Finally in Cusco

So what happened in last two months? I just had a great time, living in this little village and working on the cacao land. I know that for most of the vs that are reading can be difficult to understand. Maybe if I knew before where I was going and in which conditions I was going to live, I wouldn't do it. Why to live in place where there are lot of mosquitoes and other insects, no real bathroom, no internet, no supermarkets, no hot shower, no water in the evening, no oven/microwave, no other village within two hours by foot? There isn't a real answer, but what I can tell you is that once you are there, you simply don't want to leave. It was for sure the most relaxing period of my life (and after living 5 years in Israel, this is what I really needed). Here you completely forget about the life we are used to. Everything goes slowly, according to your pace and the weather. On the raining day there isn't so much you can do: working in the chacra would mean getting sick, so no one works under the rain. It rains almost every day, in general in the afternoon. Only one year ago the village got electricity (even if not every family got attached). Almost no one has TV or a refrigerator. Electricity is used more for the light and the radio. There are only few regional radio channels that transmit all day the same 5 cumbia songs. I listened to this music so much that at the end I even liked it. Quecha music is also very beautiful, even if I couldn't understand one word. The day started at the first rays of the sun, we had a good breakfast (avena pancakes, fruit salad, crepes, coffee, bread) and then we walked 10 minutes in the forest to arrive to the cacao land. Every day the job was different, sometimes hard, sometimes fun. The best part for me was collecting the seeds of cacao : I ate lot of cacao fruits and at the end of the day we drank the juice. The fruit is so good, but only the seeds are commercialised, so I could eat how much I wanted. Cooking was another important part of the day. We cooked on the fire, so it took us much more time than cooking on the gas. But I must admit that some foods (for example bread and pizza) are much better cooked on the fire. All fruits and vegetables you can find in the village are organic; buying herbicide or insecticide is too expensive, so all the products are just natural. The funny thing is that in Europe organic products are very expensive, while here they are the cheapest ones you can find. I was living in the farm with the owner and his two dogs. Just few days before I had to leave, one of the dog was run over by a 4x4. We were very afraid he wouldn't survive, but after a very tough night, he made it. I got so attached to these dogs, that I just couldn't leave and I stayed some more days to take care of the dog. When I left, the dog was already feeling much better. Leaving was very hard. Unfortunately my visa is going to expired soon, so I decided to go to the south to visit other places. But I would like to go back in the farm when the coffee is collected and processed... Right now I'm Cusco. I arrived after two days and a half on the bus from Tarapoto. The trip was quite good, besides few minutes of fear, when we were in the middle of nowhere between Tarapoto and Lima. Suddenly a strong smell came from the back of the bus. A man started running shouting, the driver stopped the bus and opened the doors. In less than a minute we were all out, most of us without shoes, getting far away from the vehicle. Someone panicked and crossed the street without even looking and she almost get killed by another car. Only now I understand the importance of sitting next to the door. I catches this bus on the last minute and they gave me the panoramic seat, on the second floor, in the front line, next to the door. I think that since now on, I will always take this seat: beside the panoramic view and lot of space for the foot, it's much safer. The drivers fixed the engine and fortunately after only 15 minutes we could get back on the bus. While we got nearer to Lima the landscape change completely. All the coast line is just a white desert. When I travelled north, I took only night buses, so I gained some days but I missed the landscape. The first impressions I had about Lima was confirmed another time, too much caotic city. Instead of resting one day in Lima after the 28 hours trip, I just decided to take the first bus to Cusco (22 hours). The first day in the city was quite shocking: after two months in a little village, being in a big city full of tourist was just too much overwhelming. I spent the second day joining a free tour of the city and then a personal "tour" between all the tour agencies. Prices here are very high compared to other regions of Perù. I had to walk couple of kms from the centre to find some tours at half price, even if everyone offers exactly the same tour. Doesn't matter where you buy the tour, at the end all the agencies put together all the tourists on the same bus and with the same guide. Yesterday I visited some archaeological sites around Cusco: Qorikancha (a convent built on Inca's ruins), Saqsayhuaman (Inca's temple dedicated to the Sun) , Quenqo (Inca's sacrificial site), Tambomachay (Inca's fortress) and Pukapukara (Inca's water system). At the end of the tour, they took us to a alpaca clothing factory, where they taught us how to recognise a good quality product. After the tour I walked a little bit in the centre, I visited a church were they were celebrating a wedding and then I passed by the theatre and I went to ask about the next shows. I was lucky enough to arrive in the right moment : it was beginning a free event with traditional music and dances from the Andes. It was absolutely amazing, completely different from other kind of music or dance I knew. It wasn't a show organised for tourists (no other gringos in the theatre), but an event to keep alive their culture. I felt very lucky to have the possibility to attend to this spectacle. Today was another long day between the Inca's ruins in the Sacred valley. We visited Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Chinchero. It's impressive how the Incas built their cities or temples, in particular because most of them are located on top of the mountains. At least, after years of hard work, they could enjoy of a beautiful landscape :-)