I don´t think anyone could have properly described the spell I have been put under since arriving in Cusco. Sure, my trip getting here was a bit of a long one with planes leaving on South American time, i.e. hours late, others being delayed and canceled. However, now I am here and I am completely in love with this country and this place. Cusco´s cobblestone streets and alpacas are definitely a dominating feature that comes to mind when trying to describe it however there are many other things that stand out as reasons for this magical spell.
On our first night after an interesting 4hrs of Spanish classes we were struck by the sense of place and identity the people of Cusco hold. The main Plaza de Arms was packed with so many people it was an incredible sight to see in itself. After Liv made friends with a tourist guide who happened to be standing next to us we discovered that this was a special procession that happens annually on the Monday before Easter.
A huge black Jesus statue (Peruvians believe Jesus was black as they regard themselves as dark skinned), weighing 22 tonnes is transported around the streets of Cusco from 2pm to 7pm. Why the great fuss and sore arms? In the 17th century during a series of terrible earthquakes devastating the city someone pulled Jesus out from the Church and ran around praying for them to stop. They did, and this represents the respect and faith the people of Cusco hold.
After the event there were rivers of people trying to leave the main Plaza and thankfully we were able to (semi) stick together as our height, especially the boys, stood out over the fellow see of black haired Peruvians. Despite the cold that had crept over the city once the sun went down behind the magnificent mountains we were all still able to laugh at hearing Bob Marley´s song `Everything will be alright´ when we got on a bus that was so crowed the Oc Health and Safety officials in Australia would be doing back flips. This was only to be matched by another surprise Cusco threw at us when the song `I come from a land down under´ was on the radio the following night... and yes we did sing along loud and proud all the bus ride back to our wonderful hotel overlooking Cusco.
For the first week us we all got completely comfortable in the hotel we were staying. We made friends with the chefs, one of whom we hope to visit soon at his family home and share his weekly family Saturday lunch. Our three course lunches and dinners where perfected by our slice of pineapple and pear for `postre.´ We, well all the girls at least managed to mess the rooms enough so it took us some time to repack before going to our host families. We played many hours of cards in our free time and Harry even discovered the `magical´ powers of the mountain soaring high behind our rooms and learnt the painful lesson `beware of the dog!´
Unfortunately due to a few little microscopic bugs, namely bacteria a few of the group have had to spend more time than estimated at the hotel to learn guitar from the chef insted of discovering Cusco. Can we blame the 12 course lunch we had to celebrate Easter at the Spanish school that seemed so delcious at the time!!??!
Though I think secretly Bec was relieved when Cusco´s nasties caught up with the group and she had a few people to keep her company. However like me, everyone is captivated by this place. The bus companies we have been told to catch called `Zorro´, `Batman´ and `Rapido´ provide constant amusement especially when you see a `Rapido´ being overtaken at 20km/hr by a Zorro.
Meeting our families on Saturday was an exciting yet nerve wracking moment as we realised how much vocab we lacked in Spanish! Everyone enjoyed completely unpacking and settling into our homes for the next 3 months. It was lovely to be welcomed into these generous Peruvian´s homes and to be meet with smiles and often laughs when we tried to talk but generally ended up saying ´i´m sorry´ over and over again.... Easter Sunday was slightly different to Australia with the Peruvians not having Easter egg hunts but instead going to Church at 6am for a early service. Thankfully my family prefers the later 8am Mass.... We are all very excited to go to the school where we will be teaching and using our fundraising funds to build something the school needs. But most importantly it is to meet and get to know the children.
Until next time
Emma
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