The families of Taray gathered along a road that borders their farms. Community leader Edy Pumacahua Dueas provided a list of 60 families in need. There were a few other people who came also, so it was good that we had bought a little extra food.
Today I woke up in a tent, in the middle of the Huchuy Qosqo Inca archeological site. Last night was a full moon and it really was a magical experience to see such an important Inca site lit up by moonlight as if it were daytime.
For breakfast today, the same kid from a nearby farm brought over boiled potatoes, hard boiled eggs and a thermos of hot water. The Inca didnt have chicken eggs, or anything like the cheese that we had brought with us, but they certainly ate boiled potatoes here. The family had sent a mix of several varieties, each potato about the size of a golf ball. Some were yellow, some a deep purple, some white with a pink center and several other varieties and color variations.
Dinner had been exactly the same: eggs, potatoes and cheese. Partly, it was easier to buy food from nearby farms than to carry our own. Partly, we wanted to support local families in any way that we could. Times are very hard here and even though we dont have enough donations to have a Covid Relief Project event every weekend, I do want
My housemate Kerry joined us this time and it was fun to have her energy added to our usual group of volunteers.
After exploring the ruins some more, we headed down to Lamay. The trail from Patabamba the day before had been mostly downhill, with some gentle uphill parts. Today, the trail was a solid downhill and some parts were pretty steep.
Huchuy Qosqo was much easier to get to, and much closer to Cusco, than I had expected. Ill write a separate blog about the hike with more information about how to find the trail and get to and from Cusco. Itll be with my other Peru blogs on heatherjasper.com
This is the first Monday in a long time that I havent gotten up for work. Im considering July vacation, since I got laid off last week and there really arent many job options for me now. Ill start looking for work to start in August, but for now, I can focus on the Covid Relief Project and enjoy not having to work online four hours every day.
I slept in, then finished unpacking my backpack and put all my dusty clothes in the laundry. The dry season is perfect for clear nights
of full moon and sunny days, but it also makes every trail very dusty. There are so many treks here that I would love to do before I find another job, but I have to be sure that in the area will let us through before I head out.
The Huchuy Qosqo didnt take me through that have walled themselves off, but many have. Like our visit to Perolniyoc on June 27th, many places have roadblocks and checkpoints created by the families that live there, to protect themselves from outsiders.
A week ago, where we met the families of Tastayoc, I saw the glacial stream that every family in uses for drinking and washing. None of them have a well, much less tap water in their home. If Covid started to spread in it would be a disaster. They dont have any access to a hospital, clinic or even a pharmacy. I am sure that some of the places I want to go would be off limits to me, as a from Cusco.
Kerry recruited Nile (white hat) to help her distribute the milk. He was hilarious and pretended to drink from each carton before he handed it over.
officially ended. From March 16th to June 30th, we were only allowed to leave our homes to buy food or get medical help. Up to the beginning of June, we had a 6pm curfew, which later changed to 9pm. Also, nobody was allowed to leave their homes on Sunday, except for medical emergencies. The curfew was strictly enforced by both police and military, although the first offense was just a few hours or a day in jail, depending on how badly curfew was broken. My former housemate Andrea was threatened with arrest by several police on patrol when she took the trash out at 11pm.
