Cusco Part 2

Saturday morning I helped Toño with the gardening again; otherwise it was a very quiet day, I cooked, went shopping, made plans and did laundry. In the evening I was invited to Monica's. Easter Sunday, a month has already passed. After breakfast I went for a walk; when I came back, to my surprise there was a proper meal to which I was invited. Of course, because of the holiday. Alex's family, they also live on the hacienda, were there and the mother cooked for everyone. They all seem to be good friends. After the grace before meals there was chicken, stuffed liver, pork sausage, fish eggs, omelette and cuy (guinea pig) legs with feet, all on one plate. I am a good guest and ate everything. Except the fish eggs, I just tried them and then passed them on. Nothing vegetarian, I have a meat trauma. Guinea pig tastes like salted pork. What was unusual for me was that they ate with their fingers. What I noticed again is that all the men here have full hair, you hardly see any pensioners with bald heads. Today I had a job too. The hacienda is open on Sundays and they sell ice cream. At first it wasn't busy and I played Connect 4 with Alex Jr. Then I was alone and luckily only one group came. They were very nice and considerate; I managed with my broken Spanish. Service isn't my thing, but it's an interesting change of perspective. I served and was asked about the baño.

Day 31. Toño and I are a well-rehearsed team at breakfast. On my first day off, I take a trip to the south of Saylla. First, the ruins of a Wari village, Picillacta. If I'm told which bus to take, it works without a problem. The Wari are a pre-Inca culture and the site is one of the oldest in the area. But it's small, just a village. There were other ruins of Incas and other cultures in the area (Rumicolca, Kanaracay). There was a nice hiking trail between them. Then we went to Tipon, an Inca ruin. Very high up and of course it was raining. Huge terraces and lots of small water channels. A few cows blocked my way every now and then, but the friendly farmer sorted it out. Excavations are still taking place and the occasional dinosaur is found.

On the subject of buses. These are all private, there are no public buses. All very old, often overcrowded, but unbeatably cheap. You don't want to stand next to them, what they emit is pure poison. They are not particularly fast, as mentioned, they stop every few hundred meters and someone gets on or off. Times don't matter, they always do the same route all day. You just wait. The most important places they go to are written on the buses. It's chaotic and there is no plan, at least I haven't found one, showing which company does which route.

Today is a rainy day. Toño is sick in bed. Yesterday's ticket included a few museums in Cusco. 3 of the 4 consist of just one room. Museum of Modern Art, a small Inca Museum and I've forgotten the other one. In the Inca Museum, deformed skulls were exhibited. People come up with ideas. This practice served as a social demarcation. The skulls of important Inca children were clamped in such a way that they became elongated and appeared larger. This was supposed to represent more intelligence. Only the museum of local history was interesting. Lots of Spanish art. The main theme was Christian motifs and how the Spanish defeated the Arabs and indigenous people. One picture is of Tupac Amaru, an indigenous rebel. The Spanish had tried to quarter him, but that didn't work. So they beheaded his children and wife in front of him and finally him too. In the afternoon there was a new tattoo in a back room studio. The Nazca Condor.

It's Wednesday and time to leave the hacienda. Toño showed me his picture gallery and I was even able to explain to him a little bit about what was left over from my art class. A great experience and very lovely people. But everything has to come to an end. Back in Cusco I run some errands. In the evening a couch surfer stood me up. Well, I went for a walk through San Blas. The tourist district par excellence, lots of small, lovingly designed alleys and stairs with countless shops. The best view of Cusco. When haggling, it's a good strategy to start with a low price, that takes a lot of wind out of their sails.