Week 2: Cusco the wonderful land of Llamas!
This week we arrived in Cusco! While the journey was arduous and surprisingly difficult due to the high altitude, the struggle was 100% worth it. Being in Cusco, and staying in what is apparently the best hotel in Cusco during Corpus Christi is such an honour and a privilege. Although the first few days were difficult since we had to leave for the airport at 3:00 AM and were riddled with altitude sickness, and my two roommates got an intestinal infection, our time in Cusco so far has been really special.
Although we get woken up at 6:00 AM due to the fireworks and cannons and street music for the festival, Cusco is a lively town where the sound of flutes and street performers floor our ears, and the smell of fresh churros and pastries sweeten the air. I was very impressed with the performances and the amount of dedication that all parties involved put into the festival. It was wonderful to see cultural indigenous representations in the parade and the popularity of the event. However, it was surprisingly chaotic and disorderly. We were extremely fortunate to be staying at the Hotel Plaza de Armes which is right at the centre square so we had a very good view of the parade on our terrace. If we had to watch the festival from the streets, however, it would have been very overwhelming considering the thousands of people present and trying to get a view of the saints and the performances.
During the festival, Cissy and I got a chance to try the traditional Corpus Christi food on our third night in Cusco. There was a market area where Ladies dressed in indigenous garments served guinea pigs, chicken, and fried bread. Each stall seemed to have its own special rendition, the stand that Cissy and I went to served the guinea pig with fish eggs, seafood, a slice of cheese, and fried corn. The meal was very popular as it was difficult to find a seat and took quite a long time to prepare. We were seated next to a Peruvian couple who only spoke Spanish but who we enjoyed communicating with through our body language and facial expressions. They seemed confused that Cissy was eating all the meat (because I do not eat meat), and that I was eating the cheese, bread, and seaweed (because Cissy does not enjoy any of those things). While we were eating, one of the marching bands from the parade sang and danced throughout the market. It was truly an eventful night and I am grateful to have engaged in the festival as thoroughly as we did.
Another notable event from this week was the Quechua Pop concert where we saw Lenin Tamayo! While the wait for the main act was long, it was, as always, worth the wait! I was extremely impressed with the performance as Lenin took inspiration from K-pop and used the popular aspects of K-pop in his work to promote Quechua music and culture. Most people in our class started dancing in the aisles and (trying to) sing along. It was an amazing night, and I am grateful to San Daniel for introducing us to the event :-)
The cherry on top of the week is seeing LLAMAS AND ALPACAS!!!! I won’t speak too much about it because there is a limit for these blogs so here are a few pictures from Sacsayhuaman (I have yet to take a photo of me hugging one so stay tuned):
"The meal was very popular as it was difficult to find a seat and took quite a long time to prepare." A week later Jon and I went to try that dish. I didn't love it, but it seems like he liked it even less. Maybe it wasn't freshly prepared, as another person who was there told us.
That's so awesome you got to try (everything but) guinea pig! It totally works out that you and Cissy can eat everything the other does not like. Match made in heaven. I'm keeping an eye out for a huggable llama.