1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #156 - Peruvian craft&food, Peru

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #156

- Peruvian craft and food, Peru

 

(The Peruvian craft made out of alpaca fibre/hair can be quite a skill, brought down from generations. The pattern on an alpaca top is woven not from a book or printed page but from the mind of the weaver..a piece requiring 2 to 3 months to complete. That's skill of the highest order. But for prices of the highest order, it is not baby alpaca coats that cost the most but those made from the vicuna fibre, regarded as the rarest fibre in the world - 2nd photo below. We saw one at the airport that went for U$7000! Food seemed to grow big here..look at the size of the potatoes here and the corn..kernel size is 4 times that of ours)

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #155 - Machu Picchu fashion, Peru

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #155

- Machu Picchu fashion-on-a-train, Peru

 

(The sombre mood on the return train from Machu Picchu to Ollyantaytambo was broken with an unexpected fashion show along the aisle of the train. All clothings were made from baby alpaca fibre, and the range was different and refreshing. One caught my eye and I was tempted to bring back a lovely Peruvian shoulder overcoat that can be worn in 6 different ways - how versatile indeed. Guess which one I bought from the photos here?)

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #154 - Machu Picchu food

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #154

- Machu Picchu food, Peru

 

(After the big climb, a nice meal in Agues Calientes to celebrate the successful ascent was in order. How about "Machu Picchu Pizza"? It's a tall and thick one, as it should be. Another meal at the unusually-shaped Inkaterra restaurant by the railway station turned out to be excellent too. But its the meal at the Inka Grill at Cusco that took the prize for yummy Peruvian food - grilled guinea pig and alpaca. Yum!)

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #153 - Huayna Picchu, Peru

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #153

- Huayna Picchu, Peru

 

(Standing in front of Huayna Picchu, it looked so daunting. A long queue of people - from all nationalities including France, Switzerland, Chile - was already forming at its gate at 7.15am. I took in a quick breath and with a tentative first step, we started our ascent of Huayna Picchu - a vertical climb of 300m that will take 2hours, says the entrance map. With tricky corners and thin stone steps, I finally made it! At 2700m, the view from the top is out of this world - the mighty Machu Picchu is a mere thumbnail photo from here! But conquering Huayna Picchu was thrilling! For a cancer warrior like me, still with numb toes after chemo, this one is really special - yes, I made it, and the video below will show me my own triumph of the human spirit, forever!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #152 - Cloud Forest at Machu Picchu

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #152

- Cloud Forest at Machu Picchu, Peru

 

(At 7am, you can see why this area has real cloud forest everywhere and around Machu Picchu, giving the entire place a palpable heavenly feel. And it appears that this family of 5 llamas here know that too, looking out into the tranquil morning mist. It felt like a cool 15C up here, giving me the opportunity to put on my new baby-alpaca cardigan..snug and warm)