I bid farewell to my travel friends, who all had different flight arrangements back to Lima and onward to the U.S. I still have another 5 full days in Peru, and have booked a variety of different excursions to expand my view and knowledge of this beautiful country. But today was a quiet one. I strolled around this morning; it was sunny and spring-like, and came across two different protest marches. Not clear on what was being protested — it didn’t seem to be connected to the political drama occurring in the capitol. Some of the signs seemed to be about Machu Picchu and some others about education. I did ask one person on the street but he wasn’t sure either!
I was headed to a chocolate cooking class taking place at a shop that was called the Chocolate Museum. I had booked this class before I left for the tour through the Lares and Sacred Valleys, and when I checked in there was some confusion. But I was told to join the group and the lovely Ana taught us about cocoa beans and had us taste different nibs of chocolate from different regions in Peru. There were a two couples from Australia, one from NZ, two pairs from the U.S. and one single from Canada — a very enthusiastic group. It was a hands on class, roasting the beans, shelling them, helping to make various beverages, and finally using a mortal and pestle to grind them to a paste. We had a choice of molds, types of chocolates and a whole variety of mix-ins or toppings. And then they were refrigerated and we were told to pick up our treats a little later. It was a fun experience.
The confusion was that they had charged me for the full on 3 1/2 hour cooking class, involving a trip to the market and making a full Peruvian meal, when I had asked for the chocolate class. So a refund was in order, which I was grateful for, as I had thought that 165 soles was a bit steep. Anyway, it was sorted, and I went back after lunch to collect my treats.
I had lunch at a restaurant that had been recommended to us when we first arrived in Cusco, and since there were still two women from the tour hanging around waiting for their ride to the airport, we enjoyed a classic Peruvian meal in style. Then they took off and I’ve started preparing my pack for tomorrow’s adventure.
I will be picked up at 2:15AM for a 3 1/2 hour ride to Rainbow Mountain. And I will tell all about that adventure tomorrow. For this evening, it will be a simple meal and an early bedtime.
