the main market. When we first considered renting there, everyone warned us that it was the worst part of town and very dangerous. Every time we've walked to the market, well-meaning people have stopped us told us to be very careful in that neighborhood; however, we've shopped in the market almost every day and have not had a single problem. Everyone there is friendly and helpful. Some of the sights are fascinating.

January 30th

Abancay to Cuzco

This was another day of beautiful, dramatic scenery and beautiful, friendly people. We left Abancay and headed into the Central Highlands on the way to our final destination of Cuzco. The winding road with many switchbacks offered endless opportunities to photograph the city of Abancay as we left it behind in the valley. Climbing into the clouds we saw many memorials along these dangerous curves. One in particular had about 30 memorials, all with the same date. We speculate that a bus went off the road into the valley far below.







Usually when we stop the car to take photographs, curious shepherds come up to meet us. All of the women either knit or spin alpaca wool while they tend their sheep, llamas, and alpacas. Children are curious but shy. The men tend to wave and go back to herding their animals.






As we got closer to Cusco, we happened to pass a livestock fair and decided to stop. Farmers from around the area of Anta had brought their animals to swap, sell, and buy and families had set up small restaurants and displays of their merchandise for sale. The animals ranged from bulls, to sheep, to cuy (guinea pigs). The food was chicken soup, fried fish, chicha (corn beer) and every kind of potato imaginable, including freeze-dried potatoes. The potatoes are freeze-dried by leaving them out in the field and they are considered a real delicacy here. I find them almost inedible. The chicha is interesting because it’s made by chewing corn and spitting it into a container. The chewed corn and saliva ferment and the result is chicha. After a long discussion about how it is made, we were encouraged by a group of chicha drinkers to try it, so we did. We survived.










We arrived in Cusco in the middle of the afternoon and found our apartment, unpacked the car, and went for a walk to the main square. Cusco is in a valley surrounded by mountains but is at 3310 meters so walking up all the hills takes a lot of effort! The Plaza de Armas is beautiful at night with a cathedral on one side, a church on another and arcades of shops and restaurants on the remaining two sides. The park is filled with local people and tourists. Touts try to sell shoeshines, paintings, weavings, but a “No, gracias” and they left us alone. There were police and security guards everywhere so we felt pretty safe. We ate dinner at a wonderful restaurant near the square recommended by our landlady. I had alpaca carpaccio and trout and Tom had a salad and grilled alpaca. The carpaccio was outstanding but the grilled alpaca was a little tough. We had very good Peruvian wine with our meal and celebrated making it all the way to Cusco!

January 29th

Puquio to Abancay

Today we drove from Puquio to Abancay a distance of about 305 kilometers. The roads were much better today and we made good time, except for stopping to take photos! We left our hostel early this morning and walked through the local market in Puquio, buying fruit for our breakfast. A Quechua woman and her daughter were selling tuna - the fruit of a cactus - which they peeled for us. All of the fruit was very cheap - about one sole (33 cents) for a kilo - and we had a hard time buying only enough for the two of us! Most of the people did not know how to charge for ½ or ¼ of a kilo. We also saw women who had come to town with loads of alfalfa which the local people buy to feed their cuy, or guinea pigs. Almost everyone raises guinea pigs for meat. We also met a friendly market woman and her husband who were very concerned that we planned to drive all the way to Cuzco. They thought it wasn’t safe and wanted us to stay in Puquio.





We crossed more beautiful mountains at very high altitudes and met a Quechua father and son at the site of bus wreck. The bus had overturned the previous day when the driver fell asleep and they were out looking at the scattered remains of the bus. More adorable llamas grazed where there seemed to be very little for them to eat. A few miles later we passed a house on the highway with llama pelts laid out to dry on the pavement and a woman putting llama meat out to dry, too!








We ate lunch in a small town on the river, where the main entertainment in the square was a shop showing videos with everyone gathered around the door to watch.



I tried taking some very low light photos after dark in Abancay. I’m still a little nervous walking around at night carrying my Leica’s, but so far, so good!

January 28th, Part Three

Puquio

Puquio is a very small country town in the mountains. We arrived in the middle of the afternoon and first found a place to stay - a hostel about a block off the main square with hot water and a private bath for $10 a night. There was even a locked parking lot for the car. It was a very foggy, chilly evening but we enjoyed walking around the market and square. Everybody wanted to talk to us and be sure we were enjoying their country. We had our anniversary dinner of roasted chicken and Cusquena beer for $5 each. I took photos until it was too dark to see and then we retired for the night in our puke green room in Puquio.