Sunday 3rd November 2002
Ok,well I have just got back from a week in Urubamba where my language school has a separate school. 11 of us when in total and although in rained a ridiculous amount I had a brilliant week. Urubamba is part of the sacred valley and the area has lots of things to do and see.
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On the way there last Sunday we stopped a little way from Urubamba where we went to a market for a while and then walked for a few hours across the most amazing countryside. There are lots of pictures on the following page of what we saw, none of them really do it justice though. I'll try and put explanations of things on the pictures so if you hover over them you get more information.
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The week was spent living in th schools acomodation which it self is very attractive and there is even a swimming pool although due to the rain and the general coldness of the pool none of us actually managed any swimming. The school there is organised and run by an Argentinian guy called Raul who could have been anywhere between 50 & 70 years old. There is a cook called Janet who's husband is also the night watchman. They also had 3 cats (one a kitten) and two dogs running about who were are main source of entertainment alot of the time.
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One of the days we were there we went on a walk to the salt pans. These are loads of pools which have been in use since Inca times. APparently the water running down from the mountains contains salt and it passes through lots of these shallow pools where eventually the water evaporates and the salt is left on the bottom (very basic but you get the idea) the whole area of pools is huge and apparently on a good day (when it hasn't been raining) the whole thing is just totally white. The pools are owned by families and they're passed down through generations. It's quite a lot of work for not much money though.
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On Thursday we went for a picnic at a trout farm where we got to watch our fish being fished out of the water and then killed (quick blow to the head on the edge of a box) and 1/2 later we all had fried trout for lunch which was very tasty and we were guaranteed freshness. (sorry no pictures of dead fish unfortunately).
This was followed in the evening by a bonfire which was 80% petrol. We weren't feeling particularly enthusiastic though and gave up totally when the rain got too hard.
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Friday was a very busy day as it was a bank holiday so we took a trip to a cemetary in the morning to see lots of Peruvians tidying up the graves of their relatives whch was quite morbid but interesting as although where we went there were some people buried in the ground most were in sort of coffin holders above ground. There were lots of structures with holes in them where the coffins are placed and the the front is blocked up and there is a space for people to put pictures, flowers etc. Apparently there is rent on the spaces aswell so if the rent is not paid you get moved (think this is right, don't quote me).
In the afternoon we went on a long walk along the side of the river to Ollantaytambo which is an Inca ruin. We didn't actually go to the ruin as it's sort of on the way to Machu Picchu so most people do it then. The walk itself was lovely although noone was really sure where the bridge was to cross back over the river so we walked for quite a while. It was well worth it though as we got a lovely view of the ruins from across the river
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Friday was finished off with a bit of cooking class where we learned how to make Lomo Saltando, which is beef, fries, tomatos, peas & onions all mixed up together and served with rice. Very nice actually.
This was then followed by a salsa class at the disco in town and a bit of a guitar recital which a few of us went to which involved us singing along to various Spanish songs we had never heard of (we had words though which helped).
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Thats about it for Urubamba. We had a few problems with one of the teachers but the other people were lovely and on the whole it was a great week even though because of the cold we had a couple of afternoons sitting around playing games and watching TV.
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