"Brand New" Ruins... Baratillo, More Recreational Dental Surgery and Adios to Leah and Kayla

Cute little girl attempting to walk on the sidewalk and hit all of the steps on the way...

When Rich worked in the Apurimac Region of Peru, he learned a lot of pretty useless details about native life. One of the things the people there told him had to do with a potato which has a special name. This name has to do with part of the idiosyncrasies of campesino life.  When a young woman wants to marry a man, her mother-in-law to be can and usually does make her prove her homemaker skills. She will require her to spin, weave, and cook for her to demonstrate her talents in these critical areas. Anyway, the potato in question is dubbed “The potato to make a daughter-in-law weep,” because of its difficulty to peel. Here is the photo. Logically, it is named something else shorter but phenomenally difficult to pronounce in Quechua, probably to go along with its difficulty to peel. They taste pretty good!

Baratillo

Baratillo

Baratillo

Baratillo

Baratillo

Baratillo

Baratillo

Baratillo

Baratillo

Baratillo

Baratillo

Baratillo

Baratillo wrench/ball-bearing guy

Baratillo,  funnel lady

Baratillo, bottle lady

Baratillo, yarn and plastic stuff ladies

Baratillo, Stomach soup lady

Baratillo, parrot and puppy entertainment 

Baratillo

Baratillo

Baratillo yarn/bells/horse tack guy

Julie, Kayla and Leah on the bus to Sicauni

Espinar dogs for Pauline

Kayla, Cinthia, Leah in front of the Espinar chappel

Cool lighting on the Amargura steps

A friendly dog for Pauline

A friendly dog for Pauline

Random drunk

Sunset over Cusco

Leah, Matilde and Kayla

Leah with  an adorable boxer pup in our neighborhood, she is pretty hopeless at resisting cute doggies

Ruin discovered beneath the Plaza de Armas in Cusco

Ruin discovered beneath the Plaza de Armas in Cusco

Ruin discovered beneath the Plaza de Armas in Cusco

Ruin discovered beneath the Plaza de Armas in Cusco

Ruin discovered beneath the Plaza de Armas in Cusco

Ruin discovered beneath the Plaza de Armas in Cusco

Colonial vintage stirrup and cups

Big man mural

Beggar near the bus terminal

Another beggar near the bus terminal

 Saturday morning before we left for Espinar, we took the girls to the Baratillo (second hand place.)They have all kinds of everything there; clothes, tools, electronics, toys, glass bottles of every size and shape, automotive parts and many of the new handicrafts that the vendors around the plaza sell for double/triple or more the price they pay in the Baratillo. It is always an adventure and there is always something new or different that we haven’t seen before. We try to get there early so we can walk without the huge crowds that show up after 9am. We never take anything of value and we’re always warned by well-meaning Peruvians to be careful because there are “rateros” or (thieves.) So far we have never had anything taken. 

Our trip up to Espinar went smoothly and we arrived in time for the Leadership Training Meeting Saturday evening. Leah came with us and everyone was so excited to see her. Even those who didn’t live in Espinar while we were living there were excited to see her and us. Everyone in that area seems to know about the Hasler family. We had dinner in the El Pollon chicken restaurant we always went to. The chicken foot soup was hot and delicious and the chicken and fries were yummy. It was fun to eat there again with Leah.

On Saturday night we attended a leadership training in which Rich trained on commitment to a gathering of 25 leaders from the ward and family group there.

Sunday morning Julie and the girls had masa mora de quinoa, a creamy, smooth, thick quinoa hot cereal with grated cheese for breakfast. We were freezing so the hot cereal was perfect. Rich and our friend Enrique Meneses, who is over Family History for the area, had Timpu de Trucha. This has a huge piece of delicious boiled trout, lots of chuno and boiled potatoes with a hot broth. Enrique came to Espinar to teach about Family History and to get the members excited about getting their stories and information in the “My Family” booklets. Rich gave a talk in Sacrament meeting, taught the Temple Preparation Class, and then Brother Meneses had the third hour combined with all the youth and adults. It was a great Sunday and we had a wonderful time visiting with old friends.

We stopped by to visit “briefly” with Osvaldo Gaona, a lawyer, hunting buddy friend from Tintaya. His wife Ruth had prepared a delicious lunch of “perdiz” (tinamou wild birds similar to a partridge) with potatoes and a wonderful salad. We loved visiting with them and wished we could have stayed longer but we needed to catch our bus for Sicuani. 

We were pretty wiped out and slept most of the way to Sicuani. When we arrived we gathered our belongings to catch the bus to Cusco and discovered that one of our back packs was missing. It was our favorite small one and we’re certain someone behind us saw the “gringo’s” put a bag above us. While we were dozing and not paying attention, they picked it up and took it. Fortunately, all it had was some food and water. The pack was by far the most valuable thing  and painful loss. We’ll have to be more careful in the future. Rats!

While we were busy during the week with Leah and Kayla, the road construction crews around the Plaza de Armas dug into a “new” Inca ruin. It is pretty amazing and the archeologists are frantically mapping it. There are some beautiful walls and stairs, and we were able to watch them for a while. We’ll keep returning to see their progress.

We flew to Lima on Tuesday to send Leah and Kayla back to the states and for dentist appointments for Rich. We had fun going to the huge Mercado Indio where the girls were able to do some last minute shopping and we had dinner at our favorite Italian Trattoria in Larco Mar. The girls arrived home in Idaho safe and sound and Julie relaxed in Lima while Rich had some dental appointments and a little more delightful dental surgery. The fun never stops! We were able to attend the temple in Lima Friday morning before our flight back to Cusco. We always love going to the temple. What a wonderful, peaceful place to renew our spirits.

We arrived home in Cusco Friday night in a big, cold, rainstorm. Yuck, we’re not ready for the rainy season yet. We are excited to get back to work and make up for our lousy numbers while we were having fun with Leah. We spent Saturday getting the laundry done and the house back to normal and shipped our Family History disc with poor numbers…

Tonight we attended a concert of the Children Singers from San Florian, Austria. It was pretty enjoyable and even included some good old Austrian slap dancing...