Day 9: “A Day in the Life” in Izcuchaca and Chinchero village – 5.9.19

We left by 8 this morning to ride to the countryside to catch a glimpse of the lifestyle of the mestizos, people of mixed Spanish and native blood. Our first stop was at the market square of Izcauchca. To me it seemed like we were stepping into a whole new world from Cuzco. I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

This lady starts her day at 4 am. She hard boils eggs then comes an hour by motor taxi to set up her stand here at the town square. She sells about 50 dishes of eggs a day and makes a profit of 10 soles which is about $3.33.

Maria sells her dish of eggs for one soles, about 33 cents.

This woman was selling a non alcoholic cinnamon flavored chicha. If you can’t stay to drink it from one of her glasses she can fill a plastic bag to go.

Here Joanne is sampling some of the chicha.

Mestizo women walked through the square with their babies on their backs. There was no shortage of colorful motor taxis.

We then went walking in the town. Here is their version of a hardware store.

This lady was rich compared to most vendors we saw. She had a “convenience store” in one room of her house.

Need a fresh chicken for tonight’s dinner? This woman was selling chickens that she killed and dressed that morning. The chickens sit out on that table all day until she sells out.

In a bakery, this Mestizo was not only baking breads, but also potatoes and meats. Notice cuy (guinea pig) on the front of the tray. There were sausages behind the cuy. This man has been a baker all his life. His four sons have finished or attend the university in Cuzco and do not want his bakery. . He will pass on his business on to one of his workers.

We stopped at a hat store. Hats are a tradition here started by the Spanish who required each tribe to wear a specific kind of hat in order to tell where they lived. This tradition has continued even today.

Pepe gave us an assignment. He put each of us into a group to go shopping in the market. I was with Joanne, Scott, Sharon, and Beth. We were told to find out the prices of various items and to buy a half of kilo of red, yellow and green pepper with the one sole he gave us. Then with one more sole we were to flag a motor taxi and return to the central plaza. What a riot! Here Joanne is asking for the peppers and making the purchase.

Beth, Sharon and I made it back to the square. Riding in the tuktuk was fun. Notice the driver was happy to give us a lift!

We stopped at Maria’s house. She and her husband have a farm where they grow organic quinoa. Here she is showing us bags of gathered quinoa ready to sell.

Here is Maria’s kitchen. She has three children who were all at school during our visit. They all go to the local public school.

Some mestizos from Chinchero were picking potatoes. We stopped to help. Here I am gathering potatoes. Tricia, Marilyn and Tom were busy at work as well.

This mestizo was making lunch for the potato pickers. Guess what they were having? Baked potatoes!

Our next stop was at the local primary school. Each one of us sat across from one of the first grade students. We had to tell our names, where we were from, and our occupations. Then we used a worksheet with pictures of a truck, an airplane, etc. to practice the Spanish word and the English word for that item. The students were eating a government supplied breakfast. I was amazed that there were charts in the classroom written in cursive. We use printing in first grade in our USA schools.

Here I am working one on one with my student. She kept smiling and gave me hugs and kisses when we left.

Here we are witnessing a Shaman, a medicine man, performing a ceremony honoring Mother Earth. Pepe translated what the Shaman said. He put various seeds, plants, and even candy onto the paper.

Here is the finished offering. We all took a turn at holding up three coca leaves, saying a silent wish, and blowing three times before putting our leaves around the offering. The three leaves represent the Father Sun, the Mother Earth and the underground or after life.

The offering then was put onto of the logs to burn as a offering to Father Sun. Here the Shaman poured liquids around the fire as part of the ceremony.

Our next stop was a textile cooperative in the town of Chinchero. Here several women from the village were trained to take the wool through the process of bleaching, spinning, dying and weaving it into the finished material. First we had lunch of a stew, made from faba beans and potatoes, and rice. One of the women explained the process to us, step by step. She asked for volunteers for each step. The women also sang and performed a dance. At the end of our visit we were able to shop. Each woman stood behind her family’s wares. It was awkward to buy from one and not all of them. Selling their handicrafts is a way of making a living in Peru.

We then headed back to our hotel in Cuzco for free time before walking to a nearby Italian restaurant for supper. We had had a very busy day. To me this was our best day yet. The “Day in the Life” first hand experiences were fascinating. I came back with a better understanding of everyday life of the rural mestizos. What a contrast to our way of life in the USA!

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