Inauguration day

Crossing the bridge the next morning

The next morning I woke up to this. As soon as I open the door one of the chickens ran inside the room looking
for food , unlucky for the chicken cause I was looking for some food myself and the chickens were looking good.

So I went around the house and this is what I saw.

Lucky for the chickens when the owner of the house offered me a plate of soup.
Lamb, potato and chuno (dehydrated  potato) with a bit of onions and oregano. The best.
Chuno it's made by an ancient technique of drying potatoes in the open at very cold high altitudes and it's been                                          the back bone of the Inca empire to survive famines and droughts for centuries, Lucky me because
there was no restaurants here.

The Apurimac river running on the back of the property.
This water will run down the Amazon river and eventually into the Atlantic ocean
  

Beautiful 

Walking to the party.

Setting up for the party.
They were selling fried trout, guinea pig, fried pork, fried duck all served with potatoes.
I had a feast.

Fine tuning.

This is one of my favourite photos.
Thesd two brothers were getting ready for a dancing contest.

These fellows were heading up to the surrounding hills to start announcing the arrival of the Inca. 

The ropes of the bridge at a closer look
Some of the ropes were 90mm thick.

The bridge was only awaiting the approval and blessing of the Inca.

Announcing.

Here they come

Arriving. 

Bridge inspection.

                                                       His whole entourage was of about 40 people 

The priest doing the blessing of the bridge.

The Inca doing the opening of the bridge.
He spoke in Quechuan  so I don´t know what he was saying but it sounded pretty good and inspiring.

The Inca giving his blessings.
I think.

                                                       Flag bearers.  No, That´s not the gay´s flag. It´s the Inca Empire Flag.

Part of the entourage. 

Add caption

love the hat.

Going for a dance.

It was like a picnic basket. This lady came around with a bag (blanket) over her shoulder,  put it on the ground.
opened the four ends and put the sauce in the middle, then the whole gang got around for a feed.
Their diet is mainly based on potatoes and it was the Inca´s empire key to success.
Here in the Andes there are as many as 2500 different types of potatoes.
In this picture you can probably see 5 or 6.

I was standing in front of these 3 guys , when the guy in the middle said.
"Ok guys a need a hand to do my belt , but don´t pull too hard or I will have to go to the toilet"
It was at that moment I took the shot.
I was so lucky to get this shot.

There were lots and lots of dancing.

Each dance was about showing their way of life or the remembrance of an important event.
This particularly one was about the death of a famous bull fighter.

You can find all kind of bridges around the world some are made out of steel,  wood or rock and you can also
find people that are very proud of them.  Here in Peru you can find a bridge made out of straw like above and you can
also find people that are very proud of it. I am one of them.

Living in the far high Andes is tough going,  no restaurants, no petrol stations, no shops and you only eat what you grow.

I could not believe the surrounding beauty and tranquility of Wenceslao's house.
He thought it was too quiet, I thought it was awesome. 

Waiting for the bus.

Just before leaving I looked back on the way that these people had been living for thousands
of years and I sincerely have a new immense respect for their toughness and their passion towards their true identity.
I did personally thank Wenceslaos for keeping the traditions alive.

Cuzco main plaza.

Back to civilisation. I was so looking for my first shower  after 4 days of flat out travelling.

This is what Raimundo and  I looked like after 100 drinks.
I think I deserved it. Then again.
Why do I keep doing this to myself?