Cusco: Week 2

Last Sunday afternoon was spent watching the local fútbol team win their championship game before the home crowd! It was so much fun and I love the we experienced a fútbol game in South America, even if it was for one of the smaller leagues. The crowd energy was great and we enjoyed spending the afternoon with one of our Spanish school classmates. 

¡Los ganadores!

However, the week certainly started off a little rough! Our home was without water most of Sunday and when we got it back Monday, the hot water wasn't working in the shower. Oh, and on Monday my cellphone was stolen while we were riding the bus to school. So Monday our super nice hosts installed a new shower head and we filed our first police report in a foreign country! Yay! We have also been struggling a bit to arrange some aspects of our stay here in Cusco which has only added to the stress.

Thankfully, Tuesday was better. I couldn't get easy translation help from my phone in class, but at least I'm in class with Katreina and she's a huge help. We decided to trek back into the city for an evening activity at our school, "Las frutas Peruanas." It was a really awesome evening where our teacher, Fanny, taught us all about where the fruits come from, what they are expected to taste like, how they are beneficial to the body, and how to pronounce their names correctly (I'm working on it!). We tried them as fruits, juices, and even one as a yogurt drink. We found a few new favorites, found one or two we would pass on, and had a really fun, educational, delicious night with our fellow classmates and instructors. 

What a great night! Granadilla, maracuya, and aguamanto were new, delicious finds!

We had a sort of routine Wednesday, but Thursday was full of all sorts of excitement! After school and a huge, delicious lunch with our host family, Frank and I returned to the police station with a location ping and a conversation we had with the guy that has my phone to see if they could do anything with it. Well...we ended up in the back of a police car, heading to the location of the last ping! The police pounded on a few doors and talked to some people...no luck, but holy cow, I can't imagine they would have brought us along in the U.S.! Then they basically provided us with a taxi service to a store we were headed to to buy a gift for our host mum! Again, would this happen in the U.S.? The store, a jardineria or plant store, was amazing and when we didn't see the perfect gift ready-made, we got some help from the shop keeper and she made our perfect gift in minutes! From there, we headed to a market ("mercado") to get Frank's sunglasses screw replaced. 45 minutes and at least a dozen different screws tried later, the glasses were back together and the lady told us "no cost." She would not take the equivalent of $1.25 (5 soles) and finally let us give her the equivalent of $0.75. The majority of the people here are simply amazing! 

Riding with the police before we got a nice gift made up for our host mum.

Friday we said goodbye to a few classmates that are moving on, Katreina and I shopped for sun protection and snacks for our weekend trip, as I reluctantly started shopping for a phone. We are thankful for our local Bodega that has all we need for a big dinner (including wine) for $11 and the nice big kitchen we've had for the past 2 weeks.

We have really loved meeting other students from around the world!

But Saturday...we went to Rainbow Mountain! Holy hell, the altitude (5036m at the top of the viewpoint!) about killed me, but it was so worth it! It was foggy as we hiked up the mountain (and there were a few snowflakes here and there!), but the fog cleared just as we got to the top and we had a spectacular view! It was actually very pretty as the fog rolled back in, too! We had time and a burst of energy so Frank and I opted for the additional trek to the Red Valley viewpoint while the kids took their time going back down the mountain. It was amazing! It may have even topped Rainbow Mountain for us. Our photos don't fully capture the amazing views (or how out-of-breath this 40-something asthmatic chick was), but it was a breathtaking experience and I'm so glad we went. We spent a little extra money and went with a tour company that picked us up at 0300 and got to the mountain super early and after seeing the massive crowds while we were on our way back down, we would absolutely say it was worth it. Their bus, meals, and guides were spectacular as well, so we would definitely recommend Rainbow Mountain Travels. 

La Montaña de Siete Colores and Valle Rojo...simply stunning!

I also rejoined the modern world Saturday with the purchase of a new phone. I would still love to get my old one back from the jerk that stole it (and who continues interesting techniques to try to get me to unlock it), but I need to move on.

And today, we moved! This is a bittersweet change for us as the move will drastically reduce the amount of time we will spend commuting to school, but will also move us out of a very big, comfortable home with a wonderful family. Our new place is different, but also very unique and I think we will love it! Our family has two rooms in a building that has been used as a hostel before but is now a family home. We are right in the heart of old Cusco, but it seems peaceful with bubbling garden features and the kids seem happy with their space. Our first meal with the host family (sisters!) was really yummy and relaxed and made me feel a little better about the move. Can't wait to see what our new weekly routine will be!

Maria and her family were wonderful hosts! We will miss them!

Our new place is also with a host family!

We also decided to go to “El Gran Circo de la Familia Madrigal,” a cirque-esque Encanto-themed show. It was in something like a school gymnasium but it was really good! The performers were daring and performed their stunts without any sort of safety gear. The real treat was seeing the local families out for a fun show! (Oh, and I guess I should mention the pre-show entertainment of me tripping and falling/rolling onto the road in front of traffic...pretty sure it's going to leave a bruise or two!) 

So many surprises in this cute show!

So we are ready to start week #3! Trent is moving "up" into Frank's Spanish class this week and we are very excited to see how our new routine works for everyone. And of course, we are making some plans for next weekend! 

~Jo, Nomadic Momma