After having a few moments to wander and take pictures in the old ruins, Peter led us out into the main square of town and along some of the streets that have survived since Inca times. He pointed out the new stonework placed atop the old carefully carved blocks that serve as the base for many of the contemporary residences in town. Peter pointed out a gate that would have, in ancient Inca times, indicated the residence of a kinship group of higher class. We wandered into the courtyard and were invited into the house of a senora who brewed chicha (a traditional Peruvian drink brewed from germinated corn). We crowded into her sunlit, one-room kitchen to hear an explanation of the brewing process. “I was surprised that she was so open to letting us into her home and business, especially since she essentially had her entire livelihood contained in that one room,” said Caity from Maryland.
After lunch, we visited various artisan workshops in town. The students were able to choose between a 3-day instruction in ironworking, woodworking and ceramics. Students spent about two hours completing a handicraft with local artisan masters Teddi from Ohio said that, “the ironworking experience…was the bomb diggity.” And Katie from California said of her ceramics workshop: “It’s really interesting with Eduardo [the ceramics instructor] because he understands when to help us and when to let us do our own thing. Even though he’s much better than we are, he still has confidence that we’ll make something pretty.” Students will be able to pick up projects—ranging from key chains, to bowls, to door latches—on Friday.
We have a two day hiking and camping trip planned for Wednesday and Thursday of this week. We’ll be walking along lakeshores and the perimeter of alpaca farms on our way to natural hot springs at Lares. We’ll be sure to update photos when we return!
Until then, Sarah, Mark, Joseph and Brenna
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