Home sweet home, part 1

A long drive's day set us from Chivay, through high peaks at 5000 meters, where an impromptu snowball fight took place, and down again to the modest elevation of slightly below 3000, and the hospitable little village of Raqchi.There we were welcomed by a bunch of old ladies in traditional clothing. They were our hosts for the day and night, and off we trotted to different little houses in the little village, Bernad, Renate, Tim and I were invited to the home of Dolores and her husband Raúl. While she was happily cooking dinner, Raúl took us to the outskirts of the village, where he proudly showed us his patch of corn, potato and quinoa. Using poor Spanish, body language and funny noises, we learnt a bit about their customs and traditions.After the little guided tour around Raqchi, we were served a delicious dinner of soup, rice and chicken, cooked on a woodburnt stove. The after dinner entertainment rained out, though, so the dancing, singing and wearing of traditional clothing had to wait a while.A long nice sleep in their rustic guest room (with stamped clay floor) was followed by a steady homecooked brekkie, after which we were introduced to the secret art of pottery. Dolores showed the group how it was done, after which Catherine, Kate and yours truly showed the group how it wasn't.Raqchi was, a long time ago, home to the centrel reserve of the Incas. A crossroads in the infrastructure and located at an altitude where it was neither too hot, nor too cold, Raqchi made the perfect spot to build storage rooms for food for tr avellers and tribes in need.As is convenient, they also provided ancient bathrooms, whose water has a source no one knew. The Incas kept it a secret to avoid their enemies poisoning the source. Challenge accepted, thought Chollong, Cillian, Catherine, Kate and I and climbed the nearby mountain in searrch for the elusive source, or, failing that, a good view and some photo ops. As far as everyone else knows, we did not find the water source.After a delicious home-cooked meal, we dressed up in traditional clothing and danced our goodbyes to the hospitable homeowners and set sail for Cusco.