Peruvian Adventure

we arrived in cusco after a long bus ride where we were entertained by pirates of the carribean, the movie, in spanish, when we would have wanted to be sleeping. however, we got in at four in the morning, and went straight to bed in a hostel outside of cusco. we woke late to speak with a guide about our machupicchu trip. we not only organized that trip, but we planned to take a horseback riding trek through some ruins the next day. that day, however, we meandered through cusco, and completely fell in love. we went to an art studio, and of course, went crazy with all the things we wanted to buy from the artist. we ate lunch on calle resbolosa, or the slippery street…and it was! however, we ate outside and people watched as we devoured a very delicious lunch. i had a sort of green pepper curried chicken with rice and vegetables and cass had a vegetable sandwhich. while we sat in the sun, our french and spanish friends from the canyon trek came by, and later some other people we knew from the lake trip. it´s amazing what a small country peru has become in terms of other travelers. anyhow, we went out that night with our guide, and after we wore her out, we ended up at this side street bar called ukuku´s. cass and i both love dancing the night away, and that´s exactly what we did. the next morning we woke early to have breakfast before horseback riding. we ate in our roof top sun room and watched a little orange cat napping in the sun. we ate our usual, bread, butter, jam, and coffee. our guide came and picked us up in a taxi and we drove to the outskirts of cusco to her uncle´s horse ranch. the boy there saddled up the only pink, curly haired horse i´ve every seen and a sleek black horse. the boy, raul, rode a white burro. we were accompanied by his cute dog, terrible. we rode to the first temple, and tipped a guide to tell us something about the place. the connections to what we had learned before were incredible. the temple was actually devoted to llama sacrifice and had zig zag channels which the blood would run through after the sacrifice. if the blood went to the right, the agricultural year would be fruitful. if the blood ran to the left, it would be a poor year. if it took both channels, it would be a mixed year. there were also thrones, mummy altars, and offering altars. it was incredible to see the sculptures of the three premiere incan animals, the serpent, the condor, and the puma. they were very subtle and it was exciting discovering them. there was also a monolith that looked like a frog, an animal favored because it was often the percursor to rain. at the temple of the moon, our guide came with us and showed us the platform within a cave that would be lit by moonlight on a full moon and served as a table for a llama sacrifice. there was also a depression in the rock nearby that was made for the llama´s head, which would be cut off after it died. the heart was buried in the earth as an offering to the father sun. there were offering sites for food for both father sun and mother moon. the stars were considered their children. cass and i also sat in thrones meant to reenergize one´s spirit and body. my horse, the sleek black one, was a born leader, and wanted to be in the front of the pack, which was just fine with me. after the temple of the moon, however, we were joined by two english girls with no horse experience. their horses kept scraping into my legs and ramming into us. however, my horse jetted ahead and put some distance between us. we visited several other sites, leading me to invent the saying, we came, we saw, we ruined, as we watched the temples being reconstructed by workers and the sacred sites turned into an alpaca woolies market. we came back, tired and sore, but not so tired that we didn´t want to eat and go out. we got a delicious meal of soup, pizza, garlic bread, and juice for less than five dollars each. later, we met up with a british friend of ours and got a hot drink. then, it was back to dancing for cass and i. we woke this morning to catch a bus to macchupichu. i slept most of the bus ride, but did wake to see a procession for the virgin del carmen pass by. we arrived, finally, in ollatumbo (not sure of the spelling). it was incredible. the mountains dissapeared into the mist and the river runs hard through the colorful town. the vegetation is much more tropical. there were women selling water, candies, crackers, cookies, and corn on the cob from huge vats. the perurail train took us along the surging river through deep grain trees and flowering plants. there were also bulls with huge horns, pigs, and burros along the tracks. we arrived in the city of aguas calientes to get caught up in yet another procession for the virgen del carmen. people were carrying placards dripping with golden fringe and epaulets. the dancers were decorated with glittering flowers and swirls and wore either woolen ski masks with sparse, mime-like features, or heavy black masks with sneering grins in red and white. there was a brass band and firecrackers. we walked through the colorful streets and up a hill to find our hostel. the river courses through the town under a series of suspension bridges and the whole town is enveloped in these immense, towering, green mountains. the whole place looks like a set from adventure land in disneyland. our hostel actually has scorching hot water. after showering, cass and i set out to explore. we are in love with this place. the whole town is very compact and colorful and jovial. the ceremony for the virgin del carmen continues as i write. each group took a turn at performing a very elaborate dance or musical skit in front of the tiny catholic church here. at the restaurant we chose for dinner, we were served a plate of popcorn as an appetizer. cass and i then ate a delicious dinner of cream of mushroom soup, then i had a chicken breast, rice, french fries, and vegetables, a honeyed pancake, juice, and a free pisco sour for the equivalent of three or four dollars. it was incredible and delicious and we sat like queens at a jousting tournament as our table faced directly into the plaza and was very long. now, we are resting up before finding something short and fun to do. love to you all, i´m thinking about you as meemo´s party draws near. love to everyone, wish i could be there. i´ll do macchupichu tomorrow and will be thinking about fairy gardens, my family, and great food as i explore. lots of love, darcy

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