Strangeness at the Supermercado

Wasted space if you ask us!

In Cusco, you can find an entire aisle of any given item but only a few different brands to choose from. We’re not really sure why, but at least it takes the pressure off of having to make a decision!

Cusco, Peru

While attempting to plan ahead, which everyone knows we are oh-so good at, we penciled in two days in Cusco on our hand-drawn calendar. We didn´t have much in mind, but two days before leaving Santa Teresa Ben let his friend Katy (pronounced Kaddy, or so Ben thought) know, so very far in advance, that we would be arriving and invading her home. Katy has her own tour company (Aspiring Adventurtes, check them out) in Cusco and had brought a group, of one, through the zip-line in Santa Teresa three years back, when and where they met. The three of them (Ben, Katy and her client Steve) got along just peachaly, and after several hours of Scrabble and several bottles of wine became pretty solid mates, as the Kiwis and Australians would say. Katy and Steve are both from down under.

So that brings us to Katy´s house in Cusco. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, and instead of leaving on Tuesday as planned, sat around and enjoyed the company, cooking home cooked meals, a couch, movies, one wicked-late bar night (sun was up when we stumbled out) complete with some tasty Victor the Felafel King felafels, and everything else that we missed from home. Katy also has an absolutely adorable two-year old girl named Nina, who we thoroughly enjoyed playing around the house with. Unfortunately the weather was shit, but that made her home all the more cozy. sdsdfsdf sdfsdf. Seriously Katy, thanks again for everything, and we better see AND host you and Nina in a few years!

We ventured outside of Cusco to eat Chicharrón with our friend Nina.

It was a random unplanned and strangely simple but awesomely enjoyed week in Cusco.

Ollantaytambo, Peru

It’s great to be back, Peru. If nothing else I’ve sure missed your avocados. I can finally attempt to prove to Ali all the claims I’ve been making the last two years about Peru’s world class avocados. And I think we can both agree I wasn’t lying! We were a little sad to leave Colombia, as well as sad to leave Fernando there at the airport (Fernando you seemed a little sad too), but have loved every minute since arriving in Peru. We’ve spent the first two weeks entirely in Ollantaytambo (other than an hour or two in the still small neighboring Urubamba), so Ali’s only Peruvian experiences stem from this one essentially large neighborhood, but we really are loving it here. The views in the Sacred Valley are heavenly, the food and drinks are cheap and delicious, and most of all the people are just amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many friendly kids in my life. From the 10 year-olds playing basketball who looked up and saw us and stopped to wave, to the girl selling street food with her mom giggling as she noticed us watching her receive a little family hygiene care on the street, everyone has just been awesomely genuine. I now remember why I’ve missed it so much.

We found the Peruvian Santa Claus!

Two girls pick some wildflowers before their dance performance.

To get in we flew from Bogota to Lima, had a five hour layover in a lounge-less and wifi-less airport (first world problems, especially after United’s 1K status), caught a taxi to Grau Avenue and then a combi straight to Ollantaytambo. The combis are privately owned and operated 3-4 row vans that carry 8-12 people as part of the typical public transportation system. The gentleman in our row started chatting with us as soon as he got in; he was a teacher at the Urubamba Elementary School. After an extremely scenic two-hour ride, we arrived at our home for what would be the next three and a half weeks. We walked up to the main plaza, asked for directions, and showed up at Louise’s door 20 minutes later. Louise is the owner of the B&B, Apu Lodge, we would be volunteering at as part of a work exchange and was putting us up in her house until the spare room at the lodge opened up. She’s an awesome lady, originally from Scotland, that planned on visiting Ollantaytambo for one day but has stayed here for what has now been 10 years. We received a very warm and homey welcome by her, her two daughters Nina and Mayu Rumi, as well as the rest of her house mates. We didn’t work more than a few hours a day while we were living with her, but this gave us a few days to pick up the responsibilities and learn the ropes while we settled in a little, as well as acclimate to the change in altitude. Bogota is decently high on it’s own and offered a nice altitude warm-up, but Ollantaytambo is located at over 9,000 feet and your lungs can really feel it.

The view from Apu Lodge.

A neighbor of Apu Lodge spends a few final moments with her sheep.

The largest Incan ruin in Ollantaytambo.

We started hiking around a few of the what must be hundreds of local mountain trails right off the bat. We had to stop to catch our breath every few minutes, but we could also reasonably blame our frequent stops on wanting to take in the magnificent views . The valleys are unreal with the drastic and dynamic mountainous landscapes that completely encapsulate the small ancient town of Ollantaytambo. The B&B sits under one of the smaller ancient Incan ruins in the area, on the Pinkuylluna mountain side, at the top of a slight hill a few minutes walk from the main plaza; just enough to offer a spectacular view over the town. It’s not far, but the old Incan cobble-stone streets will quickly wear you out on even your shortest trips. There’s a reason we make it a point to advise all the tourists before they try to hall their suitcases up from the train station at 5 o’clock in the morning, or better yet after a full day of hiking Machu Picchu. The views really are stunning here. We’re not sure if it could keep us for 10 years, but we understand the almost magical draw and how Louise has come to make it her home.

Ancient Incan storehouses on Pinkuylluna mountain.

Our first hike of many!

Hiking through the sacred valley.

Are we in Germany or Peru?

The work exchange itself has been quite enjoyable. The locals we work with are all awesome, and Pancha and Carina cook a mean lunch. Our daily chores include working at the reception area, preparing and serving breakfast on our one morning shift per week, washing (in a washing machine) and hanging laundry, picking up around the reception area, and worst of all chatting with friendly guests. We’ve met loads of awesome people and made quite a few friends throughout the last few weeks, and even plan to visit a few along our travels.

Hasta la próxima vez!