Sunday lunch with the family

Another surreal experience... It´s almost 4.30 pm, and lunch is almost ready... but so much has gone on before. Milka´s family are all here for Sunday lunch - Milka´s mum and dad, who have come from Lima with a grandaughter, Ximena, Milka´s sister, Mercy and brother in law, Rod (who is Australian) and 3 kids, and one of the bridesmaids from Lima, Isabella plus us Australians. We´ve already had delicious scallops in the shells, brought from Lima by Miguel, Milka´s dad, and cooked under the griller with cheese, garlic butter and lime.

Next we´re having a lamb roast, bought from the local market this morning, with gravy Australian style, courtesy of the Gravox brought from Oz. It´s been a riot - a mix of English and Spanish with bilinguals working hard! They have been so welcoming to us foreigners, it´s been wonderful! Plenty of drinks - Zac´s homebrew and a couple of nice wines, and we haven´t started lunch yet.

Many ´salud´s happening - a great day, on top of of the buck´s party - a bit of the hair of the dog! The boys woke up a bit slowly, but are in fine form now. Prior to the visitors arriving, we were banished to the bedrooms so that Milka and her mum could do the cleaning, which happens quite regularly. Everyone does exactly what Milka says - no doubt who wears the pants in this family! This is Jill blogging because Judy has a bit of a glow up and has difficulty with the typing - I put it down to emotional overload!

The house is filling up

Deciding to opt out of the hen's night, Jill and I came home from a successful shopping experience to meet Milka's dad. By successful, I mean we successfully managed to get from the Artisans Market where some purchases were bargained for. to a supermarket to buy household necessities, and home again. A simple task you might think – but think again. We managed to hail a taxi (stick your hand out and hope the car that stops is a taxi), tell the driver that you want to go to the 'Mega Mart' and how much will that cost– and he then comes back with a string of Spanish (I presume he's asking me which Mega Mart ... I know of at least 2 here) ... all I can say is 'No entiendo' and hope that we arrive at a Mega mart. The cost of 3 soles is now the least of our concerns ... but we are dropped off at a mega mart which I am familiar with, successfully make our purchases, and then get another taxi to home ... 'A Kennedy A, enfrente Inca Sur' .... see I have memorized our address, but that's the first time I have had to give the directions. I count that as 'successful'!

By this stage we are congratulating ourselves on our progress with Spanish... now for another experience – sharing a meal with Milka's mum, dad and niece, none of whom speak very much English, and no translators. Milka understands quite a bit of English, but sometimes has difficulty finding the English words to express what she wants to say. On these occasions she usually refers to Zac, or calls him on the phone if he's not around, and passes the phone to us for him to explain what she is trying to say. Tonight, Jill and I are on our own with Gladys, Miguel and Ximena ..... and a dictionary!!!!

We got the message that Milka's family think very highly of Zac ... opressio – esteem.

The house is filling up – lucky we're no longer in the small flat! There's 10 of us here tonight.

Lex said he met a young lady tonight, danced with her, and when it was time for home she got into the taxi with them - he wondered where they were dropping her off.... to discover she's staying here with us. Jeff tells a different story ... about a girl he met last night and brought home in a taxi...

Meet Isabelle, one of Milka's bridesmaids. Zac, Milka and Isabelle are on the floor tonight .... and although we feel somewhat uncomfortable, they wouldn't have it any other way. The more the merrier!!

A different shopping experience

(No photos for this ....)

We set off with Milka ... warned that we would be going into an area where it wasn't safe to carry bags, cameras, etc and where pick-pockets might frequent. Get the picture .... 4 of us carrying nothing, minus our jewellery, money stashed in internal pockets or hiding places.

We'd previously driven through this commercial area (nothing like the commercial areas we are used to) but today, Saturday it was alive. The railway line which runs through the centre of the street was filled with people selling livestock... puppies, kittens, ducks, chooks.... A side-street was a sea of tarps all the way up the hill – a double row of stalls up the middle of the street and footpaths lined with more stalls ... all crowded with bargain hunters. All the spaces in buildings lining this street were also full of stalls – alley ways, courtyards, unfinished buildings ... every available space. One space we went into was such a building ... up 3 flights of concrete steps – open floors of an unfinished building where dozens of stall holders had laid out their wares on tarps or blankets.

Some of the stock was new, but much of it was second hand ... clothing, curtains, sheets, apparently from North America, Other sections were tools, old computer parts (motherboards .... crapppp!!!) even second hand traditional clothing – woven shawls with big holes in them.

We traipsed along .... Milka leading the way, Jill and I trying to keep up .. and Gladys bringing up the rear ... often falling behind because she stopped to check out a bargain. After a while it became apparent we were on a mission to get items for Milka's 'costume' for her hen's night - a Pimps and Prostitutes party. The shopping expedition for boots for Jill and I was to come later. Milka, tried on coats, leather jackets, searched for bags etc before setting off for another area where other items were added to the costume collection and boots were purchased ... for 50 soles!

Whist we were shopping with Milka, Jeff and Lex were assigned the task of looking after Zac during his bucks' event – can't call it a party as it was an all day event, starting with breakfast during the Rugby Tri-Nations match, followed by go-kart racing, then paintball, then off to Senor Carbon's for lunch (all you can eat meat), then a 'show' involving flesh, and finally to meet up with the girls event for a night of dancing, drinking and merrymaking.

Pleased to note that all made it home safely, although somewhat bruised and sore, but generally in better condition than a previous night out.

Shopping with Gladys

Gladys is a super shopper (aka bargainer). On our big day out, Gladys bought a jumper at one of the road-side stalls. Not only did she get the price down, she also managed to get a 'regale' (gift) at the end of the transaction ... because it was her birthday the next day. Really wish I could understand the transaction which took place – but watching the faces and listening to the inflections of the voices was an experience in itself.

Another occasion we went to get some jewellery to go with Milka's wedding dress. Here again, she got the price down and walked out with a small ring (not sure if it was silver like the rest of the stuff in the store or not .. but quite possibly) ... which could either go on the wedding cake or be a present for Gladisita's birthday.

Even our boots purchase was negotiated downwards by Gladys...

Morning with Milka

Plan was for haircuts and shopping for boots. But every event here turns out to be so much more. I've seen hair dressers in the local market stalls – just a chair with a mirror, some hair dressing shop fronts that I haven't ventured into, but today we found something else. Like many of the places we've been taken to this one was through an alley, up some stairs, ring a buzzer to be let in .... and a busy salon opens up. While Jill and I both got hair cuts ( for 25 soles) Gladys got a colour and cut and Milka got a French manicure!!!

Shopping for boots would have to wait for another opportunity – lunch arrangements take priority. This was another one of those places you had to know was there – we wouldn't have found it on our own – very close to town, around the back behind several other shops and eateries. This one was packed with locals. Chicherone ... not sure of the spelling, but it was described as a 'deep-fried pork' place. The option was large (11 soles) or small plate (7 soles), and of course the usual cervesa grande...

We've certainly been treated to some amazing eating experiences – all terrific!

Big day out...

Zac managed to arrange hire of a car and driver for us (for $60 US) so that we could visit some of the outlying tourist sites. Bargain, I reckon. We left home at 9am and didn't get back until 6.30pm and he had the cost of a flat tyre as well.

The scenery is spectacular – high snow capped mountains, terraced hillsides, deep valleys, local villages as well as Inca ruins and salt terraces. We tried to capture the scenery – with video as well as stills, but it is so immense - you just have to see it for yourself.

The township of Chinchero has a village atmosphere with many market stalls both in the narrow streets as well as in the town square, but then the enormity of it opens up. Inca terraces spread out around the hillside below the village. We also watched some women processing potatoes - stamping on them to squeeze the moisture out of them, peeling the skins off them, turning them ... these become dehydrated potatoes often used in cooking stews or soups.

The Morays HUGE... terraced areas ... miles from anywhere ... where the Incas experimented with different climatic conditions for agriculture. Apparently there are several degrees of temperature between the various levels. Amazing, amazing

Moras – Salt Terraces – we drove more miles on rocky dirt roads, often quite narrow, up steep sections where the driver constantly tooted his horn to alert on-coming traffic, which could be taxis, cars or big tourist buses!!!

We approached this site from a high point, and the sight is breath-taking – the whole side of the valley is sectioned into terraces. We stopped to take in the scene ... and stopped again shortly after to change a tyre before driving down to the entrance to the terraces. From this point we were able to walk along the narrow top of the salt terraces, see how the water comes out of the mountain and is channeled into the various areas, and then down a road/track which is where mountain bike groups also venture to meet our car at the bottom. Interestingly this is also where Zac came off a mountain bike some weeks ago.

Next stop, Ollyatatambo. This is a really interesting village with much original Incan construction as well as Inca construction and terracing on the steep mountain sides (read this as MANY steps up). We've been here before, and since it was quite late by this time, Jill and Jeff took a quick look at the ruins while the rest of us opted for a late lunch. Two hour drive home with spectacular scenery topped off a brilliant day out.

More than we expected ... everytime we go out

Some days ago we took off to catch a local bus to Tambomachay ... with a plan to check out those ruins and then walk back towards Cusco, visiting 3 more Inca sites along the way.

Incredibly, we caught a taxi (that´s not the incredible part) and managed to communicate to the driver that we wanted to get to the bus station in some street (can´t remember the name). He obviously didn´t really understand our destination ... but said something from which Lex recognised ´Pisac´so said´Si´. We had previously caught a taxi from the bus station with Zac and Milka ... to Pisac, but both Lex and I wondered if we were going to end up at the bus station, or be taken all the way to Pisac by this driver - a problem if one hasn´t previously negotiated a price. However we were taken to the bus station .. - a yard with a couple of buses in it. As we were wondering how we go about getting a ticket (hadn´t seen anything resembling a ticket office), a guy popped out of the gate sprouting several names ... including Tambomachay, which we recognised. WOW what luck, but our luck continued, we got on the bus, picked out a couple of seats (that weren´t broken) and settled in .. to later discover that our tickets had seat numbers on them ... and we were in the right seats. Double WOW as the bus was beyond FULL. With this luck we were in for a great day ... for a princely sum of less than 10 sol.

To be continued.....

Quick catchup .... full day in a nutshell ...

We had 4 sites to visit for the day ... starting at Tambomachay ... and visiting the others as we walked back to Cusco. Our intention was to self guide our way through these... even that changed early in the day ... and it was well worth it.

Tambomachay was a small site which we wandered around by ourselves - Jeff ventured up the hills to check out the farming areas.

Across the road, past some ladies sitting spinning and weaving (in the middle of nowhere) to the next site Pukapukara ... where we met a Peruvian man who offered to show us around this site ... for a price - donation I think he said. He told us he was a trained/qualified guide and this was his day off. We accepted his offer and certainly had an informed (we hope) description of the site, after which he said visitors usually pay 10 soles each for the guided tour but we could pay what we thought it was worth... It was only a small site so we gave him 5 each.

After further discussion we enlisted him to continue the day with us ... also for a price. Instead of walking to the next site (1 hour walk) he suggested we take a local bus for 60 centimos. Another interesting adventure... local buses fill up rather quickly... should say over-fill.

The day continued with lots of unexpected adventures - we certainly saw the sites we had planned but saw aspects that we hadn´t known about - especially at Sachsayhuaman - where Lex and I had been before. Previously we´d seen the huge construction area, but on the other side there are tunnels where mummies had been found as well as the huge rock slides .... and much more.

We were also taken to a textile and silver shop and factory - got a tour of that ... also the place where Jill bought a jacket and Lex bought me a silver bracelet. Not far from the factory we stopped for a strawberry maize beer ... different - but also a place we wouldn´t have ventured into.

Our guide turned out to be enjoyable and informative company - but he was also dead keen to show us a restaurant ... not a tourist place, but a place where loacls eat...´very cheap´.... well NOT but Peruvian standards - but it was a special place , way up on the hill and overlooking Cusco, and the food was good. We had expected things that happened - like when we went to the shops, he would probably get a cut, and possibly even the restaurant ... where he disappeared when the bill arrived - but it was still a great day out.

Meeting the family...

We arrived home early evening to meet Milka´s mum and her neice. Neither Milka or Zac were home ... so here were were with people we hadn´t previously met ... and with whom we shared no common language. Another amazing experience ... but we got along really well, and by the time Zac arrived home much later we had shared family photos ... Jill´s, introductions of family members ... and even learnt a bit more Spanish.

Getting behind

3 days since I last blogged and now it´s out of control. Will upload as many pics as I can .... and add some highlights.

We often seem to start off with only a brief plan... maybe even start somewhere, but we always end up with more than expected. Last Monday we met Zac for lunch ... another place we wouldn

´t ever have found, but another delight. After that we wandered around the city... and stumbled across a courtyard full of HUGE papier mache models. Apparently this was an art school. We

may even have seen some of these being paraded around the streets... not sure how they get them through the arch and out of the courtyard.

Then we wandered down to San Pedro Market ... a local market area - been here before with Zac and Milka, and Lex wanted to treat Jeff to a local ´special fruit juice´... made with everything on the stand, including milk, fruit, carrots, honey, black beer.......

Jill and I explored a bit while they sat there and ´talked´to their juice lady. We even managed to purchase some bananas and some palta -avocados. Some parts of the market were not so enticing ... the offal section.

Another adventure....

From our vantage spot in La Plaza (well from the balcony of Norton´s bar), we noticed a number of tents and a huge crowd up on the hill above the plaza near San Christobel church. Just had to investigate..... I managed to talk Zac into taking Jill and I up the hill in a taxi to see what happening while Lex and Jeff remained in Nortons.

What an adventure.

We got up the hill to find a massive crowd of people gathered around a statue- looked like an Inca ruler, with other banners, statues and crowds up ahead. Close by the statue were numerous men clad in traditional costumes ... many of them drinking from 1.25L bottles of cervesa, carried in crates on ther backs by young women.

After we pushed our way past the group, we realised that the procession was getting ready to move on after their rest break. Forty or so men heaved the massive statue up into the air, and a similar group of boys heaved the wooden stand out from underneath it. What a sight ..... and quite a worrying one actually, because each group strained under the weight, staggered around the narrow road.... moved metres backwards, and sideways before being pushed back into the centre of the road by other groups.... and eventually moving forwards up the steep incline.

The crowd pushed forward to keep out of danger .... but we thought we might be better off to keep to the edge until it passed.... Then we took the stairs up to the next level.... trying to avoid the stream of liquid flowing down the steps (not water).

Up on the next level, the crowd was even greater - we could only manage to get a short way into the gathering. All the tents were food or drink tents and crowds of people were sitting around eating and drinking - often passing around and sharing the one bottle of beer and the one plastic cup. Trays of food included roast chickens and cuy (guinea pig).

We waited around until the statues, bands, and procession continued into the church before attempting to fight our way back through the crowd, down the hill again, leaving the locals to their merry-making. It was a privilege to be there to see just a small part of the event.

Each day is filled with new experiences - today was extra special.

Cerviche for lunch

Today Zac took us to a Cerviche Restaurant for lunch - raw fish marinated in lemon or lime juice. It was actually much better than I expected. The restaurant was quite unique - a wall of swords made from the swords of sword fish ....quite stunning.

It was quite a large restaurant, in a suburban area (not the tourist areas) ... and very busy. Customers waiting for our table.

It is good to have Zac with us to interpret the menu and order for us - much more adventurous that way.

We had this HUGE platter of cerviche, seafood rice and some crispy fried seafood ..... we made a dent in it but it was too much for 5 of us!

Markets ... and more markets

There are so many market stalls here in Cusco - all selling much the same thing. But with some family members arriving here for the first time we just had to visit a few. needles to say, someone walked out with a new alpaca jumper.

We tried on hats, bargained for purses and bags and bought a selection of finger puppets. All part of the Cusco experience and great fun.

Jill also managed to buy a piece of tapestry - from a young lady who spoke quite good English and told us that the fleece came from her grandfather´s alpacas.

Met a man with a dog today.

Took a walk up Gringo Alley - found a great shop with Alpaca knitwear -all hand done. More expensive than the ´Maybe Alpaca´ jumpers sold in most of the markets, but cheaper than the ones sold in the top class shops.

More up, up, up as we had a bit of time to fill in before meeting Zac and Milka for lunch in Paddy´s Bar.

Still feel the effects of altitude, so I stopped for a break near the top of the stairs, and looked up to see a man standing on a small concrete platform on the side of a hill ... behind a high wall. He was telling me to take it easy and rest ... in English.

He invited us into his work place to take in the view, so we headed up the last few steps, along the road beside an adobe wall to a door which popped open. In we went - joining him on this small

concrete platform along with his 2 dogs and lots of bits and pieces.

He explained that he farmed this hillside - the only agricultural land in the city of Cusco. It appeared that he also recycled whatever he could. He pointed out several points of interest visible from this spectacular vantage point, and was happy to answer any questions we had for him - although he was somewhat deaf, so Lex had to write the questions down for him. He could even read the questions written in English.

Catholic churches dominate the skyline and he gave us a bit of the history - how churches were built using the stone from the Inca constructions ... not good! No skyscrapers evident in this skyline - how precious is that!

We left him... not sure if we should be offering him some money (which so often the case when people offer to let you take pictures of them, their work or surroundings), or if that would be an insult.

Visited a great museum before lunch with Zac and Milka... and just because we are on holidays and we can, we stayed on a bit (extended lunch).... before stopping in at a few markets on our way home.

Topped off another special day in Cusco. Gotta love this place.

Night out in Cusco

Two public holidays in Peru this week - national day. The boys spent the day brewing - ginger beer, but we went out for the evening. We left home around 9pm, and the entertainment and dancing started around 11pm. Singer was Nancy Flores - not sure if it was because it was Peru´s National Day, but all the music seemed to be passionate about peru.... Applauso Peru. Didn´t understand many of the words ... but it was very stirring.

There was also a dance exhibition by some Peruvian national champions - they were GOOD!

But we even managed a dance or two .... not bad effort at altitude for a couple who are usually in bed at that time of the night.

A day in Pisac

Took a taxi out to Pisac to check out the wedding venue - negotiated a price for the 45 min drive - 30 soles. Great driver - stopped a few times so we could take some great photos of the valley.

Enjoyed the Pisac markets, a picnic, some choclo before heading out to the Royal Inka.

From Peru - 2009

From Peru - 2009

Wedding plans

After several evenings going to church and then waiting to see the Padre after mass to arrange paperwork for their wedding, they finally go to see the Padre ...... only too be told that since they have moved, they now belong to a different region and now must see a different Padre. So that's on the list for this week.

Milka's Confirmation

We all treked off to church Saturday for Milka's confirmation and afterwards to lunch to celebrate.

From Peru - 2009

Church was interesting - there was another group there to have something blessed. They carried a statue out of the church where they were met by their small band and then all marched off down the street.

We went to lunch to Senor Carbon - an all you can eat meat restaurant for 35 soles. It was very interesting. Lex and I went for something from the menu rather than the full on meat choice. Meat was brought around on long skewers and those having the meat option had as much as they wanted - pork, lamb, beef, chicken, sausages. Selections just kept coming. It was really tasty!!

From Peru - 2009

From Peru - 2009

More on the court hearing

Remember the broken windscreen ..... Well Zac and Milka had to go to court because they wouldn't agree to pay for a broken windscreen that they were not responsible for.

Well they fronted up in a small room with a few chairs - judge and complainants and themselves. Judge listened to both sides - then wanted to go to the flat. So they all trapsed over to the flat. Eventually it came down to going further through the court system.... or agreeing to negotiate a deal and basically pay up. So that's what they had to do. But it didn't stop there - 'cos the judge then wanted to know what they were prepared to pay for his services. 100 soles .... or 50 soles..... well maybe 20 soles....

Some system!!!!

Taxis in Peru

Taxis like this are everywhere - most in really bad condition. It's amazing how many people and how much gear you can get into a taxi like this.

But the best thing about taxis here is that they are sooo cheap. A ride from here (near the airport) to town is usually 3 soles which is about $1US or around $1.20 AUD.

Rubbish - Cusco style

A triangle being clanged continuously is an important signal in Cusco life. It means that the rubbish truck is coming down the street - take your rubbish out.

Late this afternoon, we heard the call and all grabbed a a couple of bags - we had a bit after moving clean up. So we, along with lots of other neighbours rush out to the truck with our bags and toss them into the truck.

Well it works - and it's better than the other system used by some - leave your bags of rubbish out on the footpath where the street dogs scatter the rubbish in search of food!!!