I woke up this morning as light was breaking through and listened to the birdsong and lay there musing on how different dawn is here from Santiago. We have learnt in a short time that it’s best to go out in the morning and return home before the afternoon rain and thunderstorms which are in progress as I write. Another thing that we are learning is that cooking for ourselves is a waste of time and effort as street food is so cheap and even a lovely restaurant meal is only £10 each. The street empanadas (rather like a pasty) are 2 soles and those in a cafe just 4 soles … less than £1. 

We bought a boleto  touristico today which covers entry to 16 visitor attractions in the area so we’ll not be short of things to do! We visited a museum about early Inca culture - covering topics such as  farming, textiles, weapons, ceramics and one other very odd thing. Apparently there was a process for reshaping a baby’s skull using bands and ties to make it elongated. There were skulls showing the effect of the process… quite unsettling.

Wandered back to the market and bought a juice - orange, mango and passionate fruit. Good to sit amongst the locals and watch the people. I feel a need to support the sellers so I bought a few vegetables . As we wandered the streets we found a fabulous restaurant… our waitress spoke fluent English and talked us through the menu, explaining the ethos of the place, sourcing ingredients locally and basing their dishes on traditional Peruvian recipes. She was a star. You will see from the photos how our food was beautifully presented. At the end of the meal we had a complimentary herb tea to aid digestion and a sample of their ice cream. Also we had a sachet of herbs to take away! 

After lunch we took a different route home. I’m determined to train for the Inca trail and Cusco with its many steep and long flights of steps is the ideal place to do it. Paul is in training by default… he has to come with me or I get lost 😂 Each day I have to walk up 100 steep steps.. not easy when we have access to only half our  usual oxygen supply. The route we chose took us to a lovely part of town which we will explore more another day. It’s such a relief to get away from the hard sell of downtown. On the way I spotted another 100 step challenge for tomorrow … whoop whoop!

Street art and passages 

Sticking to the pavement 

Perfect little Inca statue 

Inca vase

Big door. Small man. You decide 

Fresh fruit and vegetables for juice making 

Enjoying a freshly made orange, mango and passion fruit juice. Lovely 

A bread stall selling all the same bread 

Local cheese 

Potatoes. Loads of different varieties 

Flowers

Paul’s mocktail 

Vegan burger. So delicious 

Quinotto. A quinoa dish for Raine. Beautiful and so tasty

A post meal digestive 

Some complementary ice cream 

Before stairs training 

Steeper than they look

She’s off

Turn round for the view 

An old abandoned Volvo. Looks like it has been here for many years 

Blue door and a dog. An artistic study 😂

Prickly 

Still enjoying my juice

Striding it out