Well, I finished up my final week in Cusco before heading up to Urubamba for my volunteer work. It´s been a while since my last post so I´ll do my best to provide a relatively brief summary of the past 2 or so weeks.
My first week of classes went pretty well. A lot of it was review of things I had ¨learned¨ in my past high school Spanish courses, but it was necessary nonetheless. Aside from learning Spanish, the school has also been a great place to meet people. Since everyone is in a similar situation, most people traveling solo, making friends is easy. I´ve met people from Holland, Sweden, Australia, Canada, France, and of course the U.S., among other countries. It´s great to hear their stories and why they decided to come to Cusco. In addition to school, most people are doing at least some form of volunteering.
Included in the school are some additional activities and classes. I took advantage of a traditional Incan music class as well as a Salsa class (after some arm twisting). The music class was great. We played Zampoñas which are traditional bamboo flute-type instruments and learned a couple basic songs. I have since bought the instrument and am set on learning it. As for the salsa dancing… I guess I learned a few basic steps, but after seeing what it looks like in a real salsa club, it would likely take a bottle of Tequila and the assurance of not remembering the night to get me out on a real dance floor.
One important note that I know you will appreciate, Dad… I can officially say that I have had a pint at the world´s highest elevation Irish owned pub. It´s called Paddy´s (surprise, surprise) and is right in the center of Cusco on the Plaza de Armas. Some of the best nachos I´ve had as well.
Two weekends ago, I went horseback riding up in the mountains just northeast of Cusco with Katherine, the daughter of my host family, and some friends from school (Stephanie, Melissa, and Anna). The views were huge, and we also saw some ruins (The Temple of the Moon & The Temple of the Monkey). It was a really great time aside from my horse, El Principe (The Prince), being a bit unhappy with the weight on his back and constantly trying to bite me or throw me off.
Next up… salsa night. Actually, what I thought was going to be a full-on salsa club ended up being a discoteca. Although the plan was to go with my American and European friends, one thing led to another and I was suddenly headed to the club with my Peruvian host-sister and her friends. After accepting the fact that I was quite seriously THE only gringo in the joint (out of several hundred people), I let my guard down and let the boots fly. Being a rarity, I quickly found myself befriended by a group of Peruvian dudes (most likely using me to break the ice with the ladies), and I actually ended up having a pretty fun time.
The morning after the club, I packed up my things for an alternative week of classes in Taray. The Spanish school rents a house in this small farming community, about 45 minutes from Cusco, as an option for students to study outside of the city for a week. I was hesitant about doing it at first since my host family didn´t have a lot of great things to say about Taray (mainly that a lot of students get sick while they´re there), but I ended up going. And I´m so glad I did.
The town is, I believe, about a thousand or so feet lower than Cusco and is completely engulfed by gigantic Andean mountains. The climate is perfect – dry heat in the sun, and cool in the shade. The house itself is settled in the valley and offers incredble views, which were easily enjoyed from the hammocks under their little thatched/tiki hut. It´s right down the road from Pisac, about a 1/2 hour walk or 5 minute (1 Sole) mototaxi ride, which was great since Pisac has one of the better-known markets in Peru. There you can find anything and everything colorful.
As amazing as Taray was during the day, it was equally as awe-inspiring at night. Being at such a high elevation and far from the city lights of Cusco, I have never in my life seen stars like the ones in Taray. Not only can you point out all the major constellations, but you can clearly see the Milky Way which is usually next to impossible to point out at home. Needless to say, I found myself stumbling clumsily off the road quite frequently at night with my head arched back.
The house in Taray was pretty basic, but just right. Being the only hombre of the 8 of us, I lucked out with my own room and bathroom, which was great. Also in Taray were Stephanie (San Fran, Cali, USA), Melissa (Denver, CO, USA), Anna (Sweden), Marissa (Asheville, NC, USA), Evelyn (Holland), Sophie (Holland), and Leonika (Holland). We made up a good group. The food was so so, but I managed not to get sick which was my main goal. I can´t say that the rest of the group was so lucky. Most everyone else had at least some sort of stomach upset during the week. All I can say is that I am very grateful I´ve made it 3 weeks without incident (I don´t usually do this, but… knock on wood). Of the 3 weeks of Spanish classes I´ve had, the week in Taray was by far the best. Our instructor, Nuri, was excellent and infused a ton of conversation practice into our classes, and we had our 2nd half of classes each day outside. School just doesn´t get any better than that.
While in Taray, we took a side-trip to see the Salt Pans of Salinas. This is an area a short hike up a mountain that is just a massive, natural, salt deposit. I´m not sure exactly how long it´s been in use, but it is still in use today. It was a really interesting visit, and yes, I can attest to the fact that it tasted like salt. Aside from the Salt Pans, I took two other unorganized hikes near Taray. One was an attempt to conquer a mean looking peak in Pisac, which I attemtped with Melissa (from Denver). Unfortunately, we failed miserably as the trail ended about half way up. After attempting to continue on, we ended up losing the trail and bushwhacked our way down, ending up in some farmers corn field in Pisac. A good workout nonetheless. The other little hike I took was up to a waterfall not far from our house in Taray. This was a nice 30 or so minute walk that offered some different views of the surrounding area. After a farewell bonfire on our last night, we headed back to Cusco.
My last week in Cusco was very good and allowed me the opportunity to witness a very important week of the year here, Semana Santo. This is the holy week before Easter (which isn´t really celebrated). On Monday, there was a big parade through town where a group of people carry a statue of Jesus through the streets. Later that night, the majority of Cusco residents congregated in the Plaza for a mass blessing. It was a very surreal event to witness with an unimaginable number of people present. Trying to leave the Plaza was pretty crazy with a great many people trying to squeeze down thin streets. It was a bit claustrophobic and showed small signs of the ¨mob mentality¨.
The rest of the week went well and included a small gathering of families one night at my host families house (a tradition they keep every year), and a day of ¨Doce Platos¨ (12 Plates). That meal is to celebrate The Last Supper – 1 plate of food for each of the 12 apostles. It was quite a feast, and I was even asked to prepare a plate. I just made a simple sliced tomoato/mozorella/cucumber platter with balsamic/oil dressing. Thankfully, it was a hit.
After saying my goodbyes on Friday and Saturday, I was picked up Saturday afternoon to head on up to Urubamba. This is where I will be for the next weeks while I am doing my volunteering. I´ve had a couple days here in Urubamba so far, but will make a separate entry for all that.
Chao!
Scott
As a final note, I finally got my pictures up! the link is as follows:
http://picasaweb.google.com/scottwood83/WelcomeToPeru?feat=directlink
