How can one not buy? Such a wonderful market near Cusco

2800 salt pools are used at the salt mine we went to.
They are filled with water from a saltwater spring.
They have five kinds of salt.
The water takes 3 weeks to evaporate but they fill them 2 per week.
In two weeks a person gets 40 kilograms of salt from a small pool. They get double from the big ones.

Cusco Skys are amazing!  View over the city. The colours of the markets.

The bricks of clay – and the finished building (ready for some plaster on the outside)

Cooking class with a fun bunch of people  (it tastes better than it looks!)

Had a fantastic time in Cusco school – the smiles we encounter…

The Staff goodbye drink

Good day, but got a sunburn as we were part of an unexpected protest march for the school.

They have been for 3 years in a crapy substandard location and they want to move into the new school before the school year is out (mid January). Great to have this as my first protest march in life!

of course this (two hours in the morning sun) happens when I for once did not slap sunscreen on!

Monday, a regular day.

After breakfast we drop of the laundry and go to school. On the way Heidi buys some clear spray-paint which is needed for the class and the rest is what has become a routine. I reflect how incredible it is that within 1 week we have grown accustomed to a new reality.

Below the distance tracked. Walk to school (South East) – much walking with the kids in school, back home for lunch. Then to the North-West for spanish lessons – irregular verbs, and a  quick shopping trip during the mid-afternoon break, then back home.

In the evening Heidi and I look at the February diary. It is time for us to plan the trip after Dubai. We are puzzling around three elements; our time in Nepal, the need to be in a good location to get our Chinese visa’s and last but not least a good location to manage Chinese new-year (which is 19^th of February, and some places in Asia totally shut down then).

We have just come back from Machu Picchu. We had a splendid time there. A very fun thing is that between Saturday and Sunday, how much more pleasant it was on Saturday more than Sunday. Not only was it raining on Sunday but it is also the locals free day so they are all coming to see the sights. So, Sunday was not really a Sun-day.

Saturday

Sunday

You may have met a lot of people who need a serious haircut. Well, I think I beat you all with that. Here is the proof.

Well, ok maybe that is a bit of cheating as it is an animal. To be more precise it is an Alpaca.

We got to go visit a centre of Alpaca’s, lama’s, and more animals. Alpacas get their hair cut only once a year (and they turn into beautiful sweaters).

You can’t see the feet of this alpaca because it has too much hair!

Cusco is treating us well. The majority of the altitude effects are gone, we are fully in the know on what to do in the school we help out, and our spanish lessons are going quite well.

Kids loved the massage yesterday, we are eating very well and just booked the trip for the weekend to Machu Picchu. Can’t wait!

Hasta la próxima post,