Christmas in the Andes

It is now Boxing Day in Peru and things are pretty well back to normal already. Even yesterday was a normal working day for many, especially the moto drivers, carro and combi drivers, bus companies etc. In the past weeks the market has been incredibly busy every day with extra stalls selling panetone cakes and wine, toys and christmas trees and decorations.

I went to Muna restaurant again on Tuesday having been informed by Daniel that they had postponed their tour of the northern beaches until sometime in the new year. Unlike the hot sunny day last time it started to rain just as I got there and the musicians carried on playing until the first lot of tourists departed. They then packed up their instruments to transfer everything to the indoor restaurant and whilst they were doing this I wandered around outside and took a few more photos including of the beautiful indoor restaurant. They played for a short while longer to a few diners inside and then packed up and the three of us squeezed into a moto and returned to Urubamba (Muna restaurant being on the Rumi Chaca main road between Urubamba and Ollantaytambo) and went to Dinnos restaurant where the three of us tucked into the set menu of the day - two courses for a pound a head - of a chinese style chicken soup followed by chicken Spanish style. Several other musicians joined us and we shared a few beers which was fun. Then with just a few of them we went to El Encuentro bar for more beer, but I only stayed long enough to share one litre bottle with them before heading back home to play monopoly as usual with Nohemy and Alfredo but before leaving them they said they would be playing in Cusco again on Xmas eve and I said I would see them all again then.

On Wednesday I risked having my hair permed here, the old perm having grown out after nearly 6 months. It took 4 hours with the perm lotion left on for over 2 hours and I was worried about the affect it would have on my hair, but the end result was pretty good - a much looser perm than I normally have done, and is actually quite nice and my hair left in pretty good condition too despite the perm lotion being on it so long.

I really enjoyed Christmas eve in Cusco - arriving there quite early in the morning where I found the biggest Christmas market I have ever seen taking up every single part of Plaza de Armas. It took hours to walk around and see everything and I was soon regretting not taking more money with me, having even left my debit card behind, as there was so many beautiful handicrafts on offer and at reasonable prices. I bought a silver inlaid llama on a chain, real turquoise earrings, pretty christmas ornaments, a beautifully painted cup and saucer, a lovely handbag of embossed leather and textile, a pen covered in textile with a llama on top.

At 12 noon I met up with Juan and accompanied him to the Marques Hotel where he was contracted to play for the children - a party held there for the street children of Cusco - complete with father christmas and a clown and I got some great photos of that. It was fun watching the children and when drinks were brought round to them by waiters one of them offered one for me too!

Afterwards I said my goodbyes to Juan, and then headed off to have some lunch and partook of this at one of the temporary outdoor food outlets set up in Plaza San Francisco - delicious food at very reasonable prices - for less than three quid I enjoyed a huge bowl of kingprawn soup followed by roast chicken with my favourite pastel del papa (sliced potato layered with cheese and condiments and baked in the oven) and rocoto relleno. Then set off to find Churay and soon found them playing beneath La Iglesia de la Merced, within eyesight of Plaza de Armas and I stayed watching for quite a few hours. Later in the afternoon the skies got greyer and then there was a sudden thunderclap and the heavens opened and everyone scattered in all directions to find shelter. One of the things I love about Peru is the opportunistic sellers - within moments of the rain there were two vendors selling umbrellas and another selling rain ponchos!!! The band also sheltered under the same arcade as me and we chatted for a while, until the rain petered out around half an hour later. I then said I would watch until 5 pm and then make my way home and see them soon in the new year.

I left at 5 as I was worried in case of difficulty getting back to Urubamba and as it was I had to wait for a combi - there was quite a few people waiting - then a woman appeared saying there was a combi parked round the corner if anyone wanted to get to Urubamba and there was a mad rush to get a seat in it. Traffic was pretty snarled up in Cusco too, so that it was almost 7 pm by the time I got home, where I enjoyed a large mug of hot chocolate and hunks of panetone cake with Alfredo and Nohemy whilst playing our nightly game of monopoly. Everyone buys panetone cake here instead of the type of Christmas cake we have back home.

On Christmas day we had the traditional roast turkey and enjoyed this along with a huge jug of pina coladas made from pisco and fresh pineapple. Afterwards we packed up more of the turkey and other items, including a bottle wine and glasses, and got a combi to Yucay, the next village along from Urubamba, where every Christmas is an annual fiesta complete with live music performers. Their friends Hugo and Eva came with us too. We arrived in time for the huge parade which was brilliant, and stopped all the traffic whilst it took place, including several saints being carried by groups of men, dancers from all over Peru in beautiful costumes. Nohemy´s favourite was the Majeno dance where the men dress up with masks with long noses and dance holding bottles of beer. There was no way of stopping the traffic while this event went on as Yucay is on the main road that goes through the Sacred Valley with no other way to detour the village. As you can imagine the place was crowded with people and the sides of the roads were lined with old ladies frying trout or pork and others selling chicha de quinua etc - but seeing the bucket of dirty fly speckled water in which they were washing the glasses, we decided to give that a miss! None of the others wanted to pay the entrance fee to see the live music on stage and had I paid for all five of us I wouldn´t have had much left to spend, so we found a little cafe and went through to the patio, taking a table and chairs from the cafe to sit at and relaxed there next to a beautiful garden full of fruit trees and flowers - Yucay being a very fertile place. We lingered until well after dark enjoying litre bottles of beer and what was great was the fact that we could hear all the live music from there - I heard the music of the two I was most interested in seeing - Pueblo Andino and Max Castro - so didn´t mind missing the actual music festival - the main star was Rossy War who is not a favourite of mine. At 8 pm we were lucky enough to find a combi to get back to Urubamba - had we left it later it would have meant either a long walk or a taxi. Back at the house we had more turkey along with the bottle of wine before Hugo and Eva went home. By this time I was quite tired and glad to get to bed.

It rained all night and didn´t stop until 8.30 this morning and today has been a quite quiet and relaxing day really with games of scrabble before and after lunch. Tomorrow a friend is cooking a special Pachamanca meal for us whereby the food is cooked over hot stones underground and we are looking forward to that. On New Year´s eve I am going to a birthday party and on 6th January to another fiesta in Ollantaytambo.

The entry before this one has a link to my Urubamba 2009 photo album at truprint where you can see my photos from 1st October up until 21st December. I will add the next lot around mid January with all the Christmas and New Year photos.

Urubamba 2009 (506 photos), by Angela Amanatullah

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Muna Restaurant, Music in Urubamba and Cusco

It has been a fairly quiet week or so since I last wrote. I still visit the restaurant to see Beatriz and the others once a week and have started giving the occasional English lesson there. Wilber, the resident musician has moved to another restaurant and the one who replaced him doesnt play nearly such nice music.

Last week I went with Beatriz to see Wilber and Patricia´s new baby, 2 weeks old, a dear little girl called Yarina. You will see the photos in January when I next download. They live up the hill which climbs out of the valley in the direction of Cusco so for the first time I was able to take a picture other than from a moving vehicle. Unfortunately at 5 pm half the valley was in shadow, but I will visit Patricia again earlier in the day sometime and get some good shots then. They were both delighted with the dress, cardigan and booties I gave them. We were able to get a moto up the hill fortunately as it would have been a stiff climb otherwise but we walked back down just as it was getting dark. When we said our goodbyes Wilber said to come and see him play at Muna restaurant, that he was playing a fusion type of andean music along with Daniel, one of the Peruviandina brothers.

So I went there for around 1 pm next day, taking a moto out into the countryside in the direction of Ollantaytambo (from where one can get the train to Machu Picchu and Aguas Calientes). It was a beautiful place as you will see from the photos later - hacienda style and with the two musicians playing in the open air. I took photos of them playing and when they saw them afterwards Daniel said one of them would make a brilliant CD cover. There were two bulls grazing just outside the hacienda walls and I took photos of those too. I decided to splash out and enjoy the buffet and it really was delicious - I had alpaca stroganoff with fresh pasta and it was so yummy I went back for seconds. There were excellent puddings and coffee too. It was pretty expensive though, 70 soles which would normally last me a couple of days instead of just one lunch, but for the first visit I though it best to have the buffet. I have already ascertained that I can go there and just have a beer or coke and listen to the music and intend to do that once a week alter Christmas.

After they finished and packed up their instruments we walked up the road to a little shop and shared a large bottle of inka cola outside, with me cudding a baby duck and a puppy. Then we had to wait for a passing bus or moto for me to get back and when one arrived, Daniel hopped on the back of Wilbers motorbike as they were taking their instruments home and then meeting me in La Tranca Fija bar for a few beers. I had arranged to go there on Sunday to see Victor and Nora and the beauty of that bar is that in the afternoon it is in full sunshine with seats outside and a little alcove with 3 tables - I sat in the sunshine and they sat in the shade in the alcove and we chatted and shared a litre of beer. Daniel and Wilber arrived about half an hour later and I ended up staying with them a couple of hours and before I went we agreed to meet up on Friday and go to the live open air music concert here in Urubamba that evening, starting at 6 pm in the recreation field opposite the bus Terminal. William Luna being the main star, and five other groups playing beforehand, including Pueblo Rebelde, Sabor Latino and others.

The past two Saturdays I have gone to Plaza Tupac Amaru street fair – the first time with Nohemy and whilst there I bought Christmas presents for her and Alfredo – for her a lovely knitted bag she fell in love with and for Alfredo a pair of budgies in shades of pale green, pale yellow and pale blue, the male with black speckles on his wings. Unfortunately the male died two days later which meant I would have to go again before Christmas to buy another one. Unfortunately my lovebird escaped when children messed around with the cage doors, so with a large cage going spare it seemed an ideal gift for Alfredo as he is particularly taken with caged birds. That day the theme in Plaza Tupac Amaru was Arts and Crafts and there were over 50 extra stalls of beautiful handicrafts, the knitted bag being one of them.

On Friday I met Daniel and Wilber in La Tranca Fija bar at 5 pm, with the intention of going to the open air concert with them at 6 pm, but nothing in Peru ever starts at the time stated. We were still having a drink at 10.30 with no sign of any music – this bar being only a couple of hundred yards as the crow flies from the recreation ground. When it did finally start at almost 11 pm, it started to rain as well and I went off the idea of going there as I didnt fancy sitting on wet grass nor standing for hours on end and I know it would go on really late. Such events would be so much more fun if they were held in the daytime, especially now we are into the rainy season. In Urubamba it nearly always rains at night and is mostly still warm and sunny in the daytime. Knowing I was getting up quite early to go to Cusco next day I said my goodbyes and went home.

I went to Tupac Amaru Plaza this Saturday on my own as Nohemy and Alfredo had workmen for their extensión so were too busy to go with me. I dont mind going to Cusco alone as it only takes around an hour in a shared taxi, and is a short taxi ride to either the centre or Tupac Amaru once I get there. The theme this week was an enormous Christmas feria with over 100 stalls in addition to all the usual ones. My main reason for going was to see Churay playing music there. Daniel, Wilber, and Pedro are three of the eight members of that band and I was all set to stay there all day watching them perform. Unfortunately whereas the rain usually dries up by morning it didnt on Saturday and was still raining off and on. I watched them play most of the morning though until around 1 pm – they were playing Ecuadorian music which went down very well with the Christmas shoppers and they sold several CDs – one of which I bought to add to my collection as well. I had a nice lunch in the gastronomic feria and went back and watched a while longer but the skies were getting blacker and blacker and I eventually said my goodbyes and made my way back to Urubamba. Having made the decisión to return I bought another budgie in similar colours to replace the one which died last week, then whilst waiting for a taxi the heavens opened and it poured down, so I detoured into a nearby supermarket and stocked up on a few more Xmas goodies. I was back in Urubamba by 4.15 where it was warm and sunny, but the rains came back that night as usual.

Tourism is pretty low in Urubamba at the moment and many of the musicians are struggling. Because of this quite a few of them, including Wilber, Daniel and Rosalio are thinking of going on a tour of the beaches in Northern Peru for a couple of weeks. If they go they will probably leave on Monday and return for New Years Eve or maybe even sometime in early January, depending on how they get on. Because of that I will delay going back to Muna restaurant until I am sure they have returned as it is only for the music that I visit these restaurants at all, not for the food! Beatriz and I are going to visit Wilber´s daughter again on Monday though and if her husband has found time to learn what I gave him 10 days ago, I will test him on the English he has learned so far.

Things have been full of the Christmas spirit both here and in Urubamba in the past couple of weeks. They celebrate it in exactly the same way as us with Christmas trees and decorations, wreaths or bells on doors, trimmings, father christmases etc. Unfortunately I missed an excellent festival in Yucay on Friday in the daytime with troups of dancers from all over and lots of children singing Christmas carols, but there is a music festival there actually on Christmas day in the afternoon and I am planning to go to that. On Christmas Eve I will go into Cusco as there is a huge street fair around Plaza de Armas which will be interesting and worth a visit. If Juan and other musicians are playing that day I will probably watch them for a while as well. Tourism will peak for a while around Christmas and New Year before dying off again due to the rains. Although we still have warm sunny weather in the daytime in Urubamba they get a lot more rain in Cusco during the rainy season and tourism drops drastically, making life very difficult for all the musicians, restaurant owners, sellers of artesania etc.

I will write another entry early in January, by which time the photos taken over the past month will be available in the truprint album as well.

Carmen and Henrys Wedding

On Saturday 5th December we attended Henry and Carmens wedding in Cusco. Nohemy and I had to have our hair done in the morning because Ruben, her tenant hairdresser, had to go out in the afternoon - I wasted over two hours in there and hated the end result! Once we left the salon Nohemy was anxious to get to Cusco as she wanted to post the birthday present for her son in Switzerland. In Cusco we had a late lunch and then travelled by bus to deliver the wedding present to Henry´s home so that we would not be lumbered with it at the church. By the time we got back Nohemy had time to go to the post office and I was busy tonging my hair trying to create something reasonable, plus had to iron my clothes.

When it came time to leave for the church I had to go on ahead of them because Nohemy had to mend her outfit as a load of stitching had come undone on the skirt. I entered the church just as a mass was finishing and once the people left I made my way closer to the front, but when Henry and his mum arrived a bit later he said I had to sit in the front next to his mum. It was a beautiful wedding, and lasted about an hour with mass as well - and the bride and groom were right alongside me with the bridesmaids and pageboy and when the rings were exchanged I held Carmen´s wedding bouquet for her. It was just like any English church wedding with the bells ringing, organ music, stacks of flower arrangements everywhere, the bridal march etc and confetti thrown once outside. All the flower arrangements were pure white with greenery, with only the two arrangements each side in front of the alter having apricot coloured flowers to match the apricot roses in Carmens bouquet. Even the bridesmails were dressed in white satin dresses embroidered with silver flowers and sequins.

Then everyone piled into a load of taxis to make our way to the Sala de Exposition where the civil ceremony and reception took place. Once everyone had arrived the bride and groom had one dance together – a waltz - and then they each selected people for a dance, mainly the participants - witnesses, godparents etc and then soon after that the civil ceremony took place which didnt take long and I signed the wedding certificate as one of the witnesses. After this the bride and groom, godparents and witnesses stood in a receiving line in front of the principal table and all the guests proceeded to make their way along the line to shake hands or kiss cheeks and those carrying their wedding gifts handed them over at the same time. While all this was going on everyone was served a glass of champagne.

Then everyone was seated for the meal which was delicious roast pork, although I didnt eat the accompaniments - a kind of potato I dont like, maize and stuffed rocoto peppers (stuffed with beef!) - I really enjoyed the pork though. Before the meal everyone was given a pisco sour which was so beautifully chilled it was almost like an alcoholic ice cream, and with the meal jugs of coca cola and bottles of Whisky or Jamaican spiced rum were placed on the tables and these kept flowing all night along with ice buckets - drinks are normally served at room temperature here, even beer, so it was great to have iced drinks. After the meal the dancing began and didnt stop all night and everyone had a marvellous time and the music provided was absolutely brilliant – loads of Andean music but also some Salsa music. Nohemy and Alfredo did well to stay up until 4 am when we said our goodbyes and went home. In addition to all that booze, 40 cases of Cusquena beer were distributed (620 ml bottles) and around 2 am the parents of bride and groom each paid for another 30 cases. Although I love Cusquena beer I didnt drink mine, preferring to stay on the rum and coke. I didnt have too much, being really careful in that respect. The wedding cakes were 7 cakes linked by stairs and later on all of these were cut up and placed in boxes for the guests to take with them at the end. Back at the house we only had about 4 hours sleep before coming back to Urubamba so when we got there we went straight to bed and I didnt get up again until almost 5 pm. The photos I took will appear on my blog in January as I probably wont download to dvd until then. It really was a fantastic wedding with Henry and Carmen both circulating amongst the guests throughout

Urubamba 2009 (362 photos), by Angela Amanatullah

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48 photos taken in Echarate

I have just uploaded 48 of the photos taken in my recent visit to Echarate but at present am having problems uploading my photostream into my blog, having set up a new flickr account for these. However, if you enter www.flickr.com and sign in, and search with the tag Urubamba09 you will be able to see them there. Hopefully within a week or two I will have worked out another way to get photos onto my blog.

A Visit to Quillabamba and Echarate

I have just got back from Echarate which is about the closest I will ever get to a rainforest experience. My friend Wilber accompanied me as it was a bit of a risky venture to undertake on my own. We caught the bus on Tuesday morning at nine thirty, which was already an hour and a half into its journey from Cusco. By paying slightly more we were in a spacious coach with plenty of leg room and were given snacks on board. I was glad we paid a bit more because the cheaper bus which arrived first was pretty clapped out. About half an hour into our journey through the Sacred Valley there was a rest stop whereby all the men and some of the women left the bus and all proceeded to relieve themselves on the side of the road in full view of everyone! I vowed there and then there was no way I could do that no matter how painful it got!

An hour later, just beyond Ollantaytambo we were stopped by traffic police and were unable to proceed because the bus driver didn´t have his papers with him. Everyone was groaning and protesting and eventually it was agreed we would have to wait until the drivers papers plus a spare driver arrived from Urubamba. This took almost an hour and a half with most of us milling about in the open air, buying snacks etc, and best for me was being able to use the restroom before we continued on our way.

The journey was a bit hairier than expected as we were following a mountain road that wound ever higher and higher, the road not being wide enough for two vehicles to pass except here and there and there were no barriers at the side of the road apart from on some of the most dangerous bends, with a steep drop into the abyss below. In the end I tried not to look as being on the side of the bus looking over the edge was worrying to say the least. But the mountain scenery was spectacular with high waterfalls cascading down from the peaks. If I thought the early part was scary it got even worse later on when we got higher - we were in cloud forest which is like fog and I could barely see the edge of the road so couldnt help but worry what the driver´s visibility was like! At times the road was unpaved and slick with wet and mud. Finally there was the long descent to the rainforest and this was even scarier as the road got narrower and we crossed little bridges that looked barely wide enough for the bus to get across and some roads were unpaved and very muddy.

We finally reached Quillabamba at 3.30 pm, from where we took a moto to the main terminal and got places in a collectivo (shared taxi). Whereas between Cusco and Urubamba and vice versa they only take four passengers in a Toyota Corolla Estate, in Quillabamba they take six - two up front and four in the back. In order to have a more comfortable ride I paid for both places in the front but even with this it only cost 15 soles, about three quid.

Quillabamba is on the edge of the rainforest and the next part of our journey took us further into the rainforest to a place called Echarate. This road was unpaved, and a mass of deep potholes so that the driver was weaving from one side of the road to the other to avoid the worst of them. It was a very bumpy ride indeed, and because the best traction was on the very edge at times it felt as though we were teetering on the brink with a steep drop to the river below. We passed banana plantations and hidden among the tall leafy fronds we could see little houses and yards with ducks and chickens and barefoot children. We finally reached Echarate at 5pm and then had to look for our friends Raoul and Victoria and after asking around the shops in the Plaza de Armas we soon found where they lived and Raoul was really surprised to see us as he expected us to arrive a couple of days later and Wilber said it was much more fun to come earlier and surprise him.

Soon we were sitting at tables on his patio and sharing a couple of bottles of beer and coca cola (here they mix beer with coca cola but I prefer one or the other, not mixed). The climate felt very tropical and assorted insects were buzzing in the trees. After the beers we popped across to a restaurant across the road and had roast chicken with salad and chips for supper. There was a guesthouse right next door so Wilber popped in and booked us in but in a shared room of four beds because that was all there was available, but Victoria thought the other two beds would be empty. I had earlier told Wilber I would rather book into the guest house because I didnt see any extra beds in Raouls house and didnt fancy sleeping on a beaten earth floor!

After dinner we went for a walk around the village and saw the old mill where sugar cane used to be crushed, the ultra modern outdoor swimming pool with curving slides, the market and police station - as we passed the latter I peeked in and a policeman waved at me! After that we retired for the night, and to our dismay found the other two beds were occupied. It made me very glad that I had Wilber with me as otherwise it would have been very risky as the only female! Thankfully Raoul had persuaded Wilber to stay a couple of nights rather than go straight back which was what he had originally intended. I slept with my iPod, mobile, camera and purse all shoved down the front of my pyjamas and a skirt on top!!! Fortunately nothing went missing in the night but Wilber said we had best book something more private first thing as it could be very dangerous if sharing with the wrong kind of people. We were lucky enough to book a room with 2 beds in it for only 5 soles extra. The showers were shared ones and cold water but that was quite welcome in such a warm and balmy tropical climate.

It rained really heavily that night and was still raining for a while next morning but cleared up eventually. Victoria and Raoul prepared a lovely breakfast of a tomato, red onion and cheese salad, with the delicious Quillabamba ground coffee and yucca to accompany the salad, which we again enjoyed in the open air on the patio. Afterwards we went for a walk in a neighbouring plantation and Raoul explained about various trees - there was one called Palo Sano where the milky sap from it is used on fractures and broken bones and then bandaged up and this substance actually heals the breakage more quickly. Another tree was inhabited by ants - Raoul said the wood smells very fragrant when burned on a fire but it is too hazardous to cut down because all the ants jump on you. We saw cacao trees and where one had fallen on the ground Raoul broke it open and we tasted the milky substance around the cacao pods. Once the seed is extracted it is milled and dried and that is how chocolate is made. We also passed mango trees and the ground was littered with fallen mangoes, oranges, grapefruits etc and beyond were the banana plantations. At one point which we did not cross Raoul said an indigenous tribe lived. I asked if they were dangerous and he said no, they were pretty civilized!!!

When we got back, our next visit was to the town hall and in the foyer could be seen in miniature all the plans for new bridges and roads in the vicinity. We continued upstairs and on the upper floor Raoul persuaded the office workers to let us pass through and go out onto the terrace to take pictures. I took some great photos of the views from there including zooming in on Raoul´s house with his wife and kids in the yard waving at us!!

We next got a taxi to take us to nearby Concepcion, where there was an animal park to visit. This proved really enjoyable as there were all sorts of birds, including varieties of parrots, some talkers, herons, there was a deer roaming which allowed you to get fairly close, and the most interesting of all was a tigrillo, a spotted cat like animal a bit like an ocelot, pacing up and down in its enclosure. One of the other visitors said the enclosure was a bit small for it and its zoo keeper said we often let it out and proceeded to do just that. It turned out the animal was quite affectionate and playful and especially enjoyed the company of children so we were all enjoying it and I managed to get it to climb voluntarily on my lap and had a couple of photos taken. What was especially cute was it had a little friend, an otter like animal, and to see them playing together was amazing. There were lots of other animals including several kinds of monkeys. We all really enjoyed our visit there. Afterwards we walked to the bus stop and had to wait for a passing collectivo and when one did arrive it only took us halfway to a place where the road split into two directions. We had to wait there a while and eventually a lorry stopped and everyone proceeded to climb in the back and I said I wasnt sure if I could manage that but luckily a woman passenger up front called out and said there was room for me. In this way we managed to get a lift the rest of the way back and then went to the nearby cafe for a late lunch, a set meal of the day which consisted of soup followed by a kind of chicken stew, all for only 80p a head!

In the afternoon we decided to go and visit a place called Siete Tinacas - this involved motos down to the river and then we had to walk across a very narrow foot bridge spanning this wide river. We could only go a few at a time as it was only a wooden bridge and swayed as you walked so you had to hold onto both sides, and I was glad to get to the other side safely. There we had to wait and try to get a lift in a passing carro. There were chickens wandering all over the road, people selling food and drinks, leaping into action whenever a carro or bus stopped briefly as two women were opering stop and go signs as the bridge was only wide enough for one vehicle. Most of the carros were either full or didnt want to go there, or the cost was too high. Finally we persuaded one guy for a reasonable price and it was another hairy drive on the opposite side of the river with equally as many pot holes. When we got there we had to pay to enter as the way in was through someone´s private property, but it was well worth the visit. Siete Tinacas is a series of seven waterfalls, the last of which pours into a deep rock pool, a lovely grotto like place. We took some nice photos there before the driver, who had waited for us, drove us back and I was glad to get back before dark as walking across that bridge would not have been so good without light to see by. Back in Echarate once more we went and had dinner and then said our goodnights to Raoul, Victoria and family and spent an hour in the municipal internet cafe before returning to the guest house. It was still only 9 pm and I didnt think I would get to sleep that early but surprisingly slept really well until nearly 7 the next morning.

We had breakfast with Raoul and family again - this time hunks of cheese and crusty bread rolls which the delicious chocolate drink from the cacao produced in Echarate and Quillabamba and delicious it was too. It started to rain again which put paid to our plan to visit the chacra, Raoul said the rain would be twice as bad higher up the mountain and carros would refuse to drive up there. It was a pity as I had been looking forward to picking coca leaves and coffee. So we stayed indoors most of the morning and watched Victoria prepare lunch which was a guinea pig roasted on a stick over an open wood fire, along with spaghetti and potatoes, sitting in their kitchen which has a beaten earth floor with a couple of chickens tethered in there, the walls made from adobe bricks and no windows - the light comes from gaps between the walls and the corrugated roof or through the open door. We sat on benches and watched as the lunch was prepared and the children were playing in the yard and after a while came running in with grapefruits that had fallen from trees onto the ground in the neighbouring plantation, and we all had one and they were surprisingly sweet.

After lunch we all piled into a collectivo and headed for Quillabamba, having decided to return to Urubamba the following morning, as Wilber had to get back because of work. The ride back was even worse than coming because of all the heavy rainfall - what was a dusty pot-holed lane on the way to Echarate had become a slippery and very muddy lane full of deep potholes filled with water, so again it was a weaving all over the road journey to avoid the worst of them. At one point a passing car from the opposite direction going through a deep puddle sent a wave of muddy water straight through the open window drenching all those in the back! We made it okay to Quillabamba though and our first stop was to Pineda Guesthouse which belongs to Alfredos older brother although I didnt get to meet him. A young guy was in charge of reception and when I asked for Senor Justiniani was told he wasnt there. After booking in and leaving our things we went walking all of us so that I could see the best of Quillabamba and I was especially impressed with the two markets and the beautiful parks, Plaza de Armas being the biggest I have yet seen, all with an amazing assortment of beautiful mature trees in addition to all the flowers etc. Unfortunately by this time the battery in my camera needed charging so I was unable to get pictures until I had a chance to recharge it. We went and booked our tickets to get back to Urubamba on a bus leaving at 8.30 next day and around 6 pm went and had dinner in yet another roast chicken restaurant which seems to be their favourite! After dinner we said our goodbyes to Raoul and his family, with Raoul saying they hoped to come on a visit to Urubamba in January and would see us again then. I really enjoyed my visit with those lovely people. Wilber and I then spent an hour in an internet cafe and then went looking for a bar - which surprisingly was very difficult to find but eventually we found one and proceeded to share 3 litre bottles of beer before returning to the guesthouse for the night. Despite being only 22 years old Wilber is a really good friend and fun to be with and I was so glad I had him with me for this trip otherwise I wouldnt quite have had the courage to undertake it alone. Once I have visited a new place at least once I am okay about going there alone next time, but still a bit nervous about going off somewhere unknown. Although on the edge of the rainforest Quillabamba is a lot more tranquil than I had imagined. In fact I hope to pay another visit there before returning to England, perhaps with Nohemy and Alfredo next time if they get the chance to leave the building of the extension for a few days in the new year.

Without an alarm clock I was worried about getting up in time next morning, but woke naturally at 5.30 and had a shower and got ready. I woke Wilber at 6.15 saying that if we could get out by 7 pm we would have time for a decent breakfast before the journey home. We found a really nice place for breakfast and enjoyed huge glasses of papaya juice followed by fried fish (a local river fish called peluza which was one of the tastiest imaginable) with bread rolls and mate de coca tea to finish. We then made our way to the bus terminal of Selva Sur and outside bought quantities of the Quillabamba coffee, slabs of chocolate produced locally from cacao, and some fruit.

The journey homeward was again on slick and wet mountain roads and in places the road was littered with stones where there had been a bit of a landslide - there is a steep gulley on the mountain side of the road which catches minor landslides. In some places huge boulders looked ready to topple higher up, so I imagine it can be quite dangerous in really wet weather when a really bad landslide could be enough to push vehicles over the edge. Having recharged my camera overnight I took a few pictures of those mountain roads which will appear in my photostream in early December. We had one rest stop on the way where there were proper restroom facilities and a series of restaurants selling hot food and there was just time to get hot meals to carry back onto the bus. As with the outward journey we both listened to andean music on my iPod most of the way back. We arrived back in Urubamba about 1.30 pm where Wilber rushed off to the restaurant as he had to sort out a problem with part of his equipment in time for the following day, and I headed straight back to Nohemy and Alfredo who were pleased to see me safely back. It was great too to get back to the lovely sunny weather of Urubamba after all that rain.

Qespiwanca Tinkuy 2009

This major event was the last of the celebrations which began two or three weeks ago celebrating 170 years of Urubamba.

Nohemy and I got up early so that we could get a picnic ready - I went to the market for three chicken breasts which she roasted in the oven along with potatoes and we also made spaghetti and a salad with lettuce, tomatoes and red onion, sprinkled with salt and a couple of limes squeezed over it at the moment of eating. We had sent Alfredo on ahead to Plaza de Armas to bag seats for us and we left the food keeping warm and went to join him. We were delighted to see he had bagged seats right at the front which meant I got some great photographs.

The festivities began with the arrival of the band, all dressed in Peruvian costumes, about 18 musicians playing and walking fast into the arena, then setting up on stage. Then loads of warriors arrived - all of them secondary school students beautifully dressed in costumes. There was music and dancing and then the arrival of the Inca Manco Capac on his throne carried by bearers along with all his courturiers. All the speaking part was done in Quechua, the ancient Inca language, and was very powerfully done. I could see that Nohemy and Alfredo were really impressed (and of course understood as Quechua is their mother tongue). Nohemy told me that the photo of her parents seen in the photo exhibition two weeks earlier was of them participating in the same re-enactment, around 50 years ago – look out for the photo I took of that black and white photo which features her Mum right at the front and her Dad walking behind. The show lasted a couple of hours and then headed off in the direction of the cemetery and we headed off home to warm up the food and pack a bag with it all.

We then took two motos up to the cemetery, where we realised the second part of the show would not take place just yet, as all the participants were having a rest. Right in front of the cemetery was Manco Capac´s palace which dates back to Inca times - something I did not know about. I have passed the building before but never noticed it was an ancient Inca palace.

We went into the cemetery into an area with seating where people gather after funerals. We laid out a tablecloth on one of the benches and servd up our picnic and we all really enjoyed it in the open air, with the sun shining down, and two or three dogs sitting nearby waiting for thrown scraps. It was the first time ever that Nohemy had been on a picnic in Urubamba, although she has been on loads in Spain with her daughters. After we´d eaten we went into the cemetery proper to visit the grave of their daughter Ruth who died in infancy (twin sister to Mabel who lives in Spain). We also visited the graves of Nohemy´s parents. Graves here are a shrine behind a glass door which opens and is secured with a padlock, with the coffin slotted into a concrete space behind it. I took some photos as it is so different than back home. It makes sense because 6 people can be buried in the same space that two graves side by side with no space in between would take up. Some of the graves included photos of the deceased and included beautiful ornamentation, poems etched into copper or silver plaques, floral arrangements and ornaments etc. Beautiful flowers and shrubbery all around the graves and birds singing, it is a very peaceful place. From the cemetery we could see when the second part of the show began and hurriedly made our way round to get a good view. It was very impressive with the participants scattered all along the battlements of the palace, with amazing music provided by the band. I took some fantastic photos of the whole day which will appear in the next photostream entry. Walking back we went into a little shop with tables and shared two litre bottles of beer, which rounded the day off nicely.

Calca Sunday Market, Visit to a Chacra etc

Last Friday we went to Cusco again for an overnight stay. We didnt travel in until the afternoon so I didnt bother contacting Juan this time. It rained heavily so I didnt feel like going to KamiKase either, getting soaked to the skin before even arriving there, even though I am sure Juan would have accompanied me had I asked. On Saturday morning Nohemy went back to Urubamba immediately after breakfast as the workmen were due to arrive, and Alfredo accompanied me to a street market where we were going to buy a kitten. Alfredo let me choose and I picked out a tiny female, with tiger markings in pale grey and white, a really timid little thing. Once in the carro and on our way back to Urubamba I had her on my lap and she seemed happy enough. When we got her home though she almost escaped so I went out and bought a collar and lead from a nearby vets, plus a supply of kitten food, and we made her comfortable in a nice box lined with old sweaters and a nearby litter tray of soil from the garden - which she has used right from the outset, with no nasty accidents indoors. We have named her Poppikins (my first choice was Poppy but that is a name for tomcats here). She is very affectionate and when we are playing monopoly in the evenings I tuck her into my shirtfront and she is happy snuggled in there, and fascinated watching the dice land on the board and sometimes a little paw comes out and swipes at one of them! Not long after I got her settled in at home one of the musicians phoned and said they were having a drink in La Chinita and asked me to join them, so I did and spent a couple of enjoyable hours with them. Whilst there I met Wilber´s friend Raoul who was visiting Urubamba along with his wife and two young sons. He lives in Esaraty which is beyond Quillabamba and is also a musician.

On Sunday Nohemy, Alfredo and I decided to visit the Sunday street market in Calca which is about an hour by bus through the villages of the Sacred Valley. The market was huge and we spent a couple of hours wandering round it and stocked up on lots of fruit and veg - the papayas especially are exceptionally delicious in Calca, and enormous too - any one of them can weigh several kilos. Afterwards we found a nice restaurant and enjoyed a good lunch before travelling back.

On Monday I went to the restaurant again and Raoul was there accompanying Wilber as they played for the tourists and afterwards we all shared a litre of beer and were chatting, and as usual the restaurant owners invited me to partake of the lunch buffet for free and are always urging me to visit for lunch as often as I want, although I try not to take too much advantage of that and usually go just twice a week. Whilst chatting Raoul said I could pay a visit to him as Esaraty is a beautiful place, an hour by carro from Quillabamba, that he and his wife have a restaurant there and would be really pleased if I would go and visit them. I said I might be able to in January but then he said why wait that long, why not come real soon. I told him I was committed to attend a wedding on 5th December and he said I was perfectly welcome to go and visit them before that and turned to Wilber and said why don´t you come along too so that you can accompany Angela on the journey. So all being well I may be paying a visit to Quillabamba and Esaraty next week which will be fun. I went to the restaurant again on Tuesday thinking Raoul might be playing there with Wilber again, but he had gone on a last visit to Cusco before returning to Quillabamba next day. I will be going to the restaurant again the day after tomorrow, Monday, to see if the trip is still on and if so, we will probably go and buy the bus tickets with a view to travelling on Wednesday. Fortunately we can get the bus from Urubamba without having to go to the terminal in Cusco, as Urubamba is on the way to Quillabamba. It is an 8 hour journey and if possible it would be good to travel overnight in order to arrive there in the morning. Raoul´s family have a chacra which is a kind of andean farm, an hour zig zagging up a mountain and we will visit there too - they grow their own coffee as well as coca leaves to dry and sell. It will be a new experience to see that. Alfredo´s brother has a guesthouse and shop in Quillabamba so I might spend a couple of nights there as well on the way back.

On Wednesday Nohemy, Alfredo and I went to Cusco again for an overnight stay. We left after lunch and yet again it was raining (although still sunny in Urubamba - fortunately now that the rainy season has begun it mostly only rains in Urubamba at night, whereas there is heavy rainfalls in Cusco by day and by night). We took Poppikins with us, made comfortable in a box placed inside a large textile bag and sorted out a litter tray at the house for her. I went to an internet cafe later and whilst there had a phone call from Henry - the young guy whose wedding I am attending on 5th December as godmother and witness - he needed a photocopy of my passport for the Town Hall, one of the requisites needed from participating people in the wedding. People have identity cards here but in my case a passsport copy sufficed. I said I did not have my passport with me, that I was in Cusco (whereas he was visiting Urubamba from Cusco!) so he suggested we meet in Cusco next morning and I agreed.

After breakfast next morning Nohemy and Alfredo returned to Urubamba and I made my way into the centre by bus (I am learning how to get around Cusco by bus now - it is a really cheap form of travel with a set fare of 10p, compared to 60p in a taxi, so a worthwhile saving, especially as I pay for the three of us whenever we travel anywhere. I was waiting outside a tour trek office for Henry - having got there earlier than expected - when I felt a tap on my shoulder and it was another friend called Gorky - I am godmother to his and Lydia´s son Sebastian and he said he could hardly believe it when he looked out of the window and saw me standing outside! He told me Lydia now has her shop right on Plaza de Armas and I said I would go and visit her on my next visit to Cusco. Henry then arrived and I suggested we went into a nearby coffee shop and asked if just providing the number of my passport would suffice and he said we could go to the town hall and find out. Outside he carried my bag (having already met Poppikins who sat on my lap in the coffee shop) and said we could drop her and my things off at his place first as it wasnt too far away. We hopped into a taxi, him in the back with Poppikins and my bag and me in the front. We hadn´t gone far when he said ´´Angela, when we get to my place we will have to give Poppy a bath!¨ Yes you´ve guessed it, she had had a little accident! When we got to Henry´s place he was brilliant with her, washed her feet under a running tap and dried them with tissues, and sorted out a lacy shawl for her to lie on and we left her with food I had with me and set off for the town hall.

We discovered that a photocopy of my passport was definitely needed so decided he would accompany me back to Urubamba later in order to fetch my passport and get a copy made. We were on Plaza Tupac Amaru on one corner and he showed me the church on the opposite corner diagonally where he and Carmen would be married. The church ceremony is at 7.30 pm on Saturday 5th December, and the civil ceremony will take place in the Hall of Exposition at 9.30 where the reception is being held. At weddings here the bride chooses someone as a godfather and one of the witnesses and the groom chooses a godmother who is the other witness - the latter being me!

After exiting the town hall and seeing the church Henry took me to a nearby cafe where a friend of his works and treated me to Caldo de Gallino, Limeno style which is a delicious soup with a whole chicken breast in it, a whole hard boiled egg, potatoes, spaghetti, herbs etc, which is then altered to taste with juice from limons and the addition of a spicy chilli relish - very delicious it was too.

After that we met a friend of his from the Superior Institute of Haute Cuisine, where they are both studying and where Henry will soon graduate with his Master´s degree - he had shown me his thesis at his home which is more like a book. We walked to the Institute which took about 30 minutes, walking through a neighbourhood called Progreso which is very tranquil and with lots of pretty parks and we took a few photos on the way. I then waited in Reception whilst they dropped off some papers and we headed back to collect Poppikins who looked really happy and settled when we got back, snuggled in to one of Carmen´s lacy shawls. And although we´d left no litter tray, fortunately there had been no little accidents.

We then travelled back to Urubamba and first went to visit Henry´s parents who had not yet met the person who would be godmother at the wedding. Their home is high above La Chinita restaurant (which Henry used to run before moving to Cusco to be nearer his fiancee) and now only opens at weekends as a bar, his Dad managing the beer sales and his Mum selling the local brew, Chicha, which she makes herself. They welcomed me warmly and next minute beers and cokes were being brought up from the bar and a table set up outside on their patio and we chatted and enjoyed the drinks. They had four little kittens about the same age as Poppikins but she nearly had a heart attack when one of the children introduced them and leapt back into her box! His parents then suggested Henry take me up to visit their chacra, telling me I would love it. So we dropped Poppikins and my bag off, got my passport and had it photocopied, and then got a moto as far as the cemetery where the paved road ends and becomes a stony uneven track winding upwards. We walked from there and it was very pleasant with birds singing in the trees, the water gushing down in a stream alongside from the snow peaks of Pumawanca mountain above. After about 15 minutes we climbed a wall and walked through a field of maize which was the beginning part of the chacra, then followed a tiny canal a foot wide, then a path through a forest until we reached cultivated terraces of other plants and flowers and climbed down these walls into another maize field and this eventually gave way to potato plantations and then orchards full of fruit trees. Henry found a bag and was picking peaches, a fruit similar to blackcurrants but bigger, tiny wild strawberries, bay leaves, oval pale green skinned cucumbers that are added to fruit juices here, tree tomatoes which are oval in shape, boiled, skinned and mashed into a popular table condiment here, and finally climbed a tree to find the ripest cenizas which are like a cross between an apricot and yellow plum. We then walked through an enclosure full of tame ducks and chickens, including roosters and chicks, with their own water supply - plus a type of barn full of guinea pig runs - although Henry said they had recently been robbed of 80 of them. Considering that guinea pig costs 8 times more than any other meat here, someone would have made a fortune out of that little lot. As well as all the fruit and veg they also cultivate lots of different flowers. I took some great photos of that chacra which will appear in the photostream in a couple of weeks or so. There was a guy tending the crops who also lives there and acts as custodian along with some dogs - none of whom are fierce enough to ward off potential robbers! At one point Henry was helping me up a wall and said ´give me your hands´and when I did so we both almost landed on the ground and the old guy split his sides laughing. Poor Henry hadn´t realised how heavy I am!!! We walked back by a different route which was like a stony lane with the narrow canal flowing in the middle, and we could see bulls tethered either side who watched as we passed by. I was glad they were tethered as the wall between us wasn´t very high! I told Henry I thought it was a paradise of a place and he agreed and said he wished he could visit it more often. He said that soon after the wedding he would invite me, Alfredo and Nohemy to join his family there for a day and that he would cook for us too. His parents know Nohemy and Alfredo so they have been invited to the wedding too. Back in Urubamba centre once more he treated me to a chicken dinner before saying goodbye as he wanted to rush back for another visit with his parents before going back to Carmen in Cusco. I had really enjoyed that whole day with him, having only expected to be with him about half an hour that morning! I might not see him again before the wedding unless I am back from Quillabamba in the week before the ceremony if he should pay a visit to Urubamba again then. My next blog entry will feature the last of the special events celebrating 170 years of Urubamba (a major event celebrating Inca times with costumes etc), plus the visit to Quillabamba and Esaraty if it takes place, and probably the wedding on 5th December.

Celebrations in Urubamba, Festidanzas 2009 etc

The main subject of this entry is all the celebrations that have been taking place in Urubamba over the past week or so. The first event we attended was an evening performance of live music put on free for the more elderly population of Urubamba when the Mayor thanked them for their input over the years in the progression of Provincia Urubamba as a whole. Whilst the speeches of the major and other dignitaries were taking place we were all served glasses of a delicious rose wine, assorted snacks and later a hot sweet punch fortified with pisco. The music was provided by students of a School of Music in Cusco and was more classical than andean but very enjoyable all the same. When I read the programme before the show I noticed there was one musician I know well - Larry who plays with other musicians in Chez Maggy restaurant in Cusco in the evenings. I don´t have the programme with me right now as I am in Cusco, but later I will amend this entry to give more details of the music performed. Larry´s performance - on metal flute, accompanied by a pianist - was excellent and I could see his surprise when he spotted me in the audience! Nohemy and Alfredo didnt want to stay on for the second half so I didn´t either, as it was already pretty late when the interval took place.

The next day we all came into Cusco for an overnight stay and I went to meet Juan and the other musicians as usual in the Plaza de Armas for a while. Whilst we were waiting for enough customers in Paititi´s restaurant to make it worth their while playing Larry came and joined us and asked what had happened to me last night, that he had looked for me after the show! Unfortunately there were hardly any customers in Paititi´s so instead of playing Juan suggested we all go and have a few games of pool and I jumped at the chance as I love that game. We walked to a snooker hall about 10 minutes away, and in the process glancing to my left as we crossed the Plaza I noticed an Indian restaurant on an upper floor of Avenida El Sol and decided I would go there for a late lunch afterwards. The snooker hall contained 6 full sized snooker tables and you paid by the hour. I paid for the first hour and they paid for the second and in that time we managed to fit in 4 games. I didnt play too well to begin with, partly through being out of practice and also not being used to playing on such large tables - also the rules are very different. We played as a foursome and both sides were hitting the same balls (spots or stripes) and you were not allowed to pot any balls behind the line from which you hit the white towards the triangle of balls until all the balls on the other side of the line had been potted. It was great fun though and I hope there will be another opportunity to play on future visits with them in Cusco. Once the two hours were up I said my goodbyes and headed off on my own to that Indian restaurant - the only one in Cusco. Since being here the food I have missed most from back home is a good roast dinner and a proper indian curry in a restaurant. Unfortunately the curry when it came was much different than I am used to back home, not as good, and I ended up with two lots of rice as I didnt realise when I ordered that rice was included, and I realised that I can make a much better curry myself (and have since made it twice for us at home).

Back at the house later we went shopping and I bought wine for the evening and snacks and we spent the whole evening playing monopoly, a game all three of us are really hooked on. On Sunday we got up early and returned to Urubamba because we wanted to be present for all the festivities taking place that day. There was a beauty contest - Miss Urubamba - the lucky winner of which would go on to enter the Miss Peru contest - we didnt stay until the end so I didnt know who that ended up being. The girls were dressed in their typical Urubamba costumes and looked lovely, walking on a catwalk from the steps of the temple onto a large stage set up in front of it decorated with tassles, flowers, balloons, andean pottery etc, where they curtsied to the audience and waved and threw handfuls of sweets into the crowd. Later on there was live music - with different bands performing until the dawn, and a fireworks display at midnight but we didnt stay long enough for all that. We watched the first band featuring a harpist called Angel Damazo from Lima for a couple of hours and shared a few beers in the process, but knew there was no way we could stay awake until midnight (plus lots of other people were drinking and when people drink here they keep drinking until they are drunk, and things can get a bit hairy later on).

On Monday was Dia de Urubamba, the main event of the recent celebrations, being celebrated for the 170th year. It began in the morning and lasted all day, with parades from all the educational and work establishments throughout the Sacred Valley - you will see the photos in the next upload later this month or early in December - it was a very hot day and we were lucky to find a shady seat on a bench below a tall palm tree. The street sellers were out in force and we enjoyed Causa de Pollo, Chinese rice dishes, and other snacks as we watched the events. In the centre of the plaza by the fountain was a photographic display of previous inhabitants of Urubamba and one large photo featured Nohemy´s parents when they were young. I took a picture of that and you will see it in my next upload of photos. After all the parades were over in the late afternoon, we proceeded to the next event, which was an evening of live music in a huge recreational field near the bus terminal. One of Nohemy´s workmen accompanied us, and he and I were buying the beers for the four of us whilst we watched the live music. Unfortunately Nohemy and Alfredo didnt want to stay there late and I missed the two bands that I really wanted to see - Pueblo Rebelde and Milder Ore. The workman Gomer would have remained with me but I didnt want to be there just with him in case he got any funny ideas so reluctantly went home earlier than anticipated with Nohemy and Alfredo.

The weather has been fantastic all the week so I have been making the most of it in the daytime and a couple of evenings this week I did the cooking of the evening meal and we followed it up with a game of monopoly. Thursday was another event - Festidanzas 2009 - and this was especially enjoyable. The entrants began with the very youngest children of nursery age, 3 or 4, the girls and boys dressed in the traditional costumes of their villages throughout the Sacred Valley and they looked so cute - a live band on stage provided the music, mostly flutes and drums, and seeing those tiny children dance so beautifully brought tears to my eyes - at times the formation went a bit awry but that only added to the cuteness of it all - I took some great photos of various entrants. Between standing and watching and the odd rest on a bench under a palm tree, with a herd of baby lambs tethered who didnt mind being fondled, it was a very pleasant 3 hours performance which we enjoyed immensely. In the very last dance, young teenagers dressed as andean shepherds utilised some of the lambs in their dancing, with the lambs wrapped around their necks as they danced to the music and this was especially enjoyable. The lambs didnt seem to mind either as when set down afterwards they looked as calm as calm could be!That evening after dinner we went into the bar next door and shared a couple of litres of ice cold beer which rounded off the day nicely.

Today Friday we got up early and came into Cusco. The workmen couldnt make it today and are coming Sunday instead, hence the sudden decision to spend a couple of days here in Cusco. We visited Immigration first to find out about extending my stay here and discovered that it will not be a problem. One can either exit the country and re-enter, or revisit Immigration not earlier than 7 days before the 6 month visa expires, and pay a dollar a day for each day the visit is extended by - which is approximately 40 days, 40 dollars, and by far the cheapest option as only 40 days are involved. Had I wanted to stay another 6 months I would have paid a quick visit to friends in Bolivia instead.

After this we went to a new restaurant for lunch, just opened 2 days ago, and the fantastic menu del dia offer drew us in. In lovely spacious and clean surroundings we enjoyed a delicious soup made from prawns and vegetables (Chupe de Camarones) followed by roast lamb and roast potatoes - real roast potatoes like you get back home which I have missed badly since being here - then a pudding like jelly made from purple maize and large glasses of freshly made apple juice. All this for three of us, as well as a litre of coca cola, came to just under a fiver, which is excellent value even for here, and we will probably lunch there every time we come to Cusco from now on.

Next we went shopping as I wanted to buy a wedding present for Carmen and Henry who are getting married on 5th December and asked me to be a godmother at the wedding. After about 3 hours shopping and looking around I settled on an extra large pressure cooker and had it gift wrapped and also bought a gift bag to carry it in. By this time it was teatime so we all enjoyed huge bowls of fresh fruit salad smothered in strawberry yoghurt and hunks of chocolate gateau before getting a taxi home. Once I leave this internet cafe I will buy some wine and snacks for us to enjoy whilst playing another game of monopoly. Tomorrow we will probably visit the street market at Plaza Tupac Amaru as we have done for the last three Saturdays. We are thinking of buying a kitten as Nohemy is pretty keen on the idea of having a pet at home - as whenever we visit Cusco there are tenants on three sides of the house who would be willing to feed it. And I am looking forward to having a kitten to enjoy too. A young girl had one on her lap last Saturday on the bus back to the house and it was so cute - it was then the idea of buying a kitten was born! My lovebird will be safe with a kitten in the house because the cage hangs from a hook beneath the verandah each day so that he can enjoy the sunshine and fresh air too. Had we come to Cusco tomorrow rather than today I would have been going to Kamikase club with Juan in the evening, but this is easily deferred until next week instead. Finding enough workers for the house extension is such a problem that visits to Cusco can only take place whenever we know for sure we dont have workmen coming. We are all anxious to proceed as far as possible with the extension as all being well, Nohemy and Alfredo will accompany me to England when I fly home, if we are successful in getting visas for them. They will spend a couple of weeks with me, then a couple of weeks with their son in London, then proceed to Spain for a couple more months before coming back here. In order to leave the extension in abeyance for 3 months we have to progress as far as we possibly can with it between now and then.

Visits to Cusco, Cement Ceremony, Day of the Living

Not much different has been happening lately apart from a few visits to Cusco. I went last week having arranged to meet Juan in Plaza de Armas at 12 noon and I charged up my camera the night before so I could take more photos of him and the other guys. I made my way to Lan´s main office and changed the return date of my flight ticket to 18th February which is probably the latest I will stay here. It cost 78 dollars to change it which I thought was reasonable, and I can change it again if I end up going home sooner. I had to make a decision on how much longer to stay as the date on the return part of my ticket was 1st November, only a week hence.

I had a lovely time with the musicians after having changed my flight ticket date. I wasnt with them as long as last time but the 3 hours I was with them were lovely. Juan met me at 12 and we listened to some music on my iPod whilst sitting on the cathedral steps. It started out a hot sunny day then suddenly deteriorated into wind and cold so we walked up to Qori Chaska restaurant where he thought we would find the others but they weren´t there. I decided to treat Juan to lunch as they had a set menu for 15 soles a head, and ordered a litre of beer to go with it. Next minute the heavens opened so we moved from the outside tables to one by the entrance which was covered. We had just placed our food order when the other guys arrived to get their instruments and said they had been called to play somewhere nearby. So Juan left me there and said he would come straight back afterwards.

I chatted to the owner and shared the beer with him - he is a really nice guy called Andres and you can see him in my last upload of photos to flickr, playing the bombo drum. My food arrived and it was really delicious - we had both ordered the same - a yummy chicken and vegetable soup with plenty of chicken breast, and trout in a delicious sauce with rice and potato - which I ate inside the restaurant as despite being under cover it was rather cold outside. Thank goodness I had taken a long sleeved top with me to put on if it was cold in Cusco.

When he reappeared he only had 15 minutes to eat his food and had to shovel it down! The three of us finished off the beer and then I went with him to catch up with the others, saying goodbye to Andres. He had told me he was like a brother to the musicians and it was clear they all thought a lot of each other. Juan said after playing nearby they had been called to play for 2 or 3 hours at a place outside Cusco quite far away. Although I could have gone with them, I was worried about getting back, bearing in mind the last carro to Urubamba leaves around 7.30.

The restaurant where they were playing was on the corner of Plaza de Armas and Avenida el sol, upstairs on the second floor - a really posh place called Fusiones. There were lots of Japanese or Chinese tourists seated at several tables. Juan got me a seat and I was sitting next to where they were playing (so will feature as well in various photos that were taken of them!) - they began with my favourite Chuklla and also included Pobre Corazon in their repertoire as they all know these two are my favourites.

Right from the start the tourists were enthusiastically clapping and some got up to dance. One woman was right in Juan´s face as he sang and played guitar and he was almost backed into a corner - it was really funny and I got a photo of that. Considering another guy on the same table had his mask on, that surprised me somewhat. There were just four guys that day and Juan was out front and the other three alongside me. They did well on CD sales and sold at least 4, so at least they made some money, which isn´t always the case. It was about 3 pm when I said goodbye to them, and before leaving arranged to meet up with them again the following week.

I probably took about a dozen photos altogether and these are being uploaded as I write this long overdue blog entry. Luckily it had stopped raining when I left them outside Fusiones as I had a tidy walk down Avenida el sol to collect some photos I had taken (passport style) - I am going to apply for a photo driving licence. With this I will have the second piece of photo ID needed and I can open a bank account here in my own name instead of the one I have as a separate account of Alfredos.

I know how to walk to the carro station now rather than wasting 3 soles on a taxi - it only takes about 15 minutes and right by it is a supermarket so I went in and bought a few more provisions as things are cheaper and there is a lot more variety than in Urubamba. The 3 soles saved by walking to Plaza de Armas this morning went to 3 women in Cusco dresses and their baby lamb who remembered me from last time and wanted me to take their picture and of course I had to give them all a sol each!

I got back to Urubamba just after 4.30 and as I was walking past La Chinita restaurant bar from terminal to home, I heard my name called and somone calling me inside and joined up with Daniel (Rosalio´s brother) and two more Wilbers and they shared their large bottle of Inka Kola with me and all greeted me with hugs, including the owner, Henry. I ordered another bottle which we all shared as well, as I always like to pay my way and I was with them about an hour and they were all interested to hear about Ilo.

A couple of days after this, Nohemy contracted 20 men so that the cement could be laid for the second floor of the extension to their house. She hired a young girl to help and the three of us prepared and cooked enough food for 26 people and then when the work began I was one of the watchers along with Hugo down by the cement mixer, Nohemy with a view of the patio from the verandah and Alfredo looking down from a balcony and me relieving them if they needed a break. You have to watch the workers at all times here because they either make off with the cement and other supplies or down tools if they think they can get away with it. The cement laying is done on the run, with one man adding the cement to the mixer, 2 or 3 others digging into the sand and throwing that into the mix, another guy adding water and the rest filling their buckets with wet cement and running in and up the ladder and pouring it onto the second floor, these guys running back down the ladder etc - a continuous cycle of fast activity. After a couple of hours work came to a half for the tea break but instead of providing tea, Nohemy had to supply a couple of gallons of chicha (a brew made from fermented maize) and all the guys sat around for half an hour drinking this and then work started again for another couple of hours until the water was getting dangerously low in the four giant containers so at this point they stopped for lunch to allow the water levels to creep up. The photos from this are being uploaded as I write as well, along with several taken during my visit to Ilo. After all the cement ran out and the floor was levelled, Nohemy supplied two bottles of pisco for the men to share along with a couple of crates of beer and we put half a crate of them into the fridge to cool for our own use once the men had gone!

This week I went into Cusco again, this time for the weekend with Nohemy and Alfredo, staying overnight Friday at their house there. I met up with Juan and the guys again and watched them play at El Emperador restaurant. Juan had to go after a while and left me at Qori Chaski restaurant again and I decided to have lunch there before going back to the house. I had an alpaca steak in mushroom sauce which was really delicious. Then I downloaded the latest photos from camera to DVD, so the photos uploaded now go up to Friday 30th October. I spent the evening with Nohemy and Alfredo, for a few beers at the corner shop first and later with dinner we enjoyed a bottle of rose wine from Ica, one of the best wine growing areas in Peru, which I had bought at the local supermarket earlier. Very nice it was too.

On Saturday we went to two huge street markets - the first one was at Santiago, much against Nohemy´s better judgement. We hopped on a bus which was very crowded and they were still cramming more passengers in when the aisles were packed like sardines too. You would never believe how many people can fit inside those little buses here. Santiago is one of the most dangerous parts of Cusco but I didnt feel uneasy there, what with the bright sun beating down, lots of people about, all the stall holders etc and Nohemy watching my back. I bought a few CDs and DVDs but then we were walking down a steep hill of stalls when I felt something wet and greasy on my neck and next minute Nohemy was shrieking saying I wasn´t there alone. As she shrieked I could feel the presence of a man right behind me and he was obviously poised to attack and only Nohemy´s vigilance had saved me from probably having my bag stolen. Even though anchored to my waist with a belt and a shoulder strap those thieves are adept at cutting and running. Had the bag been stolen it would have been a disaster as both my cards were in one of the pockets of the bag and I would have had no access to my funds without those cards. Luckily the man dropped back when she screamed at him and after that Nohemy couldnt get out of there quick enough and we were practically falling over ourselves to get back down the hill to the main road below, where Nohemy heaved a huge sigh of relief and hailed the nearest taxi! Alfredo said it isn´t unknown for gangs of thieves to attack with knives to obtain their objective. I never dreamt it could be as dangerous as that so definitely won´t be going there again!

We then went to the huge market at Tupac Amaru Plaza which is in the Wanchaq district, not too far from the house in Cusco. Here it was much safer and one could walk around without having to worry about thieves. Apart from the huge plaza with stalls going round and round until in the centre were marquees with expositions going on, a band set up on a stage etc, outside were huge covered market areas. We left Alfredo sitting on a seat in a shady spot watching the world go by while Nohemy and I browsed the stalls and the exposition tents. In the latter I bought some concentrated eucalyptus oil to help me breathe at night as whenever I have a cold that is the only time I notice the symptoms of the high altitude, with breathing difficulties at night. Also I bought a gorgeous crochet waistcoat and more DVDs and a few other sundry items. At lunchtime we went to another area with about 40 outlets all with trestle tables and benches under canvas in the open air, and after checking out what was on offer we opted for Cabrito al Horno, which is roast goat, served with potatoes and salad. I had wanted a delicious potato dish at one of the stalls but the choice of meat to go with it was either chicken (which we have most days in Urubamba) or lechon, roast pork, but Nohemy thought the meat looked dodgy and thought it best to avoid it. She said there is a disease you can get here from eating contaminated pork which affects the brain, so is similar to Mad Cow´s. She said not to worry as she would be cooking lechon for our dinner the next day! By the time we got back to the house in the mid afternoon, we were all pretty tired as it was one of the hottest days on record and made us wonder if it was that hot in Cusco how hot it must have been in Urubamba. Nohemy and Alfredo had a siesta and I went to a nearby internet cafe for a while, and then in the evening we decided to head back to Urubamba. I had originally hoped to be able to go to Kamikase and hoped that Juan would accompany me, but he was travelling to Puno early Saturday evening in order to attend a family get together the following day. Once I knew I wouldnt be going out that evening we decided to head back, as otherwise it would have been a 5 am start on Sunday morning in order to have breakfast and get back to Urubamba in time for Nohemy to attend mass at their local church.

Yesterday was a family reunion type of day, similar to Christmas etc, with everyone having roast pork for lunch. I helped Nohemy with the preparation in the morning, peeling potatoes, marinating the pork in a selection of spices including a sauce made from different chillis, garlic, soy sauce etc. Then once the pork was in the oven I went off to the internet cafe round the corner. When I got back in time for lunch I was touched that Nohemy had prepared that potato dish that took my fancy the day before, a dish of layered potato slices, with onion, tomato slices, hard boiled egg slices, cheese and olives, baked in the oven. Lunch was delicious and afterwards we shared a litre bottle of sweet red wine. One of Nohemy´s tenants, a gay guy called Ruben who with his partner runs the hairdressing salon on one side of Nohemy´s house came in and Nohemy served him up a plate of lechon with red wine, and we really enjoyed his company. I already knew him as I had my hair trimmed in that salon a few weeks back, and might have my next perm there in a few weeks as the current one has almost grown out and the cost is only a fraction of what I have to pay back home. When the wine ran out Ruben went off and got a few litre bottles of Pilsen beer and we carried on drinking that. I had to leave them at 2.15 having prearranged to go to the restaurant where Wilber and his brother works, and whilst there was invited to join them for another roast pork lunch and that was fun too and I stayed a couple of hours until I said my goodbyes, and they insisted I come back for another free lunch the following day. I walked back, 20 minutes walk, instead of taking a moto, in order to walk off some of the affects of two roast pork dinners!
Back at the house Nohemy and I went out and got some more beers in and we drank them sitting on the patio as the sun went down. Another tenant from the bar on the other side of their house joined us for a while and before they left gave us all another 620 ml bottle of Cusquena each. By the time all the beer was finished we were feeling quite merry and we all slept well that night! The following day was ´The Day of the Dead´ and the intention after lunch at the restaurant was for me to accompany them to the cemetery and join in the family celebration (of Wilber and his brother), but unfortunately the heavens opened and it literally poured with rain, and I didn´t have anything suitable with me to keep dry other than a cardigan. My leather coat is still in my other suitcase at the house in Cusco, not having been needed until now. So we stayed on at the restaurant another couple of hours instead and shared a load of beers.

An andean bull and its owner

An andean bull and its owner
Originally uploaded by Angela Amanatullah

Urubamba countryside

Urubamba countryside
Originally uploaded by Angela Amanatullah

An andean bull and its owner

I have added more photos to my photostream at flickr - featuring the magical day out at the Pumawanca trout farm, a picnic in the countryside, musicians in Cusco, fiestas at Yucay, Calca, Pisac and San Salvador, a visit to Tunupa restaurant, various miscellaneous views, etc. From now on when I add more I will reorder them so that the later ones appear first. If you click on this photo it will take you to the photostream and you can then click on them one at a time. Alternatively visit www.flickr.com and look for photos with the tag Peru2009 where you can view them as a slideshow.

A Quick Hello from Arequipa

Well I am now on my way back from my visit with Elva and Hugo in Ilo. I said goodbye to them at 12 noon today and set off on the first leg of the journey back. The journey was a monotonous vista of sand and rock and curving roads busy with lorries and buses - it is amazing that those roads are as stable as they are on such uncertain looking terrain. I remember on an early visit seeing the road buckled in places after an earthquake which hit Moquegua and Arequipa, with many of the houses destroyed in both towns.

The bus pulled into Arequipa at 4.30 pm where I was relieved to see Elva´s son Hugo awaiting me - especially so as the bus didn´t go to the main terminal but to its own terminal a couple of miles away. Fortunately Hugo had his friend with him, the taxi driver who drove us around in Arequipa last year, so in no time we were arriving at the terminal from where the bus leaves for Cusco (there are three main terminals in Arequipa as well as all the individual ones of the various bus companies!) I was especially glad to have Hugo to help me because I am lumbered with three heavy bags as well as my handbag. I left a load of my things in Ilo last year and it made sense to bring them back with me to Urubamba. In no time, I managed to stow two of them with the bus company I am travelling to Cusco with, to collect at 8 pm and then stow in the bus prior to travel, and Hugo found a small internet cafe here in the terminal where I am passing some of the time before going to have something to eat nearer the time of travel.

The next bus will take 10 hours to reach Cusco but hopefully I can sleep for part of it. Whilst in Ilo we went on a daytrip to Tacna, a duty free border town near Chile, and whilst there I bought a portable dvd player which is mains operated but also has a rechargeable battery like a mobile phone, so I charged it up last night and have a film in my bag to watch once dinner has been served and before I settle down to try and sleep. I also bought a beautiful watch with an aquamarine face - watches are cheap from street vendors there - but then lost it the next day whilst out walking the dog - obviously I could not have secured the catch properly. I was really sorry to lose it as it was so unusual and pretty. I would have bought two if I knew I would lose it that soon!

I enjoyed my week in Ilo with Elva and Hugo, even though I was ill for part of the time. I felt guilty arriving with a bad cough and cold, which got worse in the first few days of my visit, but fortunately is well on the mend now. I just hope neither of them catch it. Elva really mothered me while I was ill which was lovely. I got really partial to her hot limon drinks sweetened with honey, and will be keeping that going when I get back to Urubamba as limons are so cheap and plentiful there - only 20p for a dozen of them - they are different from our lemons or limes - to achieve the same taste back home I would have to use half a lemon and half a lime.

Although the weather in Ilo is normally hot and sunny, unfortunately the only sunshine I saw was the day of my arrival and today when I left! The days in between were grey and dismal and even slightly chilly which is unusual for this desert town which meets the sea, so no trips to the beach. I walked the dog several times a day though, as it was only two blocks walk down to the sea front, and yesterday whilst down there I took photos which will be uploaded in November.

On one evening we took a taxi high up a hillside to a series of lookout points, beautiful paved with ceramic tiles and seating areas, from where one could see the whole of Ilo lit up below. Even the boats moored in harbour and sea had lights on them and it looked really pretty. Another evening we went to El Tablon food centre for our tea, enjoying delicious lechon sandwiches (roast pork in crusty ciabatta style rolls with chopped onion, tomatoes and herbs, served with a series of dips. I enjoyed watching Elva cook and have posted some recipes on this blog - all her meals are really healthy and nutritious, using scarcely any oil - if anyone is trying to lose some weight the soup recipe is especially brilliant. I was amazed that I enjoyed it so much considering I only like one of the five vegetables that feature in it!

I will be glad to arrive back in Urubamba tomorrow after such a long journey back. Even when I arrive in Cusco it will take a further two hours to get home - what with a taxi, then the journey in a shared people carrier taxi, and finally a moto from the terminal there to Nohemy´s. I have kept in touch with her whilst I am here so they know more or less what time to expect me. Well that is all news for the moment and I will write again in a week or so with news of what I have been up to in Urubamba.

Delicious Peruvian Recipes

This morning Elva had a marathon cooking session as each week on Monday mornings she sends an ice-box full of cooked meals to her son in Arequipa who misses her home cooking and he reciprocates at the end of the week by sending lots of delicacies for her and Hugo that are only available in Arequipa. Anyhow I watched and learned while she was cooking and set out below are the various recipes.

CHICKEN AND WINTER VEGETABLE SOUP
Half fill a pan of cold water and add one large chicken breast. Cover and leave to boil and then simmer until the chicken is cooked. Meanwhile prepare the vegetables.
One whole sweetcorn (called choclo here), 2 medium carrots, peeled and the centre removed and finely diced, a few sticks of celery sliced, half a turnip diced, a piece of pumpkin about 3 inches square, sliced and then diced. Add all this to the pan. When chicken is nearly cooked remove it and finely slice it and return to the pan. Add salt to taste, about 4 oz of broad beans with the outer shell removed, a little garlic. Simmer until all the vegetables are cooked through.

ARROZ CON POLLO (Chicken and Rice)
Liquidise a couple of bunches of coriander and set aside.
Add oil to pan and fry the onion (1 red onion finely diced), a little garlic and the liquidised coriander. A bit later add 4 oz fresh peas, the diced carrot, half a small red pepper diced, In a separate pan fry two chicken breasts each cut into 3 pieces. Meanwhile cook the rice separately using half the liquid from the pan with the coriander, supplemented with water.
At the end the rice is put into a dish and topped with the chicken pieces and the rest of the juice served separately.

PAPA RELLENO (Stuffed Potatoes)
Boil a pan of spuds and two hard boiled eggs.
In a separate pan fry 1 red onion diced, with half a pound of minced chicken (or even better a mix of minced chicken and pork). Add a little garlic, black pepper, salt to taste and quarter of a red pepper finely diced, plus a pinch of cummin.
In a separate dish chop up the hard boiled eggs
In another dish add a few black olives each cut into 4 or 5 pieces.
Mash the potato along with an egg (don´t add any milk or water. Knead well with hands.
In a separate dish mix some fine breadcrumbs with flour. You dip your hands in this first to stop the potato sticking to your hands.
Take some potato and spread it out in your hand - add some of the meat mix, some chopped egg and olive and work the potato around the filling so that it is fully enclosed. Roll in the breadcrumb mix and set aside. Continue until all the ingredients are used up. The stuffed potatoes are oval in shape. Meanwhile heat some oil in a pan until it is hot, add the potatoes a few at a time and fry until golden brown, turning once with care so they don´t break.

FREJOLES (White Beans)
Half a kilo of white beans, soaked in water overnight.
Boil these in fresh water for a good 5 minutes or so and then throw away the first lot of water. Add oil to the pan and fry 6 oz of bacon which has been diced up, something like streaky bacon called Tocino here. Add a little garlic. Dont let the bacon brown too much. Return the beans to the pan, add more water, bring to the boil and then simmer for about half an hour over low heat, adding salt to taste.

CROQUETAS
Crush a load of crispbreads until fine and add some fine breadcrumbs, so that the mix is two thirds crispbreads, one third crumbs. Mix well.
Fry about 12 oz minced chicken and pork with a little salt and black pepper, a little cummin and garlic. Mix with hands until well combined and form into balls, coating each one well with the crispy crumb mix. Fry in hot oil until cooked through. Then add a finely diced onion, a couple of tablespoons of tomato ketchup and enough mustard to give a spicy tang and a little water. Mix well and let the croquetas keep simmering.

FRIED GUINEA PIG (I dare you to try this one!)
1 guinea pig which they bought ready prepared, flattened and complete with head, hands and feet! and Maize flour to coat it.
This was then fried in a large pan, with a large pebble holding it down to keep its flattened shape and so that it would cook evenly.

A Visit to Ilo, in Southern Peru

After three months living in Urubamba I decided to go on a trip and visit my friends Hugo and Elva in Ilo. This involved a two bus journey, first to Arequipa and then another bus for the last leg to Ilo. The day before starting this journey I went to Cusco with Nohemy and Alfredo and spent a very pleasant couple of days there with them, and they accompanied me to the bus terminal in the evening, which is situated in a dangerous part of town. Finally at 7.30 pm I was able to board the bus and they stayed with me until the very last moment to make sure everything was okay.

Boarding the bus involved each passenger being video´d with a camcorder and placing a fingerprint against each name on the passenger manifesto. On board I was relieved to sink into my seat. I had paid extra to travel ´bus cama´ on the ground floor of the bus where there are only nine seats, six of them in pairs and three singles, all of which recline almost horizontal into beds and mine was the front seat of the singles. With a 10-hour journey ahead of me to Arequipa I had hoped to be able to sleep part of the journey.

The bus left on time and shortly afterwards we were all served dinner, although I was unable to eat mine having not long ago tucked into ´Chicken a la Brasa´ with Nohemy and Alfedo but I did enjoy the pudding, a purple maize flavoured jelly sprinkled with cinnamon and the Mate de Coca (coca leaf tea) served afterwards.
Unfortunately even with the superb comfort of my reclining seat (even blanket and pillow was provided) I was unable to sleep all night. The day before I had caught a bad cough and that night I probably kept everyone else awake as well as I could not stop coughing all night long. I watched the telly for a while but eventually settled down with my iPod and listened to music the rest of the trip.

The bus actually pulled into the bus terminal at Arequipa almost an hour early, at just after 5 am. I knew Elva´s son Hugo would be coming at 6 am and luckily things open much earlier in Peru and I was able to go and get a cup of coffee to help pass the time until Hugo arrived. That was when I learned there are three bus terminals in Arequipa, two alongside each other and the third out near the airport. This could be quite confusing for some foreign visitors travelling independently!

Hugo arrived just before 6 o´clock and we went to the terminal alongside to buy my ticket for the next leg of the journey. There was a bus leaving for Ilo at 7 am and I bought a seat on that one. Hugo stayed with me until it was time to board, even stowing my bag above my seat, and promised to meet me again on the return leg of the journey a week later. Whilst with him I also bought my return ticket back to Cusco, again securing the first of the single seats on the ground floor of the bus. Hopefully by then I will be over this bad cough and able to sleep part of the journey.

I did manage to doze off fitfully between coughs on this last leg of the journey. There was nothing much to see outside as being in the desert there was nothing to see but sand, sand and more sand, sometimes mountainous dunes of it, plus the odd desert hick town. Finally at 12 noon we were descending the hill into Ilo itself and it was great to see all the fishing boats moored in the harbour, the beach on the sea front etc. About ten minutes later we arrived and Hugo senior was there awaiting me and it was great to see him. We got a taxi to the house where I was greeted warmly by Elva and their cute little dog called Duque (pronounced Dookay). We immediately sat down to lunch, a delicous chicken and vegetable soup, which she is going to make again so I can watch and learn the preparation, followed by huge pork chops served with cooked whole apples, and one of Elva´s delicious salads consisting of about ten different things very finely diced and then tossed in lime juice and a little salt.

I felt slightly embarassed to be arriving with such a bad cough but it was lovely being ´mothered´ by Elva who kept making me warm drinks to help, my favourite being the juice of two limes added to boiling water and sweetened. And before bed she boiled up a concoction of eucalyptus leaves and other herbs which I inhaled under a towel until most of the heat had gone. The combination of hot drinks and inhalation really helped me sleep that night and the next when I never thought I would.

Yesterday and today were spent quite quietly - visiting the market both days and it was gratifying that the people there remembered me from my previous visits. I bought some Yacon, a salad vegetable that comes from the rainforest, and is really delicious and not available in Urubamba. You peel it and grate it and add it to salads and I just love it. I also bought a load of purple olives for Nohemy and Alfredo as the ones produced in Ilo are the best in Peru. The weather yesterday was hot and sunny and I relaxed in the courtyard reading for part of the day, plus I took the dog for a walk down to the sea front which is only two blocks from the house. I intend to do that walk again without the dog soon so that I can take some photos down there. The plan today was to go to the beach in the afternoon but unfortunately today was overcast so it wasnt worth it. All being well we will go there tomorrow afternoon. I remember a sandy beach with rocks we went to by taxi in previous visits called Énglish Bay´ funnily enough. I will be here another four days after today so will write again nearer the end of my visit and will hopefully upload photos of Ilo near the beginning of November. More Cusco and Urubamba photos will be added to my photostream before the end of October.