| 2/26: The Real Market |
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| Written by Josh Seamon | |
| Friday, 27 February 2009 | |
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Hello everyone, Sun, culture, and time to soak it all in. What more could we ask for? We had another chance to sleep in which was appreciated by everyone. After another nice breakfast in the hotel we gathered up at 9:45, had our morning check in, and then started walking the 8 blocks to the local (real) market. Going to this market was Nevers' idea and we were all really excited to see where the locals shopped. We were also joined by Santos, a local from Cuzco who has been helping guide us around the city. On the way to the market we stopped at a t-shirt vendor and picked up jerseys for the local soccer team. We'll be wearing them at the game on Sunday! About 5 minutes, and a little bit of rain later we were at the market. What a sight! The market is covered with a high ceiling and about a city block in size. It is filled with vendors of all types of food, food stands, as well as textiles and other local products. Santos took us to the middle where he showed us the food stands -- my favorite being the Cevicheria -- raw sea food cooked in lime. I still need to try it. We then were shown a few key points and then led out the back to the front of the train station that we'll be taking n 3/2 when we head back out to Machu Picchu. We set the train station as our meeting point and let the kids out for 2 hours of free time. Karen and I wandered the entire market, going down every row. We saw colorful juice smoothie rows, populated with massively large fruit as well as a bunch of sponge cake. We saw lots of cheese (15 soles a wheel! That's less than $5.) We ate some smoked vaka (cow) cheese and ran into some of our kids buying flowers amongst a sea of gladiolas. We turned around without them seeing us because we assumed the boys were buying the flowers for some of the gals on the trip. Karen and I then found a small vendor and sat down for some coffee and milk. Yum! As we were getting into our coffee, a bunch of our kids came up and gave us each a bouquet of flowers! How cute! We sat for a bit with the kids and talked about the market. We told them to go to the SE corner and walk... well, we didn't tell them what they would be seeing. They came back quite amused and a bit flustered after seeing every (and I mean every) part of cows, sheep, pigs, and other assorted animals on sale.(Don't worry, we kept the vegetarians away.) We chatted for a bit then wandered the market a bit more. At noon we met up outside the train station for check in (and out 1,000,000th passport check). The kids were then set out into the city to find lunch on their own and enjoy an entire afternoon of free time in Cuzco. Half the kids came back to the hotel to drop off stuff, and half went straight into the city. Back at the hotel a couple kids stayed to rest. Karen then took a few kids out to explore, and I took one to the bank. At this point we had all become quite comfortable with the city. Even though it is very busy and quite different than what we are all used to, it's feels almost perfectly comfortable by now. The people are polite, we have not been harassed at all -- well, there were the water balloons, but that was fun -- and it's been easy to get around. Nevers has kicked butt as a tour director and the weather has been amazing. Good stuff. After a successful bank run we headed back to the hotel. I rested for a bit, did some trip accounting, and watched Eimile, Rahel, and Devon glow in happiness over the guacamole they had made. I think Eimile at 67 pounds of her own creating. I then set off into the city to get some errands done and see as many sights as possible. My errands went well (my ability to pantomime Spanish is getting better) and I ended up going to the Contemporary Art Museum first. Colorful modern art, some statues, and another bright courtyard made for a great time. Just as I was leaving I ran into Karen and her group of kids who were hitting up their third museum. Taking their recommendation I went to the underground museum at Qoricancka. I saw very old relics including several mummies in the fetal position (to be reborn), and a bunch of skulls with circular pieces missing (Trepanning). Next I walked back to the main square where I saw another gorgeous cathedral. At that point it was about 6pm and I turned to head back to the hotel. I ran into Karen's group again and we walked together back south east. Back at the hotel I rested for a bit and then met up with the group for the 7pm check in. We went over how every one's day went, and talked about the upcoming days. The kids were then set off to pack for the three days at the orphanage. At 7:45 we met up for dinner in the hotel. We had more Chicha (purple corn juice) and a tasty chicken with mushroom sauce dish. Karen and I talked to Nevers for a while and by 9pm dinner was done. The kids were set off to their rooms to be social and to finish up their packing. I crashed in my room and watched pieces of dubbed and/or subbed movies. At 10:45 I did room check and soon after I was sleeping. It is now a little after 8am on Friday, 2/27. After catching some breakfast I'll be running a few more errands and then meeting up with the kids at 9:45 for our 10am departure for Casa de Milagros. We are so excited about spending time at the orphanage. I won't have internet access while at Casa de Milagros, so the next update will come sometime after we get back to Cuzco on Sunday, 3/1. More pictures have been uploaded to the Peru 2009 gallery. Hope all is well, - Josh |
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