24/11/12

Back at the hostal we left our big bags and got into the mini-bus with the first stop being a shop where we could buy some gifts for our host families. Not knowing the ages of the children Neil and I bought a range of stuff hoping it'd be suitable.

Back in the van we dove high up over Cusco to the statue of Jesus on the hill - a replica of Christ the Redeemer in Rio - where we got some stunning views of Cusco below.

An hour or so later we arrive at Ccaccaccollo - our home for the night. We were greeted by 4 'mums' and after some confusion we were all assigned a family. Neil and I were hosted by Patricia (also my real mum's name!) and after a welcome hug she handed us a bunch of lovely flowers each. Patricia insisted on carrying our duffel bags for us even though we protested! Michael also accompanyied us and was very taken with Neil (unless he had spied the bag of treats he was carrying!).

By this time Neil and I were rather pleased we hadn't had to carry our bags 'home' , as 'home' was right at the top of the village up a very steep hill! Once at the top with our breaths back Patricia showed us around and put our duffel bags in our huge room. Neil and I spent some tiime talking to Michael, Patricia's youngest son who was 4 years old, and we also met Brian who was 10. Patricia served us a delicious lunch of soup followed by rice, cheese and a potato dish. It was a great experience to sit down with mum and 2 sons to eat whilst we learnt a bit about about each others' lives. Patricia also have a 14 year old daughter who was away in Cusco learning English to help with the tourists. It was a funny old lunch as I was asking most of the questions, but Neil was having to translate for both me and Patricia - it caused one or two giggles and broke the ice.

After lunch we got dressed into traditional clothes and made our way down the hill to meet the others. We then went down another hill to a field where we all pitched in to turn the land over ready to be planted with potatoes. The mums, after showing us what to do, sat at the side knitting, while 4 year old Michael joined in the farming. Unfortunately it started to rain so we packed up and made our way back to the house via the plaza. The whole time Patricia was trying to cover me from the rain with a blanket - so sweet. Michael was scared of the thunder so we all rushed up the hill as fast as we could, where back at 'home' Neil and I had time to relax. I still had a headache so thought I'd have a nap but Michael had other plans as he wanted to play with his new amigo Neil. It was a lovely afternoon watching Michael entertain himself with marbles, and at one point making a road out of toilet paper, and a car out of my small hairbrush - such a great imagination! Who needs a DS, Ipad or even Fisher Price?!

A short while later we were all called down to the kitchen to watch Patricia prepare the dinner over a wood fired stove. It was lovely and warm in the kitchen and Michael after stoking the fire (!) fell asleep on my lap - so cute! We sat down to eat with Patricia and her husband Elias - soup and lomo saltado - delicious and filing again! The family work so hard hosting tourists once or twice a month as well as Patricia making handicrafts and Elias working on the basic santitation labour for the village. Elias is usually a porter for the Inca Trail but has a bad knee so is having a rest this year - a 'rest' being that he still works as a labourer!

After dinner we dressed up again and headed down to the plaza to the work building that had been built for the women to make their handicraft in by G Adventures. Its nice to know that some of our money is going to something worthwhile. On the way down the hill in the dark Elias took my hand and wouldnt let go ensuring I got down safe and sound! At the building the ladies sang to us and then we did some traditional Peruvian dancing which was lots of fun. After wearing ourselves out we had a beer from the only store in town and then headed 'home'. The walk up the hill getting slightly easier and good practice for the Inca Trail. It was nice to get in to bed after a tiring but fulfilling day.

25/11/12

We had a really good nights sleep despite being told that Michael had been awake crying in the night due to tooth ache - we didn't hear a sound! We were called down to breakfast by Michael and were served a delicious porridge type thing with bread and cheese - yum. We said goodbye to Brian and made our way down to the plaza with Patricia and Michael where we helped to set up her stall with her. It's amazing that she hand makes all this stuff and I ended up buying a scarf, a headband and some socks for 70 Soles. This is quite expensive compared with Cusco but it's more sentimental for me knowing where its come from, and also helping out without being patronising. Patricia also gave Neil and I a small purse each which was a lovely gesture.

We had a little look around the other stalls and were told how the wool was made and coloured. All of the colourings are made from natural ingredients. We were also shown the different types of wool from the difffent animals - Llama, Alpaca, Baby Alpaca (not actually a baby but their first cut of wool) and Vicuna.

It was then time for goodbyes so it was big hugs for Neil and I from Patricia and Michael before we got on the bus and headed for Ollantaytambo.

xxx