We got up the next morning and enjoyed breakfast at “The Meeting Place” again. Ed had the Waffles sundae. Talk about a breakfast of champions.

Afterwards we met Maria for another day of adventures in Cusco.

We had commented that we hadn’t seen any cemeteries during our visit to Peru so not only did she give us a tour of the main cemetery,  she explained the customs of mourning and funeral services as well as graciously showed us where her mother, father and other members of her family were buried.

It was interesting to learn that:

  • the actual niches are rented for 10 year periods and if the rent isn’t paid then the bodies are moved.
  • There were sculptures, trinkets and solar powered toys in many of the glass niches that one would assume represented things the deceased would have enjoyed.
  • drivers had their own section in the cemetery which isn’t surprising because the roads are so small and they drive so fast around them.
  • that you wear black for 1 full year and then have a ceremony before you can incorporate color back into your wardrobe again.
  • there were 2 young boys standing near the entrance who would clean the glass niches and refresh flowers in exchange for a few Soles (Peruvian currency equivalent to $1). It’s hard to imagine that children Caitlyn’s age would do this to help add to the family income.

From here we went to “Tratoria Del Inca” which is a newly opened restaurant. We had a cooking lesson with Vidal and learned how to make Ceviche and Ajo de Gallina which was chicken with chili peppers.  The cooking lesson was a perfect mix of hands on experience and watching  a chef do his magic. The food was amazing and a good time was had by all.

 




While walking around Cusco later that afternoon, we came across a group of students who were practicing their dance routine for a Mother’s day performance.


Later that night we took Maria and Philipe our driver out for dinner and ended with a few drinks at the Ukukus Discoteck. The Night Club had some interesting art and played amazing music while we were there. Drinks were cheap and we had a great night of singing, dancing and laughing a lot. We called it an early night as we had a lot to do the next day to prep for our hike along the Inca Trail.