I am back in Cusco for a few days until I fly to Lima early the day after tomorrow, and thence my flight homeward which departs in the evening. I was missing all my new friends in Cusco and a fiesta I didn´t want to miss, hence the decision to come back for the last few days.
The fiesta in Santiago was brilliant, in a part of town that most foreigners would avoid but with Juan, Jorge and Pablo I was safe enough. Santiago is on the outskirts of town just before the road starts to rise out of the city in the direction of Urubamba. It has a bad reputation but I didnt for one moment feel ill at ease there. I stood out like a sore thumb being the only foreigner amongst all the campesino people but they were friendly and smiling. We saw dancers and bands and later in the evening sat down in one of the countless food outlets to have some dinner. The food was a special mixed dish which is only served up on special saints fiesta days. I moved the dried llama and dried fishroe onto Juan´s plate and tucked in merrily to the rest. It was only after I had already eaten it that I was told that what I thought was pork was in fact guinea pig! And actually it was quite nice - I would eat it again knowingly. We shared a few beers with the meal and the people all around us were really nice. But around 8 pm Juan said we must leave, that things would get raucous later on and soon the beer bottles would be flying and he did not want me to see that. We found a taxi no problem and were soon back in the centre again.
We had a couple more drinks there - this time non alcoholic chicha morada in Chez Maggy, a favourite place of mine where Larry, Carlos and others play nightly and it was fun to see them again. Afterwards we went to Ukukus club to see the band Suenos who were excellent and I ended up buying their CD. We stayed on quite late after the band finished as the music was great - mostly rock music - and we were enjoying the Machu Picchu cocktails which come as three colours in stripes, grenadine, orange juice, mint liquer and topped off with pisco - mmmmmm delicious!!! Two of the band joined us once the instruments were packed up, plus there were a couple more friends in there so I had a wide choice of dance partners. Around 4 am Juan, Jorge and Pablo walked me to the door of my hotel and it was arranged that I would get to Urubamba in time for Jorge´s performance the following day.
As always the ride to Urubamba was pleasant. This time I chose to go by carro, which is like a 4 by 4 which seats 8 plus the driver. The cost isn´t much more and it gets you there in an hour and a half instead of 2 hours on the bus. Once in Urubamba I had a good hour before Jorge would get to work so decided to walk up to the local market which takes place 3 times a week. There I was able to buy a kilo of Quillabamba coffee and a couple of posters. I reached the restaurant about 12.15 and thoroughly enjoyed watching Jorge´s performance once more. The reaction of the diners to his music varies greatly - some people go crazy over the music and are all busily snapping photos of him, whereas others hardly take any notice, which is a shame because his brand of music is a mixture of andean and meditation which is extraordinarily excellent. On this particular occasion there was a crowd of Brazilians brought in and they went really crazy over his music - every single one of them wanted their picture taken with him, he sold more CDs than I have ever seen, and because they enjoyed him so much they decided to perform for him. They were a travelling choir and they all stood round Jorge and sang for him. He was so overcome by it and thrilled too. They sang twice for him and I enjoyed it as much as he did.
One of them was chatting to me and said they were performing at the Municipal Theatre that night and I said that if possible we would be there.
After leaving the restaurant our plan before returning to Cusco was to attend the birthday celebration of one of Jorge´s friends - Carlos. The plan was to stay an hour and then get back to Cusco as buses and cars only run until about 7 at night. We took a moto taxi out into the countryside, couldn´t find the house at first, but Jorge phoned Carlos and he was waiting outside the entrance. The entrance was to several little homes with a corridor between them, then a steep flight of steps with no handrails up to Carlos´s home. His wife was busy cooking and there were about 4 others there besides us and we shared a few beers whilst the food was cooking and I enjoyed playing with their baby daughter Chaska almost a year old. There was a live Kalamarka concert on DVD playing which was brilliant and I really enjoyed being there with such a lovely little family. The beers kept flowing and in the end we ended up staying as they did not want us to leave. Soon it was too late for transport back to Cusco but Carlos said no problem, I could sleep on the upper bunk from Chaska´s bed and Jorge on a mattress on the floor. This we decided to do. One of the other guys was supposed to prepare a ceviche for our breakfast next morning but overslept so that didnt happen, so we had an ordinary breakfast instead, juice, eggs and bread rolls.
So yet again I was in Urubamba and enjoyed watching Jorge play. I had the buffet lunch this time which was nice, especially the alpaca stew. Before he had finished, Carlos, his wife and daughter, Pablo and Pedro joined us and we all moved on to a chicheria, where the local brew, chicha, is served up. This place was about as authentic ancient andean as you can get - through into a mud baked yard, part of which was covered over with a straw roof on stilts, the walls of the garden adobe brick, stone seats and benches made from planks, a couple of tables and chairs, an ancient outdoor loo, dogs roaming about and animals and poultry everywhere, even baby chicks pecking in the dust. Later at the back I watched the old guy feeding the guinea pigs which were all shapes and sizes. I was really charmed by it all and the old couple welcomed me so warmly, it was fantastic. I didnt like chicha much - it is made from fermented maize and tastes pretty ghastly but I managed a sip or two from mine. It is incredibly cheap booze - a pint glass only 30 cents which is about 6p compared to 6.5 soles for a large beer (1.30 pounds). We had lots of fun in there, Pablo being his usual crazy self. The old lady did her best to teach me the huayno dance and that was a laugh too. Another old guy wanted to invite me to his home high in the hills by a lake but I said it would have to be on my next visit as my time here was fast running out. This time we made it back to Cusco okay before the buses stopped running and Jorge left me at my hotel and went off home.Since then I have dined in a dear little restaurant called El Molino, changed up my last few travellers cheques so that I don´t run out of money in Lima which is ten times more expensive than here. Instead of 3 soles for a taxi ride here it is more like 35 in Lima, plus I will be treating Erika and her boyfriend Edgar to a really nice lunch on Saturday, like I always do.
Tomorrow is my last day here and I am feeling really sad. Cusco has begun to feel like my home town, having been here so many times before, and having so many new friends. Wherever I go I am greeted warmly and loads of the musicians want to keep in touch. I really could happily live here!!!! Anyhow I thought I would catch you up with what has been happening lately.
Tomorrow I will make my way to Urubamba for the last time, probably by carro as it is more comfortable. Today´s bus had such tiny seats that poor Jorge was squashed against the window and both my knees hurt where there was no leg room. Also being in such a cramped seat for two hours my back has been giving me gyp ever since and I hope that won´t be a problem on the long journey home. I will enjoy watching Jorge play and I know that afterwards many of his friends will come along and join us, it being the DESPEDIDA - the farewell evening before someone goes away. Carlos has promised to bring me some Quillabamba pure cacao chocolate to take home to England - his wife is from Quillabamba and her family regularly sends some to them. I havent seen Quillabamba yet but hope to on my next visit. So many great places to visit when I next come here - including the village high in the mountains above Urubamba where Miguel, the old guy I met in Urubamba square, organised spinning wheels for the local women to weave their wool on. In these places the locals don´t speak Spanish, they speak the ancient inca language Quechua, and with this in mind I have bought a manual so I can learn the basics by the time I come back here again.
I will be with Erika and Edgar about 6 hours in Lima before having to be back at the airport for my flight homeward. So probably after this there will be no more episodes to this travel adventure. I hope the story over the past 8 weeks has made interesting reading. It will be fun to read it all again myself when time permits to remind me of what a great trip it has been. After five trips to South America in 7 years it is by far my favourite place in the whole world, especially Cusco. See you all soon. Love Angela
