Tomorrow we leave for the mountains of Marcahuasi, after taking a bus ride to San Pedro de Castas from where we ride 2 hours on horseback. I’m told it is 14,000 ft there, which I am also told (by my friends from Utah and Colorado) will definitely be the highest altitude I’ve ever experienced. There are no skiing resorts in the US at that altitude, from what I'm told. Our medical officers have given us altitude pills to take just in case we react badly to it. At Marcahuasi we will do some sessions in the evening and relax with a bonfire, then do some consulting practice on Saturday with the eco-tourism company there.
Today I bought one of the classic Peruvian hats called a chullo (choo-yoh) that looks like this:
The cost of living here is absurdly low- my hat was 7 soles (a little more than $2 I think) and to get to the bigger town, I pay between 50 centimos to 1 sol depending on the time of day, approximately 15-30 US cents.
The cost of living here is absurdly low- my hat was 7 soles (a little more than $2 I think) and to get to the bigger town, I pay between 50 centimos to 1 sol depending on the time of day, approximately 15-30 US cents.
Talking about my “chullo,” you have to be really careful about pronunciation here, because there are so many slang words that are muy parecidos (sound very similar), at least to an American ear:
Choro (chore-roh): pick-pocket
Cholo (choh-loh): Indian, mestizo (can be either affectionate or insulting depending on context)
Cojo (koh-hoe): a person missing one leg
Chullo (choo-yoh): the Peruvian style hat I bought
Churro (choor-roh): good-looking, guapo
Churro (choor-roh): good-looking, guapo
Culo (koo-low): ass (I assume this slang is used in Peru too)
Cuyo (koo-yoh): whose
Choclo (choh-cloh)- maize
Choco (choh-koh): I hit (like a car accident)
Chacra: field (agriculture)
Chamba: job
Chompa: pullover jacket
By the way friends, please send me your Skype name if I don’t have it! (Fran, Haley, Jessie, Katie Neal…)
