Cusco

A birthday present I bought for Abby.

Dried fruit that has been carved with images. The sun is Patchapapa and the moon on the other side is the symbol for Patchamama.

While we chatted she carved out the top lid and sanded the insides.

She has 7 children and one grandchild which she showed me a picture of. Her husband carves the images and she sells them in the square.

Beautiful stained glass at the coffee shop.

Nice view from a coffee shop! The rainbow flag is the symbol of Cusco.

So ok. Working backwards, Cusco was an interesting place but not necessarily my favorite. It's a city for sure and after spending all my time in the Sacred Valley of the Incas it was a bit much for me. It seems to be the jump-off spot for all the cool power places in southern Peru. Mucho turistos.

Crowds can drain me quickly and after walking a bit I chose to stop have a coffee and sit in the square. A lady approached me with a bag full of colorful gourds and asked me if I wanted to buy. I said no and she sat down. She started to ask me some questions and the conversation developed.

My Spanish quickly came back as we chatted for a few. She started to show me all the symbols on the gourds and after that I couldn't resist. I asked her about the drawings and she told me her husband carved them all. So intricate.

We chatted about everything as she carved out the lid and sanded it out.

It was perfect and I got the little travel time experience I like to have outside of the retreat. The best part of traveling is going places and chatting up the locals.

It usually happens just like this did. Such kind people in Peru. Between scouting out the markets and taking in the sites, it was a nice way to end the trip.

Definite Upgrade.

As I was leaving Chicago today I had a cool thing happen. I had originally put $10 on a metrocard for the L train to get around the city when I first arrived and didn't use it all. As I headed up the escalator to O'Hare airport, I figured I'd give the unused card to someone who might need it.

I looked around and saw this woman waiting in line with an older woman most likely her mom, so I went up to her and asked her if she needed a fare for the train. Surprised and in shock she responded warily, "Uh, I don't speak English. I don't understand."

She said some quick phrase in Spanish and then it just kicked in. I told her I had a card for the train that still had money on it and asked her if she wanted it. All in Spanish. She looked more shocked than the first time I spoke to her in English which was cool. Her brother came up and she introduced him to me. I told her in Spanish that I still had $5 dollars on it and I didn't need it, and then asked her if she wanted it?

"A gift." her brother said in English smiling. "Yes." I smiled and replied in English.

She took it from me and thanked me. "Gracias!" As I walked off, I remembered Spain and it made me smile.

While checking in, it made me so happy that my Spanish kicked in without even thinking. As I began the familiar check in ritual, I looked at the screen expecting to see the same goofy mileage promotion I have been offered on each leg except it wasn't that goofy anymore.

"You are now eligible to upgrade to First Class. Would you like to?"

Hell, yes! Things are definitely looking up.

Ecuador!

I "heart" frequent flyer miles....