We (F, K, & I - Nick's cold backslided from all the hiking and not enough sleep the past few days) went on another tour with Oscar. This time we went outside of Cusco to a little community called Chinchero. Here there is a place where the women in the community weave all their textiles and scarves, etc. we stayed for a long time learning about each step of the weaving process starting with how they get the different dye colors from plants, seeds, leaves and even insects. Each color takes all day to stain the wool and the indigo color takes a whole month!
We were fascinated by the demonstration of each step and the intricate details and long, hard work that goes into weaving each piece. We also learned how one can tell which community an item comes from. There are details in the edging that is unique to each community. We also learned how to tell hand- made vs. machine made. In many ways hand made is more perfect than machine. And some cases the handmade pieces are imperfect but it makes it more charming somehow.
We also visited a salt mine today. There is a place in the mountains where there is a spring that has really salty water. The Incas built about 400 little pools to capture the salt water. After about a week the water evaporates and what remains is several layers of salt. The top layer is for human consumption the next layer is for animals, and the next layer is for medicinal purposes, etc. The image of all the salt pools is really beautiful.
We enjoyed our last night in Cusco with a nice dinner together and then we packed for our trip back home tomorrow.
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