Macchu Pichcu was amazing, and we were all quite exchausted from the hike. We went out for lunch before boarding the train back to Olataytamba to catch the bus to Chinchero. We arrived late at the most beautiful hostel/hotel I have ever seen. By far my favorite place we have stayed at. It was very rustic looking, and extremely cozy. They had two sweet little dogs, a couple of kids and the best food ever! (Will post photos once I get home) I would come back to chinchero just to stay here for sure! Chinchero gets even better. We visited a beautiful lake where Pursy said there used to be a village. The legend says that this lake once was a valley with a a small village. In the center was a church. One day there was a wedding happening in the church. there was food and lots of people. Somebody notice a man was there tht didnt belong. He asked for food because he was hungry and he was refused. Some parts of the story arent 100% clear, but I remember that eventually somebody gave the man food and then said to climb the mountain and when they get to the top there would be some sort of reward, some treasure. But they were not to turn around while climbing the mountain This person dissobeyed and turned around anyways. When the did, they saw the village start to fill up with water from all directions. soon the entire village was under water. And the person turned to stone. And that is the story of the lake. (I hope I got it all right)
After visiting the lake, we had a very special dinner planned. Pursy was taking us to his house to meet his family, who were going to feed us a traditional peruvian meal and play for us some wonderful music. His family is so beautiful! all the women were dressed in traditional Quechua clothing and the men wore vests and woven hats, also traditional. Uncles, aunts, parents and grandparents, children and spouses. Everybody. We were greeted with hugs, kisses and confetti on the head, put there by the grandmother. Im not sure what the confetti meant, but im sure it was a welcoming thing. Pursy and Rebelino played us an andean tune on the flute and drum and then we went to eat. We sat on llama skin rugs at a long table. We ate like KINGS! there was Quinoa salad, rice, some kind of bean dish.... and a traditional and very popular in Peru, guinea pig. It tasted kinda like.... duck. I think. It was such a beautiful experience with such beautiful people. I really dont think we could have gotten a better tour, or better guides. I would highly recommend Cousin Tours to anyone who wishes to spend some time in Cusco. After lunch, we were shown outside in the yard, the family hard at work making beautiful weavings. They spin the wool and then dye it using natural plant dyes in clay pots. The clay pots were place upon a mound of clay on the ground wish was a stove and had hot coals burning underneath. They deminstrated to us what plant they first used to clean the wool. It was a root from a cactus. They grate a little bit into a bowl of water and then scrub the wool clean. And in a minute or so it is beautifully clean. They also use this root to wash their hair and clothes. I really wish I could get my hands on some, but it only grows up high in the andes. They showed us the different plants they used for different colors, same as at the alpaca farm in Huancayo (if you remember) But this time we were shown the dying process. They would mix into the boiling clay pots, a bit of which ever plant, and then add a mineral to make the color permanent. In a matter of minutes it comes out a beautiful natural color, preserving the beautiful andean traditions of using only natural. The weaving is all done by hand and takes incredible detail and time. Some of the larger pieces take up to a month. If I hadn't spent most of my money by this point I would have picked up piece woven by Pursy's family. Because I was there and saw the work being done, I bought some small pieces however and took lots of photos, preserving the memory for myself.
Once we got back into Cusco we met up to go for our last dinner. This time Puma came with us. Puma is another member of Pursy's family who is a shaman, whom we thought was going to come with us to Macchupicchu but did not. It was such an honor to meet this man, he is very charming, outgoing and a good sense of humour. He told us a beautiful story about a humming bird and a condor. But that is better left not coming out of my mouth, I could never tell it quite as beautifully as he did.
We ate at a fabulous resturant with wonderful peruvian entertainment. First was a flute band who played the most amazing classical medly on there flutes. Next were some dancers. Quechua, spanish, and andean traditional dance with full on costumes. It was so much fun! All I could think of was, Oksana and mom would love this :) We stayed one last night at our fabulous Royal Inka Hotel and then were seen off at the airport by Rebelino. Lima, here we come...
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