| 2/25: Cuzco Free Time |
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| Written by Josh Seamon | |
| Thursday, 26 February 2009 | |
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Hello everyone, Note: If you're going to send me an email, please make sure "Peru" is in the subject. Another fabulous day has come and gone in Peru. We got to sleep in and enjoy a late breakfast, something that was appreciated by everyone. The late start gave everyone a chance to stock up on some supplies like bottled water, stamps, and postcards. This group sure knows how to write post cards! At 9:45 we gathered up in the lobby and after going over the plan for the day, Karen and I collected everyone's passports and ISIC cards for our task for the day. By 10am we were on the bus traveling up one of the sloped mountains surrounding Cuzco, on our way to a textile factory. The weather was cloudy yet warm and partly sunny. Again we avoided rain and soaked in all of the scenery on the climb up the edge of Cuzco. 20 minutes into our drive traffic came to a complete stop as a protest of several thousand farmers passed on the other side of the road. It was an educational site to see. We learned that the farmer were striking against several things, one of which was the low cost of their goods due to very cheap imports from other countries. They carried many flags and banners and were rather vocal as they headed down the slope to the city center. We were only stopped for 15 minutes and then were on our way. At around 10:30 we made it to the textile factory located high above Cuzco. Off to the side of the main lobby we were given a short tour of the jewelry construction and how they smooth out the gem stones. We then walked down into the large main area filled with lots and lots of local clothing made out of alpaca, baby alpaca, varcuna, llama, and several other kinds wool. We were told about how the clothing was made and how some of the clothing takes wool from many animals. Varcuna. for example, is only gathered at 200 grams a year per animal. The shawl we saw cost $900! Everyone then spread out around the factory and browsed the wonderful product. After everyone had stocked up on great gear, we went to the balcony over looking Cuzco. The sun was out and we could see for a long distance. We could see the stadium where the soccer game will be played, and into the city square that was mostly full of protesters. At noon we were back on the bus headed to lunch. Because of the protest we didn't want to go to the city center, so we stopped about 3 minutes from the factory at a restaurant with an amazing view. We had purple corn juice, large corn kernels, local cheese, and tea to start. The main dish was a choice of meat dishes and the veggies had sauteed vegetables. Another great meal! We then got back on the bus and headed back to the hotel. About 5 blocks from the hotel one of the roads was blocked by a small band of protesters, buffered by some police. All of them were peacefully standing there with the protesters intermittently blowing some whistles. We had to go back a block where we unloaded and walked the rest of the way to the hotel. It was raining a little bit and the walk went quickly. At the hotel the kids were told to stay in the building while Karen, Nevers, and I checked out the square to see if the protest had ended. We found the square to be operating normally so we went back to the hotel and let the kids out for 4 hours of free time. Karen, Nevers, and I then headed out for some ticket purchasing fun. We needed four sets of tickets: train tickets to Aguas Calientes, bus tickets to Machu Picchu (from Aguas Calientes), entrance tickets to Machu Picchu, and tickets for the soccer game. First we walked to the bus ticketing desk, which we found wasn't going to be open until 3pm. Next we walked to the train station where we picked up our 14 train tickets. The next walk was going to be a haul, so we took a taxi to the Machu Picchu ticketing desk. At the desk we found that they didn't take credit cards or dollars. Fun. By this time it was 2:52 and they closed at 3. We dashed out, converted some dollars to Soles (The exchange rate has gotten better since we have arrived.) and made it back right at 3pm and got out tickets. Next we walked back to the bus station where we found they also didn't take CC and pretty much really wanted dollars. We got the tickets and then found out the soccer game tickets don't go on sale until Friday. This whole process was actually really fun. Nevers was a HUGE help and made everything go twice as fast as it would have if Karen and I didn't have him along. Nevers, Karen, and I then headed to a cafe for a nice round of juice, coffee, and cake. We talked about the city, travel, and life in the US. After an hour of socializing we headed back to the hotel. At 6pm we met back up with the kids who had had a wonderful time exploring the city. Some had rested the whole time and some had gone all over. We went over our plans for the next few days and the kids asked questions. At 7pm we headed off to the Andean grill in the center of the square. We got another great second story view of the square and had some yummy alpaca steaks for dinner. We were also serenaded by some more pan pipe based Peruvian live music. By 9pm we were back in the hotel for the night. The kids played cards and otherwise were enthusiastically social until 10:45 lights out. By 11pm all was calm and I drifted off to sleep while watching a dubbed movie. My Spanish has definitely improved from around 0 to a number considerably higher :) It's now 8:30am on Thursday, 2/26. The kids will be receiving their wakeup call around now and at 10am we will be walking to the main Cuzco market. Tomorrow morning we head out to the orphanage where we will not have any internet access. I will try to send out another update tonight, but there is a chance I won't get to it. If that's the case the next update will be sent out after we get back from the orphanage on Sunday, 3/1. More pictures have been uploaded to the Peru 2009 gallery. Hope all is well back home! - Josh |
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