The next morning, we were back to our delicious breakfast. We were not sure where the carnival in Cusco was taking place, and google searches resulted in nothing but travel blogs that provided no details whatsoever! We asked the hotel hosts who said it takes place in the main square and recommended to get there earlier in the day.
We headed to the market we visited on the walking tour. We were peacefully walking down the road for a few minutes before we experienced a drive-by! A silver car came from behind us, and a child leaned out the window with a super soaker. Before we could react, we were blasted with a jet of cold water! Ugh, annoying but it was a hot and sunny day so we would dry soon.
This vicious attack, however, gained justification as we turned the corner to the main square. What lay before us was a literal (water) war zone. The middle of the square was filled with foam being sprayed into the air. Water bombs were flying through the air in all directions! Katy and I decided we would try and avoid the area and took to the back streets of Cusco to avoid being (water) cannon fodder!
We made our way, dodging water bombs and spray foam, across town to the local market. Outside there was a band playing music to the crowd, who were enjoying food prepared at local market stalls. Katy and I jumped in and got some Peruvian street food, and people watched for a little while. This part of town was far calmer, and there was no visible threat of being hit by a water bomb. After lunch, we walked back to the main square to see if the carnival involved a parade that we didn’t see the first time.
Sadly, this was not the case, and it did appear that this carnival was all about people having fun throwing water around. To be fair, the sun was out, and it was a warm day, so they weren’t wrong, and it was hilarious to see other travellers who were less keen on the idea getting upset that their high-end fashion had been hit with foam. This also provided some great photo opportunities.
We took refuge at a bar overlooking the main square of Cusco. Tempted by the sign on the door which had stated the place was a microbrewery, we were puzzled when we walked into a fancy restaurant complete with linen table covers. The owner ushered us in and said not to worry, we don’t need to eat, and we could just have local beers. The fanciest place I have gone to for a pint, and cheaper than a Wetherspoons! Our table gave us the perfect vantage point to see all the madness below, from a safe distance and protection from the windows. We spotted a group of lads who had great fun throwing water bombs and playing innocent immediately after they landed, much to the confusion of their target who couldn’t work out where the object had come from.
We settled the bill and thought we would head back to the hotel for some chilling and maybe watch a film. On the walk around the square, we were cautious and kept an eye out for rogue water bombs heading our way. It didn’t take long for the locals to pick up the scent of fresh (dry) tourists to harass. Within seconds Katy had been hit with 3 water bombs, and we had people chasing us with buckets of water. We got the corner of the square soaked and laughed. This was crazy. However, they drew first blood! We took out our change and purchased a couple of foam cans. It was time to fight back.
Going full Rambo, we ran into the crowd and sprayed foam wildly! The locals loved this, and we had such a great time. Once our cans were depleted, we took stock of ourselves. Covered in foam, soaking wet and patches of purple paint over our clothes and faces, it was safe to say we didn’t come out of this battle victorious! As we headed back up the hills, I noticed that my vision was starting to lose contrast… whoops, here’s hoping there wasn’t anything dodgy in the foam.
We got back to the hotel and hung up our clothes, and the shower removed all the paint from my face. Once dry we headed back to our favourite restaurant for another Salchipapa. Becoming quite the regulars, we were recognised as soon as we walked in. This time we were given a bonus carb, pasta. So, we dined on our Sausage, Potato, rice and pasta for the sum of four soles. Seriously, this was the bargain of the century.
For our last day, we woke up early and were grateful that breakfast was being served first thing. We tucked into our favourite pancakes and not long after we heard a knock at the door. We jumped into the minivan and headed out to another activity. This was almost, but not genuinely, becoming a chore!
We arrived at the quad bike centre and were greeted by both a dog and a pig. Katy, a fan of all living creatures got distracted by the Pig and started to pet it and give it attention. This confused a nearby girl who looked at Katy as if she had lost her mind. With the minimal English, she knew she looked at Katy, pointed at the dog and said: “You have the wrong animal!”. Katy replied that she, in fact, preferred the Pig, but the little human had no idea what she had said and instead slowly walked away.
We walked into the garage and signed our lives away on the dotted lines of the waiver forms. Thankfully our travel insurance included all sorts of activities so we had some reassurance of healthcare if things didn’t go to plan. Before long we were given our helmets and overclothes and were driving the quad bikes around the courtyard course, to provide us with a feel for the bikes (while showing we wouldn’t be a reckless hazard to the instructors).
A few circular laps completed and we made our way out to the road. The dusty routes had us weaving in and out of the village traffic. To ensure we were not about to embark in Mario Kart-esque banter, we had to form a single file driving line. The instructor at the front would signal what gear we would have to be in and when to slow down. It was straightforward to gain a feel for how the bikes worked, so it wasn’t long before I took to navigating the gears on my own.
After a heart-pounding drive, we pulled over to our first stop of the tour. We took our helmets off and laughed as we had all been covered in dust from the road. Our guide introduced the site as being the farm of the Incas. The area, shaped like an avocado, had multiple terraces which could support a temperature difference of 15 degrees C between the top and bottom level. As a result, some believe it was a form of Incan greenhouse, where vegetation could be cultivated to grow at altitude, within the confines of a terrace, and at varying levels of heat.
A short walk around the site and we got back on the quadbikes. This time the guide took us off the main roads, and we started to zip along the wet country roads. This was great fun! I was keen to stay next in line from the instructor and emulated his movements as he skidded, lept and spun around the mud patches in our path. Hitting the accelerator at the right time would let you power slide across the track and flick the earth up into the air.
A fun amount of time later we got back to the starting point, now covered in mud. We parked up the quadbikes and then jumped into a minibus to take us to the second sight of the day. Unfortunately, it involved going on a highway which was the reason for us not being allowed to progress on the quads. On the plus side, there were not too many people on this tour, so we had ample room on the minibus to stretch out legs out, a rare treat!
We arrived at the salt production facility and were stunned by the views. What looked like segregated crops in farming were actually pools of salt and water. Our guide informed us that the water comes from a spring at the top, which is diverted to fill the pools up. Once full, the water is left stagnant, and sun evaporates away from the moisture, leaving behind a layer of salt. The salt is then dug out by shovel and hand and is graded into three products. Brown salt, being medicinal salt for things like massages (and I guess the sort of crud that might be used to throw on roads if it gets icy). Pink salt which is the pricier health-based salt that people throw into baths for skincare. And finally, common table salt. Looking out over the site, it was clear to see how big this operation was, and that through all our modern developments, there is still A LOT of money to be made in salt!
With the tour completed, we were herded over to the stalls and told that this was the best place to buy these products. A line that is said far too often and on closer inspection, it did seem like a lot of the produce was the same tat being sold at marketplaces across Peru. However, we couldn’t resist buying a little packet of smoked salt, which we will wait for the first BBQ of the year to bring out.
Our time in Cusco had come to an end, and we were sad to go! Our stay had been phenomenal, and it truly stood out as a highlight to us. As the sky turned dark, we said goodbye to our amazing hosts and jumped into a taxi towards our bus terminal. Only when we got into the cab did we realise that the directions printed for us were quite vague. We verified where we were meant to go on the Peru hop website and arrived at the bus station. Given this would be an overnight bus, we passed a nearby shop and picked up some travel snacks. At boarding time, we were impressed that the bus, being one for the first services of the season, was next to empty. Great for us, we reclined back as far as we could and slept our way on the road to Arequipa!