Week #3

Last Saturday I took a tour to the Sacred Valley. The first stop was Pisac, about 20 miles NE of Cusco. There, ancient ruins at the top of the mountain featured a small Inka village with temples, palaces, solstice markers, baths and water channels. This site draws archeologists from around the world. The next stop was Urubamba for lunch - the best meal I have had. It included alpaca and chicken, as well as vegetables, pureed carrots, and potatoes with onions. Next I tried 2 different kinds of cake, or torte. Alpaca tastes a little like beef. It was slow cooked and in a rich brown sauce. I should mention that I lunched with 2 delightful women (a mother and daughter) from Ecuador. After lunch we went on to a place called Ollantaytambo. It offers the best of both spectacular views of Andean scenery (huge mountains on both sides) and ancient Inca ruins. We spent all our time climbing the mountain to the ruins and did not experience the town itself. It was extremely cold and windy but very interesting. Our final stop was in the small Andean town of Chinchero. It is a traditional village with both natural beauty and cultural integrity. We were treated to a demonstration of how yarn is prepared for weaving: first the washing, then dying, and then spinning and weaving. All the people were dressed in traditional clothing and began by offering us mate de coca tea. It was delightful and the young woman giving the commentary, ended by showing us the market stalls where we could buy their wares, and advised us to "shop till you drop!" This week has been interrupted as I was sick yesterday (Wed.) with either food poisoning or a flu bug, so I stayed in bed all day yesterday with fever and nausea, and today I am home again feeling much better but resting. Tuesday evening I accompanied 2 other students to their school where there was a cooking class. It was interesting to get an idea of how other schools operate, and we made a dish called Lomo Sagrado. It consists of beef, vegetables, French fries and rice. Re. subscribing to this blog; Ben informed me that if you do that you will receive an email notification of new posts. It may be a little late now but at least you know about it. I haven't heard from anyone except family for about 2 weeks and would love an update on how my friends are. Take care.