Supposedly, the group tour begins at 8:40am, but we really isn't picked up by a SUV until 9:00am outside of the Cathedral. The vehicle is very clean and new, so it gives me some instant confidence already that the tour should be fine. It's almost scary though, the guide for today's tour is the same guy who will be guiding me in Machu Picchu next week. It is such a coincidence, provided that today tour and Machu Picchu tour I joined are run by two different companies. His name is Simon, we just talked last night, I really wasn't expecting to see him again so soon. Scary, huh? 7 people joined the tour, 6 of them are Spanish speakers, two from Chile, two from Lima, and the other two I am not sure where they are from but they look very white to me. I am the only English speaker. So, Simon basically have to repeat everything twice, in two languages. I feel like I have created some burdens on him. But he seems to be ok with it. He would say to others, well, now I would have to spend some times with my amigo Benny. The two Chilean and the two women from Lima have been really kind to me, and often ask me if I want to take picture. So, today's collection of photos probably is the collection with me in them the most.
The tour is a bit rushy, I guess I should have expected, 5 hours visiting 3 places, with the tour guide's regular speech about each point of interest, there are really not much time left to explore and take pictures. First off, we arrived at an old old church in Andahuaylillas, hundreds of years old. The small adobe church was painted completely from the walls to the ceiling. Though some parts are faded, but it's really impressive. There is this organ (looks more like a dresser) over 400 years old, made of metal if I haven't mis-heard, can still be played occasionally. It is hard to imagine why this church even exist in such a small village, but prehaps it is so remote, it was not destroyed by anyone over the years, except damages from the natural disasters. The next destination is a pre-Inka ruin called Pikillacta. The stone work is completely different from the Inka's. So it makes a good contrast with the next destination Tipon. Unfortunately, we only briefly go through the easy part in Pikillacta with some stories told about the ruins. I have a couple shots from a distance. If I have gone there on my own, I would have go deep into those stone alleys and explore the structures.
Pass by a village that mainly produces bread. One of the tour members buy some and share with everyone. Very wheaty but I would prefer some marmalade or something with it instead of eating it dry. The third and the final destination is Tipon, another kind of terracing technique the Inka showcased. There is a unique difference in Tipon compares to other Inka ruins - the channeling of underground water. As the guide says, nobody knows where the source of the water comes from. But the Inka found a way to get to the underground spring I guess. I am not sure whether I want to believe it. But this is what I was told. Famous around Tipon are restaurants where you can eat fresh cooked guinea pig. I really want to try it and the guide at first says we gonna do it, because other tour members want to do it too. For whatever reasons, after Tipon, we just head back to Cuzco directly. I am kind of disappointed about that. Tipping seems to be not a custom here. Not one tour members intend to pay tips, after they get off the SUV, they just say goodbye and walk away. The guide and the driver do not seem to expecting it either. Good for me. I have no complain about that.
Treat myself a better lunch, an Andean menu with alpaca loin, soup, salad and tea. Cost 14 Soles (almost US$5). The loin is tougher than I would prefer but good to try though. I guess it kind of tastes like pork. After that, I am supposed to go to the market to meet with my classmates and professor, we are having a field trip to the market to see the kind of exotic food they sell here. When I get there, I can find no one. So, I walk back to school, they aren't there either. I suspect I may have gone to a different market. So finally, I just skip the first half of the class. When they come back, turn out that we have been in the same market but just missed each other perhaps.
Finish the second half of the class, I am already dead tired. I have walked a lot during the tour. Spend an hour online. Then I meet up with Amanda, Maya (from Berlin), John (from Manchester). Nicolas (from Switzerland) is supposed to be there too, but we wait for 25 mins and no sight of him, so we just go to have dinner on our own. The four of us find a sandwiches place in San Blas area, though it is slightly more expensive, but the sandwiches is really good. After that, we go to a reggae bar near the Spanish school, and have two rounds of drinks. They play Marley, other up-to-date reggae (with some beats to them), some rap, some electronica. Kind of a feel good place. I enjoy it. We talk a lot too. This is the kind of size of gathering group I enjoy anyway, 4 or 5 people, we can talk more intimately.
Home by midnight, I can even finish my blog, I have to go to bed straight.... zzzzz.
Photos here: Day 18 (Andahuaylillas y Pikillaqta), Day 18 (Tipon, Market y Raggae Bar)
Footnote: This Sunday, I will be heading to Toray, a small village near Cuzco, for Spanish classes for one week. In Toray, there is no internet connection, the nearest internet cafe is in Pisac, another small town 20 mins away. I may be able to check email once in a while but doubt I would post any entries for the next week. I will come back on my own on Friday, and go to trekking in Machu Picchu on Saturday and Sunday. The next time I post probably will be on Oct 26.
