AYACUCHO, Peru - 27th, 28th & 29th August

27th August Sunday - Ayacucho is roughly halfway between Lima and Cucso and is at an altitude of 2800 metres. It was the centre of the powerful Huari (Wari) culture which emerged in 500AD and spread around Peru for the next four hundred years. Later the city was an important Inca administrative centre in 1438. It became a Spanish Christian city around 1539. Later during Spanish rule, there was the "bloodly battle" of Ayacucho, which freed Peru from Spain. Ayacucho was the last part of Peru to be freed in 1824. The main plaza in town commemorates this struggle and the people that lost their lives there.

When we arrived here in the evening, after the greatest bus ride ever, we did not have too much trouble finding a place - apart from Rossini getting flea bitten in the 10 minute taxi ride from the bus stop. We left our bags at the first hotel we checked and walked around checking out other hotels till we found one we liked and could afford. We picked the San Francisco Hostal, with a room with a balcony overlooking the street. Rossini then went back for the bags.

The staff at San Francisco were very friendly and helpful. The hotel had a lot of local art around the place including some well made statues and woven baskets. The weaver got a little carried away and wove this very tacky Christ on the cross with little sandles.




For dinner we really wanted something local so tried to stay away from the plaza. It was amazing but every restaurant seemed to serve mainly Pollo Parrilla (grilled chicken). After wandering even further away we found a great place called Miguelita, busy with only a local crowd. While it was a grill food place too - they served brilliant assorted meats and the charcoal grill was brought right to the table, something like the korean-barbecue restaurants. The atmosphere and the food was great especially the sausage (Chirozo). Letay was thrilled as they served a family size Inka Kola with the meal. Great food and atmosphere - being a sunday there was a lot of families eating out. Later that night, Rossini could feel a fever coming on for some reason, and he had a relatively sleepless night with a high temperature.....not too sure why.




28th August, Monday - Rossini woke up not feeling well at all. Letay and I let him sleep in a bit while we went and had breakfast. He felt better a little later in the morning so we went to check out the town. The city had the charm of a colonial town with narrow cobbled streets, beautiful buildings and over thirty churches - just from the terrace of our hotel we could see nine. We saw very few tourists around - the town seemed quite untainted by tourism and seemed to live its life for itself. This gave us a great insight into lives here.




The pedestrian streets branching out from the plaza were busy with all kinds of shops and small restaurants.





We walked into the Cultural centre which was housed in this huge 300 year old colonial building, once the San Cristobal Seminary, with a large courtyard which had several restaurants with outdoor seating. We had lunch here; tried the Ceviche - marinated fish and seafood served with onions and salad , a little spicy. Excellent. The place had a very nice atmosphere with local office people coming in for lunch.

After lunch, as Rossini was not feeling well again, he and Letay went back to the hotel and I went to find out more about buses out of Ayacucho. We had initially planned to take a bus (or two) to Cusco, the town near Machu Picchu, but it would be almost 20 hours on dusty remote track from Ayacucho, and we didn't think it would be too fair on Letay. So changed our minds and planned to go to the coast to Pisco, and then back to the Andes to Arequipa....and make an easier path to Cusco from there.

In the room Letay found her spot on the balcony, overlooking the school across the street and coloured. The street and town was always buzzing with students in uniforms. Letay called Ayacucho the "The City of Schools"...although it is officially the City of Churches. In the evening, we walked to the plaza where there seemed to be a lot of things happening. We sat and watched the crowds, students, and saw young groups of army & police cadets jogging past. Then we could hear a band and a parade coming our way, towards the main Catherdral. The town in its drive to improve, have added two large clocks next two the bells of the Cathedral, but neither of them tell the same (or correct) time.

There was this huge statue of Christ being brought by a school procession, to the Cathedral in the main plaza. There were school children everywhere from this one school; the school band to lead the parade, students carrying flags and banners and a procession of people - very festive and ceremonial. Felt lucky to be there at the right time and milled into the cathedral with the crowd. It was a kind of blessing of the statue with that particular school hosting it. The children were certainly quite proud to be part of this too.

Had dinner at a Piano bar Restaurant, opposite another small church near our hotel. Whilst the restaurant advertised Pollo Parrilla on the outside, they had a great menu of local food and the place had a very Andean Cowboy feel - a piano in the corner, guitars for playing on the walls....a group of men drinking beer in the corner, who even after having had a great many beers, politely wished us good night as they left. The owner was very friendly and extremely nice to Letay as she reminded him of his grand-daughter who was far away in Lima. Letay and Rossini had a great Soupa Criolla - wholesome soup. As we were leaving the restaurant the owner came out with a gift of custard apples for us.

29th August, Tuesday - Ayacucho seemed like a place to just soak in the culture around and the local 'happenings'. Thought we'd do just that, instead of any tours around the place - there were some Hauri ruins that were a days trip. Rossini was well again this morning.



We first orgainsed our bus to Pisco (as no bus went directly to Pisco from here, we had to buy a ticket on a bus to Lima, and would have to get off on the road about 20 minutes from Pisco). Sat in the main plaza, admiring the place. Rossini made conversation with some schoolboys. They all had these pamphlets telling them that corruption was not only something that happened at high levels. Teachers taking money off kids, physically punishing kids, kids bullying others too were corruption.



When walked towards the main covered market. The place was interesting as expected; thousands of things being sold here. We saw shops selling all the various layers of the the multi-layered skirts that the local women wear. Had actually wondered who made them, if they were done at home or by tailors ? We had the answer - hundreds and hundreds of different material skirts to choose from - so colourful to look at.



Walked around the market for quite awhile. A few handicraft shops selling beautiful handicrafts and low prices (without bargaining) we wondered how they made a profit. With all the travels ahead we could not buy anything. The beautiful, detailed and intricately carved Retablos (little doll house-like wall hangings with various themes humouresly carved) have been produced in Ayacucho for generations.

In the market there was a meat section and a restaurant section too. Had coffees back in the San Christobal courtyard, and Rossini was very impressed with the neat and well equiped computer classes on the first floor of this ancient building. On the way we passed a few shops selling copies of CD's and DVD's with an entire section of Hindi music and movies. Even posters of famous Hindi movie stars.

Letay had her afternoon recharge of drawing and colouring on the balcony. Rossini went off to update the blog. He and Letay went off together for a walk later and he came back with the shortest haircut ever got at a small corner barber shop. We decided to go to the plaza again in the evening hoping there would be plenty to entertain us and we were not disappointed at all. We first went to the big Catherdral which was very beautiful ... There had been a funeral service that had just got over. The crowds walked out slowly. Almost every main plaza in every town seemed to have a beautiful Cathedral right on the plaza. When we walked out we could hear music across on the other side. Turned out to be a dance and song performance - plenty of colourful costumes and plenty of song and dance done by adults and children. This was certainly not being done specially for tourists, but just a regular happening by a local organisation for the people of Ayacucho. There seemed to be a drive for social awareness - in between the dances, some young men and women spoke about corruption and social issues. One young lady spoke of the crime of silence that she said all Peruvians had long been a guilty part of. Even with the little we understood of her speech it was certainly passionate and moving.
We were quite enamoured by Ayachuco and loved the authentic traditional flavour of the place. Andean people have a very gentle, quiet (but certainly not weak) way about them - not once have we heard a voice raised in anger or otherwise. Feel sorry to leave the next day. For Letay too, the comfort of familiar streets, the balcony and hotel staff is difficult to break away from - the long bus journeys are a good gradual transition & buffer for the new place.