Post #4: This little piggie went to Pisaq market!

January 30, 2011

To Market: colorful, vegetable-filled; jewelry & textile-abundant; craft-laden markets!  Whoo hoo!

1.  Awana Kancha Art Association - Actually before reaching Pisaq, our tour bus stopped at this market/shop where they produce natural dyes and using natural fibers, weave gorgeous scarves, sweaters, hats, you name it.  Hoyt bought a hat and I got an alpaca scarf here.

 



Woman weaving at Awana Kancha

   

Hoyt falls in love with alpaca, who donates wool for shop.

 


Hoyt & alpaca hat from Awana Kancha

2.  Pisaq (or Pisac) Market - this link contains a few nice videos of the area.

Pisaq is an old archeological site (we didn't get to see much of it) and has a great market.  For the world's biggest maize (corn), with kernels the size of dimes, Peruvians win the prize! We ate some later in a restaurant and found it deeelicious. 


Maize kernels the size of a dime

  


Pisaq market: veggie central.

 
One potato, two potato, three potato - thousands of potatoes!
We ate potatoes at several meals but have no idea which kind they were. Peru has about 3,000 varieties of potatoes. No kidding.  "Today, scientists have identified more than 4,000 potato varieties, many of which -such as the yellow potato (papa amarilla or papa huayro) are only founded in Peru. In fact, Peruvian potatoes are held to be matchless in flavor and texture: their noble yet delicate shapes fit perfectly into the cultural background this tuber enjoys in Peru: the all-powerful Quechua culture revered the potato not just as a crucial foodstuff, but as an icon." http://www.perutravels.net/peru-travel-guide/art-gastronomy-potato.htm



Potato icons



Shaman - On the street, we saw what we believed to be a healer/shaman dispensing help and selling herbs to passersby, whose photo we accidentally captured.  Hoyt's studies foray into parapsychological studies that encompass human potentials like shamanism. 




Shaman is on the left near a doorway, wearing a white band around his head.





Muna restaurant where we ate lunch, including BIG corn, trout, potatoes, alpaca. We didn't like the alpaca.  It was too tangy and strong tasting.



Pisaq taxi

Pisaq from above

Travel tip:  The Peruvian dollar is called the "sol."  At the time we went, the conversion rate was 2.7 sols for one US dollar.  Be sure to have sols when shopping in markets and most shops.  Upscale stores and restaurants take credit cards.

Next stop:  Ullantaytambo, a place of great sacred and military significance.