Thursday, 2/28. Busy “Day in the Life” segment of the trip. We were fortunate to be here during some kind of women’s day tradition that I can’t find on the internet. Defies description, but it appears to be all in fun. Mannequins are dressed up in weird ways and prizes awarded to the group with the weirdest. A tree is put up, decorated with useful household goods then competitively knocked down on Sunday. The winner gets the goods. A local market makes their mannequin in the likeness of their favorite saleswomen. Foreigners festoon her with confetti and gets hugs. The crowd goes wild.

Had lamb tongue and cheek, plus lamb stew. Preferred the cheek. Had a delicious juice from a local fruit. The “cup” is a plastic bag and straw. Visited a baker with a huge wood-fired oven who also cooks whatever the locals bring to him (for a fee). Guinea pigs again. The oven is hot 360 days a year. Five days off to replace the bricks.

Cemetery is similar to those in Bolivia, but some private ones are much more ornate. They all feature lots of glass for public viewing.

Corn Beer. 1.5% and sweet. Strawberry-flavored option (the “girlie” version). Played a coin-toss game that I was horrible at.

Home-hosted lunch. Traditionally at harvest time everyone helps each other with the expectation of being fed each day by a particular family, so houses are usually equipped with two kitchens and a very large dining room. Got a real lesson in how to convert a living Guinea pig to a main course. Lots of conversation about life in Peru. Courtships are backwards in Peru. Meet, date, move in, have children, buy a house, get married (optional). It was a great time.

Pottery Factory. Frankly Morocco and China had much better products. Lots of Incan reproduction. Not a big fan of abstract art.

Busy day. Tired. Tomorrow, after two weeks of touring, we finally visit one of the two main purposes of the trip. Machu Picchu.

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