Ayacucho, Day 2

Today I´ll start by answering some questions that have come up in emails so I don´t have to send multiple replies:

The hotel I´m in right now costs S/20 per night, which is about $6 Canadian. The hotel I might move to in a couple nights is I think S/15, which saves me $1.70 (enough for 2 meals). I think I´ll stay put for a couple nights though cuz it´s in a good area I just don´t feel like moving yet. I can spend less than $10 a day here even in the more expensive hotel, so it´s not a big deal.

The area feels very safe. I watch my day bag when I´m walking around town sometimes wear it on my front where I can see it, but as long as I have my eyes open I don´t think there´ll be any problems.

I do buy bottled water for drinking and for brushing my teeth. It only costs 1 or 2 soles ($0.34-$0.68 for a 600mL bottle) and I´m careful not to use too much. It´s actually amazing how quickly you learn to preserve everything you have when travelling. By the end of the first day I was using half the amount of shampoo I usually use, and only what I absolutely need for toilet paper and that kind of thing. It´s not expensive, but it´s important not to waste anything. And all those squats I´ve been doing have come in handy! If you don´t want to sit on the toilet seat you have to work your leg muscles.

Temperatures have been pretty nice so far. It´s still winter in Peru so during the day it has been about 20 degrees Celsius, and cooler at night. I still get pretty warm during the day though because the sun is strong.

I actually did meet someone today. There are virtually no tourists here and no one speaks English, but I happened to run into a local with whom I´d spoken briefly in Lima. He is on holidays and just happens to be in Ayacucho for a few days. He does speak a bit of English (much more than I speak Spanish), so today I hung out with him and his brother. They also happen to be staying at the same hotel as I am, so I´m sure I´ll see them again.

Before I met up with Herman and his brother though, I spent the day walking around and taking some pictures (I was charging my camera batteries yesterday and so was camera-less before). With churches being this city´s claim to fame, there is one almost every block, all Roman Catholic. I decided to step in on a church service that was going on; I sat in the back and caught the last 15 minutes of the service. Inside the church is massive, very ornate, all gold, very decorative. I enjoyed the choir music and at the end of the service a woman gave me one of the little candles that they were handing out at the front.

I also went to the busy ´mercado central´(central market). There are so many things I was tempted to buy but I abstained. All the clothing and textiles are so colourful and rich. I asked one merchant if I could take a picture of her wares; she moved out of the way cuz she didn´t want me to take her picture, but I got one of the floor to ceiling crafts.

In the Plaza de Armas a man convinced me to try ´muyuchi´, a traditional Peruvian ice cream. It´s very different from the ice cream I´m used to, but very delicious. It´s kind of milky, but the consistency is more like a popsicle than creamy ice cream.

The food here is very good. Last night I went into a little restaurant and ordered the set dinner you can always find (a la carte meals are more expensive). I got a big bowl of chicken noodle soup, rice, a quarter chicken, veggies, a potato, and tea for a grand total of S/3 ($1.02). I could hardly eat it all!

And this morning for breakfast, or ´desayuno´, I had ´arroz a la cubana´, a plate of rice with a fried egg on top and fried banana around the side. So delicious.

Last night when I had nothing else to do I flipped on my little TV and found one English channel. I watched the film ´When Harry Met Sally´ with Billy Chrystal and Meg Ryan. It was a nice distraction.

Anyway I´m off to my hotel again then I´ll find somewhere to eat dinner. I hope to be in Cuzco by the 25, but I haven´t decided if I´ll stop anywhere else on the way. Either way I´ll be here for about a week.

Until next time!

P.S. My birthday is in 3 days!!!!