This past weekend was my first trip to a "Campo" or rural village. Life in the village of Pumamarka is a bit different than in Cusco and very different from anything I've seen in the States.
We took only a 20 minute cab ride up a twisty switchback mountain road to enter a whole new world. This small village of maybe 1,000 or so people is a typical or perhaps well off campo given its close proximity to Cusco. When I entered the small village of Quecha speaking people I was awed not only by their simple lifestyle and adobe constructed houses, but also by the beauty of the landscape only 20 minutes from my house. There were rolling hills of wheat crops and ice capped mountains off in the distance.
We pulled up to my "mom's" friend’s house to be greeted by a neighbor yelling at the top of her lungs in Quecha into the valley to call the family home for us. It really felt like I was in a movie! When the family arrived we had some chicha or beer made from corn, but not before we spilled a little bit on the ground as an offering to mother earth, something I had learned about in my Spanish class, but not really grasped until now.
After this, it was time to start preparing lunch; on the menu today, Whatia and river trout. To prepare the Whatia, we constructed a small igloo like structure from adobe bricks. When I say we, I of course mean the 10 year old boy in the family constructed it while the rest of us stood around and watched. After burning some wood and leaves in the structure for about a half an hour, we put potatoes and beans inside, collapsing the structure on top to cover the food, letting it cook for about an hour.
We later dug out our food to find fully cooked potatoes and beans. We promptly ate the Whatia with trout that was prepared in the house kitchen over an open flame all without utensils while sitting on the ground in the grass in a circle, sharing stories just like old days. It was a meal to remember!
Until next time, keep livin’ the dream!
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