Salt mine

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.

LeendertSaltmine

View of Cusco & Cooking class

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

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MarketCuscoLadies

 

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

ClayBricksCusco ClayBrickBuilding

 

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

TeamCookingCusco FoodSelfCookCusco

Leaving the School in Cusco – celebrate (and bit sad)

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

LeendertCuscoSchoolHug Heidi2StudentsCusco HeidiAliciaSmileyClass HeidiStudentSmile

The Staff goodbye drink

GoodbyeDrinkCusco

 

Should have been a regular day in Cusco – but I got burned

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!

Cusco School protest

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

 

Regular day in Cusco

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 19th of February, and some places in Asia totally shut down then).

Cusco Garmin normal day

Machu Picchu

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

Machu Picchu Saturday

Sunday

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Machu Picchu – “breathtaking” according to Heidi

And we come from Cuzco (a higher altitude).

Absolutely magnificent.

MachPicchView OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOn the train there

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This is part of homework! Field trip to discover the Incas.L&A MachuP

Can you get it more Peruvian? Lamas at Machu Picchu!

Lamas at MPicchu

 

 

Person who needs a haircut worse than Leendert

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.

alpacaHairDay

 

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!

Getting into the routine

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,

 

Les permière semaines

Les jours passait à une vitesse incroyable! Nous avons nager presque toutes jour. Nous jouons jusqu’à que l’un de nous (mon frère, ma mère, mon père, mon oncle,…). Nous nous somme éclatée. On et aussi aller au “state fair”. À Quito, nous avions pus visiter plain de chose. Par exemple, on a visiter une église faite d’or! Presque tout.

Le state fair et une fête que les fermier on commencer environ en 1900. Les fermiers ce réunirait pour monter ce qui pouvait faire. Par exemple, qui pourrait faire grandir le piment le plus chaud, out la plus grosse citrouille (ça tombai bien, cette Halloween!). Il ne grandissait pas de choses seulement mais aussi voire qui pouvait avait les animaux les majeure. Nous nous somme amuser comme des fous. Il y avais aussi de attraction de fous!

Moi et ma famille étonne dans la piscine près pour un vrais jeux de volley-ball dans l’eau. Le filet étai haut et l’eau étai bien chaude. La ball dans mes main, je faisait le premier service. J’ai déjà fait un out deux mois en sport de volley. Je peut y arriver. Je frappe la balle de toute mes force et fait la balle passée loin au-dessus mon père et mon grand père et a l’autre coté de la piscine de out étai ma grand mère.

J’avais pris un pas dans l’église et je l’adorait déjà. L’or sur les mur et les peinture sur les mur. Tout était magnifique! Il y avait plus d’or que le double de toute l’or que vous avez vus de votre vie! Toute ma famille, nous avions fait une point que c’était super beaucoup d’or. Je me pouvait pas ‘en passer comment beaucoup d’or étai la. Même juste sur un mur!