"L" is for Llama and it's also just for "L"

So. Here is something else I didn't know. If there are two "L's" in a word, the "L" is then pronounced as a "Y". In Peruvian Spanish that is. Well, maybe in all Spanish, I don't know. But I do know that the word "Llama" is actually pronounced "yama".  Most of the local guides will say "LLama" because they know that that is how we uneducated and somewhat ignorant tourists say it. Every now and then, they'll slip up and say "Yama", but then quickly correct themselves. Like "jungle", they actually say "yungle". You know, like "Jose" is pronounced "Ho-say". It made me feel like such a dolt.

And I promise to not be that annoying person who blithely says "yama" in conversations, even going so far as to use the word when "alpaca" would do just fine. Or vicuna, which is a softer and better animal for making sweaters than either alpaca or yama llama.  I was in a store and there were llama sweaters (soft) that one could touch, there were alpaca sweaters (really soft) that one could touch, but you could tell they'd prefer that we not, then there were baby alpaca (oooh...super soft) that were hung sort of upwards and away from grubby fingers, then...oh, then there were vicuna sweaters....locked up behind glass display cases, and guess what? Even a scarf made of vicuna came in a beautiful wooden box with a certificate of authenticity and was priced right out of my stratosphere.

I didn't get to touch a vicuna sweater, but I did get to touch a soft little ball of it's hair, in a dish, I guess expressly for people like me who yearn to touch things. You wash the clothing with a gentle shampoo, because it's hair. Makes sense.


Llama and Baby, Mama and Baby.




Llama ass? Alpaca ass?

 You can tell the difference between llamas and alpacas by their tail...one sits much higher than the other. So these are one of each, but I've forgotten which is which. You can also tell by the way they feel. The ones below feel much harsher, and I am pretty sure that they are neither llama nor alpaca. But don't take my word for it, I'm constantly learning new things here.

Even though llamas are common at home, they seem more foreign and exotic when seen in their own habitat. I became rather fond of them, and snapped photos of them constantly, which is akin to a Peruvian tourist snapping pictures of every cow they see in a field...in other words, a bit annoying to those who have to stop every time we see a new llama.


Cheese covered alpaca.




Either friendly or ready to spit llama.




Beautifully  proud and arrogant Machu Picchu llama




And a whole herd of either alpacas or llamas. Or both.

 So I learned about llamas and alpacas, how they look, how they feel and even how they taste. Which, by the way, was quite lovely...like a tender and mild beef.  Quite superior to guinea pig.

"K" is for "Kill the Germs...kill 'em all!"

'

So, before I continue on with my day-to-day adventures, I'm going to talk about illness on holidays. Once you get onto a plane, all bets for your health are off. I use hand sanitizer, as well as the antibacterial wipes, I clean my silverware (or plasticware, as the case may be) I clean my table tray and the little TV screen and I try to keep my hands away from my face and I perform all the other rituals that are required on a germ laden plane full of germ laden passengers, the "line-the-toilet seat with paper, but hover over the lined seat as well, just to be on the safe side" and then the "using the paper towel to push the flush button as well as using it to open the door, which then requires the contortion to throw the paper back into the garbage container while not actually touching the garbage lid and/or not letting the teensy bathroom door touch you as you try to slip away"...then "the bouncing down the aisle, trying to not touch the icky seat backs that everyone else who just used the bathroom before you has just touched, with their non-sanitized hands". Then the re-wipe as you sit back down. It's quite a chore. It's amazing that I don't drink while on a plane, at least my innards would be sanitized. However, I try to have orange juice to keep my immune system as full of healthy vitamins as possible. Here are some airplane snacks that seemed somewhat healthy....banana chips, no preservatives, just salt.

But, it's  generally all to no avail....you either pick up a virus, or you don't.

I'm not sure if our little group had a virus, food poisoning, altitude sickness or, more likely, a combination of all three, but I do know that there were a few days when we seemed to be dropping like flies. First, a couple had been ill....possibly they were our Ground Zero for the 'flu. Then a solo traveller got ill, but..only for a day or two....seemed 'flu-ish. She still travelled with is and more or less enjoyed the sights. But then another solo traveller got ill, right as we were walking down a street...she was bedridden for two full days, and during that same time frame another solo traveller got really sick, she actually ended up in the hospital for two weeks and saw all manner of specialists. At this point everyone is getting nervous....then yet another solo traveler got ill too, she was bedridden for a few days, but was still able to travel with us, but didn't enjoy the sights.

This doesn't even count the upset tummies, diarrhea, and other odd ailments that seemed to hit every one every now and then. I think everyone had at least one day when their tummy was just not quite right.

It also doesn't count the day my glasses fell apart...Jaysus...luckily I had spare ones, but really, what are the chances that the leg will fall right off when you're away from home? But luckily, as I mentioned before, there are optometrist offices every time you turn around. It wasn't  just a screw that fell out either, the whole leg somehow broke...without glasses I couldn't really see the problem, and my spare pair weren't that good. Sort of ironic. Anyhow, Sweet Eddie ran them to the eyeglass place, the eyeglass repairman didn't want to just replace one leg, since it wasn't asthetically pleasing, he wanted to replace both...for the grand total of 20 soles, which is about $9 CDN...and they fit better than they ever have. 

And it doesn't count the day that one of our guys is walking down the cobblestone street and a Peruvian police car turns the corner and a rock gets stuck in his tire and when he zooms off the rock flies out of the tire tread and shoots across the road like a bullet and hits our fellow in the back of the head...bad enough that a hospital visit is warranted and stitches are a result? Really....what are the chances? Luckily, Sweet Eddy was already back and forth to the hospital to tend to our very sick lady, so this was a simple add-on. Bizarre, but simple. 

I had an odd tickle-in-the-throat cough that gave me unexpected paroxysms of coughing at unexpected and inappropriate moments....you know, in churches and in food line-ups. I tried to let people know that it wasn't a "cold/flu" cough, but just a weird tickle cough. However, I think I may have been shunned now and then. 

But, the good thing about Peru is the plethora of pharmacies...there are three or four on every block. Some are tiny little paces that look like they might sell snake oil and worse, but most of them are beautiful and clean, and sell everything you could possibly need. And, you get treated like an adult...if a person knows that they need an antibiotic, and this person also knows that they aren't allergic to it and can safely injest it and get better...well, why see a Doctor?  Thank you Peru, for using common sense, and for letting me use my common sense as well. They also all claim to have an English speaking doctor, but he/she was never there when I was. Trying to mime the symptoms of a 75 year old woman with diarrhea and a phlegmy cough might be funny on a game of charades, but, well, actually I guess it was kinda funny here too. That, plus my miniscule amount of Spanish seemed to work. No one died from my purchases. 

Nothing more soothing the a little phlegm toss and some unusual antibiotics from a bustling little farmacia.  Add a nice hot cup of coca tea and all is well with the world.

"J" is for Journal and Jotting things down....DO IT!

I didn't keep up with my journal the first few days, knowing full well that I'd remember every moment with extreme clarity...after all, I've been dreaming of this trip for most of my life. But, as we well know, the mind is a funny thing, and the first few days have all blended together, thank goodness my pictures are in chronological order, but I may have the order of some things not quite right.

Today we went to a cathedral, the Convento De Santo Domingo Del Cusco, and the only reason I know the name of it  is because that's what it says on my ticket. I actually could have sworn that we visited it yesterday, after lunch. I am apparently wrong...tickets and photos don't lie. And the date on the ticket says May 6.



Beautiful Courtyard

 The church and monastery was build over Qorikancha, which was one of the Inca's most important and religious sites. It was actually more than one temple, worshipping different natural gods...the god of the sun was the most impressive, and legend has it that the temple was filled with gold statues, gold alters, the walls were covered with gold sheets and the most holy item of the empire "the golden disc of the sun" was there.  The disc was never found by the conquistadors (still hidden somewhere, a la Indiana Jones? I like to think so.) But needless to say, the rest of the gold was taken by the invaders and melted down, and the remains of the temples were left to the Dominicans, who quickly erected their own church over the ruins, hiding most of the Inca walls, although they utilized them for the foundation and for stability.



The cloisters at Santo Domingo


In 1950, a massive earthquake in Peru damaged the church, revealing many of the Inca walls, as a result you can see and touch some of  the best and most complete walls  in Cusco today. I love the fact that I can freely touch them. I'm usually getting scowled at and frowned upon for touching things in museums...I really try not to, but my hands sometimes seem to have a mind of their own. It's truly involuntary, I'd never deliberately disrespect someones rules.



Still so perfect, after 700 years.

 It was interesting to walk through the church, seeing the remains of the Inca temples still standing so strong. I always wondered why their walls didn't shift during earthquakes and just the simple fact that the ground shifts after years of rain, and well, just plain old "settling". I was impressed to learn that the blocks are almost like a Lego block, with interlocking parts. Genius!

Inca Lego.

And just how did they cut those rocks? Some theories include pouring water into small holes and natural cracks in the stone, and letting it freeze until the stone cracked, also using wet wood and inserting it into holes and  as it expanded and froze, the stone would crack. In any case, for a culture with no iron (to make tools) it's a mystery to this day, and just as mysterious is the method by which they raised some of the stones...some weigh up to 100 tons! Yes, I said one hundred tons.

You can see one of the Inca walls at the end of this cloister.

There were some chapel-type areas in this cathedral as well, filled with paintings and icons, but no pictures were allowed. It was quite a beautiful place, but I find it uncomfortable to be in a church that is supposed to represent sanctity and peace, but yet there is still a pervasive feeling of  unease in the walls.  I would have made a lousy missionary.

After leaving the church (which, by the way, monks still live in the monastery part) we headed out to the Sacred Valley.

The Sacred Valley is an area that has an amazing micro climate thus there is prime farming land, something that is a bit rare in the Andes, and was the "heartland" of the Inca empire. 

The road switch backed up from Cusco, and I was surprised to see thousands and thousands of eucalyptus trees. Although, to be honest, i didnt' realize they were eucalyptus until I was told. The Inca were not great lovers of trees, they cut down forests to use wood for heat, and to build their homes, but they did have an appreciation for pachamama, or, Mother Earth and they didn't decimate the forests. That happened when..."surprise", the Europeans came.

Long story short, no trees quickly equalled mudslides and flash floods, the washing away of farmland and of homes, and pushed an already poor culture even further into poverty. The the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture started a campaign to plant some 60 million trees. They needed a fast growing tree, and the eucalyptus fit the bill. unfortunately, the trees are taking away water and nutrients from the local flora, but, it's a start.




Eucalyptus trees.


Our first stop were some ruins called Tambomachay. 

Tambomachay

Tambomachay is called the Inca baths or Royal baths. It's surmised that the Incas used this for religious ceremonies, either directly dedicated to the worship of water, or maybe to use as cleansing for other rituals. The small fountain on the middle terrace is just a source, and the bottom two were the ones for cleansing...one for men, one for women, side by side.. The Inca were strong believers in equality, which is nice to think about.

The interesting thing is that there is no one knows where the water comes from, there isn't a way to backtrack the source, but its been flowing for hundreds of years and it's apparently still clean enough to drink. But I didn't try it.

It was a hot and quiet day, there was no one else there yet, so it felt very peaceful.



A day in the Andes.

 Our second stop was a short drive, to Puca Pacara and I'm pretty sure I spelled that wrong. This place had an underground cavern, and is one of the places that has a carved hole in the rock where the sun shines through on certain days (generally one of the solstice's) and in this case it hits another rock and the shadow forms the profile of an Inca ruler. I'd have liked to have been able to see that. You can just see the opening in the rock, to the left.



Sacrificial alter?

The above picture is inside the cavern, and you can see a bit of sunlight coming inside to the right of the square carved niche. It shone towards some jagged rocks on the left and that's where the profile shows up. I look like I'm being reprimanded for touching something, but I'm not. Pictures and touching were allowed in here.
As we left this area, and walked across a small bridge that took us back to the bus, the sounds of El Condor Pasa being  played on the pan pipes drifted gently through the air. It sounds like it might have been a magical moment, but it was just some vendors trying to get us to purchase their Cd's. I mean, nothing wrong with that at all, everyone has to make a living, and I did buy an small necklace from a lady, but it just seemed kind of schmaltzy to me.

Next stop...Sacsayhuamon...pronounced "sexy woman", with a kind of a "hu" in front of "woman". We almost thought we weren't going to get in there, our Boleto Turistico, or tourist ticket, had been punched wrong at one of the prior places, and the folks at the gate of Sacsayhuamon would not believe we hadn't already been there. I almost thought our guides were going to come to fisticuffs, but they eventually seemed to work things out, and we got to enter.

The site itself is massive, over 3,000 hectares, needless to say, we only saw a tiny fraction.

The imperial city Cusco, meaning ‘navel of the earth,’ was laid out in the form of a puma, the animal that symbolized the Inca dynasty. The belly of the puma was the main plaza, the river Tullumayo formed its spine, and the hill of Sacsayhuaman its head, which I thought was quite interesting.

The walls are just mind blowing.There are no other walls like these. They are different from Stonehenge, different from the Pyramids of the Egyptians and the Maya, different from any of the other ancient monolithic stone-works.

This is where some of the 100plus ton stones are. The "how" and the "why" are baffling. Modern man can neither explain nor duplicate. Theories become both scientific and whimsical. Myself, I lean towards to the otherworldly.
Originally there were three walls and three levels, which coincide with the three sacred animals of Peru, the Condor (upper) the Puma (middle) and the Serpent (Lower).




My sexy toes at sexy woman.




At the top, overlooking part of the site.




Overlooking Cusco

 After feeling somewhat overwhelmed by all this magnificence, we headed back to Cusco for some food. 



More coca tea.



a veggie sandwich.


At a great sandwich/soup spot.

How can a person pack so much into one day? The day isn't even over yet...now that we're back in Cusco, there is still much more exploring to do. And foods to eat and things to purchase. And sights to see. And memories to make.


Love the little stores!

 The tiny little stores that are tucked into every available open spot are so intriguing. They almost all carry the same items...water, juice, some treats, some fruit, but I feel the call to go into each and every one...you never know what might appeal to you.

"I" is still for Incas.

So, to continue, after lunch we walked to the market where we got an eye opening lesson on Peruvian markets, and some food history as well. The market itself is just outside the colonial or Spanish city gate.

Outside the market itself are many vendors, it's cheaper than renting a stall inside, but it's also harder to get a prime spot, also the weather can be a problem...too much rain or too much sun. Too much rain on bread must be problematic, and too much sun on dead meat and fresh cheese I'm sure must be pretty problematic too!  Ick. All that meat in the hot sun...my tummy churns at the thought. Which is funny, because it didn't churn at the magnificent displays of snouts and skulls and windpipes on the inside. I quickly became known, in our little group, as the one who would wander off to photograph the bizarre and disgusting.


Unknown street meat.




Fresh coconut water and sugar cane




Cheese in the hot sun.

 I didn't try any of the foods from these stalls, but I did eat a lot of cheese in other places. it's not the best cheese Ive tasted, its rather salty and not very creamy, but on a piece of toasted panini type bread in the morning, its a great way to start the day.

Inside the market, which, by the way is called San Pedro market, was a vibrant, bustling little community that sold anything and everything you could possibly want. The first area you see is the meat. They sell it all...from snouts and windpipes to chickens and freshly roasted guinea pig. Guinea pig was on my list of things I wanted to try...but not from this market. There were stray dogs snuffling around everywhere, happy little gangs of dogs, every now and then one would furtively jump up and grab some meat and run off...you ain't seen nuthin' until you've seen a Peruvian pup running away with a windpipe dangling from his jaws. I think my own jaw dropped a bit.  This isn't my mothers Safeway.


Snouts? Maybe they give soup some extra flavour?




I don't even want to hazard a guess.




Up for grabs, its a dogs life.

The next area was veggies...mostly potatoes. Did you know that there are over 3800 types of potato in Peru? Me neither! Purple, yellow, black, finger-sized, huge ones and everything in between.They differ in taste and texture as well, and are well used in Peruvian cuisine. Even naturally freeze dried.  "Chuno" is the name of the freeze dried, and the production of it dates back to pre-Inca times. They lay the potatoes out at night, they freeze, then during the day they dry out from the sun, and are trampled to extract the liquid. Sometimes they are layered with salt and mint...the mint keeps the mold and bugs away.

Quinoa is also a major staple, as is corn, and again, there are so many varieties. Some of the corn was so huge that each cob seemed to have only 30 kernels, it looked all Dr. Suess-ish. The blue corn is boiled and made into a sweet drink called Chicha Morada, which I had a few times, it's like a fruit juice. And if it's boiled longer, it gets sweeter and thicker and is used almost like a syrup. I had that too....oh Peru, your sweet-tooth warms my heart. I poured it over rice pudding, more than just a drizzle....it was sooo good.


Various types of quinoa.




Scads of corn, including my favourite blue corn.

 We didn't spend too much time here, we knew we were coming back with the chef who was going to teach us a 7 hour culinary class in a few days, but I found the market fascinating, I could have stayed longer and just watched. There were so many fruits that I didn't even recognize, as well as dried goods stalls, liquor stalls, massage places, hair salons, shoe-shine stalls, toys, flowers, seriously, a world within a world.

There was even a "restaurant" and I do use the word lightly, it was for locals only, you'd have to be a far braver person...or maybe just plain stupid, to eat there with a North American immune system. Milk, unpasteurized, sitting since daybreak, ceviche also sitting since day break, rife with flies, but the locals can get a hot meal and a drink for the equivalent of less than fifty cents.

The restaurant...so to speak.



Dried goods, of which eggs are apparently considered.

 As we left the market we passed by an area full of herbs and spices and other magical remedies. I doubt that snakes in alcohol in a coke bottle would heal too much, and I have no idea what the green sludge is. I saw this same set up outside a lot of little markets and food areas, so it's obviously something well used.

The bread! How could I forget the bread....freshly baked each morning...and oh, so good. It's sweetened with honey, no sugar...and no yeast. We tore off hunks and chewed ravenously. You don't need butter or jam...just scarf it down as is. Even being near dangling bull testicles didn't put me off my food. This loaf was about the diameter of a medium pizza, so quite large actually.


The weird snakey-voo-doo set up.

 By now it was supper, so we went to a traditional Peruvian chicken place. At every single restaurant we went to, the waiter always tried to get us to eat their traditional chicken and potato dish. Every single place! I had to chuckle to myself, because all it is, is the same rotisserie chicken that you buy at any supermarket here, and fries. Now granted, the fries are a type of incredible Peru potato, some are yucca, or a type of yam...you never really know what's in store, but this place was plain old fries. And a quarter of a chicken. Really very ordinary. we decided to order some local white wine, the waiter tried to talk us into a Chilean wine, but you know, when in Rome....He managed to find a bottle of local white (when the waitstaff can't find the wine, perhaps one should heed the warning, and not order the local wine) He eventually produced a bottle of this:

I have a feeling that this is what the snakes in alcohol in the coke bottle may have tasted like.
But, it was still a fun experience, and at least I can say I drank the local wine.



The home of the bad wine, but good chicken.

 After dinner, some of us weren't quite ready to go back to the hotel, so we asked Sweet Eddy to take us somewhere local where we could have a real pisco sour, the national drink. Pisco is the base liquor, almost like a brandy, to me it smelled and tasted like tequila. Lemon juice is added, also a simple syrup, a few drops of bitters and some foamy, frothy egg white. It's potent stuff, at least to a lightweight like myself. I could only drink half. Hic. The bar was downstairs in a basement sort of place, very modern looking in some ways, but with walls that appeared to made of old Inca stones.


A tiny and fun little bar.




I think the pisco is almost 100 proof.

 After that, we wobbled home. Not really. Although, in this picture, Margy (in the blue) is walking one way and Kara (in the white hat) is going the other way. I think we got lost. Or maybe that was just me. All I know is, I slept like the dead, between coca leaves, wine, altitude and pisco, it was enough for this poor body. And this is only day two!

Which way is home?

Seriously? Is my room really on the fourth floor in a place with no elevator? Can I just sleep in the lobby tonight?