Chinchero homestay

The next morning we took a colectivo back to the Sacred Valley for our homestay in Chinchero. Chinchero is a small town that relies mostly on animal husbandry, livestock, and handicrafts. We met our host dad at the bus stop, walked to the house, and met our host mom and 7yr old sister Milagros. After settling in they took us to their store where we met our older host sister. In the late afternoon Milagros took us to the town’s Catholic church and then to the Incan ruins. Along the way Milagros’ little cousin started following us. When we got to the ruins the little girls announced that now we were going to play. They started gathering twigs and grass for ‘food’ and we played ‘house’ with them. We cooked pretend cuy (guinea pig) and drank lots of chicha morada. I was playing right along and then I realized how special the moment was. We were playing ‘house’ with two Quechua girls on Incan ruins with a spectacular view.

For dinner our host mom made lomo saltado and we ate with Milagros. Everyone went to bed early because the day starts early in Chinchero. In the morning we ate egg and corn pancakes and had the most delicious whole milk, unpasteurized hot chocolate I have ever tasted. Then we walked around the market in the main square and learned how to dye alpaca wool to make yarn for sweaters and hats. We said goodbye to the family and headed back to Cusco in the late morning.