The Friday fun did not end with the kids leaving. Oh no, oh no, oh no! There was much more in store for us. We were on the verge of crashing and could have easily laid down and taken a three hour nap but instead we went to work. We spent a good 30 minutes organizing the kids room again. It sort of exploded over the last few weeks and was in dire need of a cleaning. We reshelved books, sorted the games, swept the floor, and straightened the shelves.
Next, we did the unthinkable. We decided to go BACK to Cajamarca. We’d just spent six hours there that morning but we had other stuff we wanted to do. So we jumped on another bus…just us three. It was wonderful as we had a seat the entire time!
We rode the bus further than we usually did and kind of went on an adventure as we didn’t know exactly what the buses route was. Once we felt we were about where we wanted to be, we hopped off. I think we picked an odd spot to get off because everyone gave us weird looks…or maybe it’s just because we’re white and can’t say “baja” with the correct accent.
It was fun to just meander around the Mercado and see what it had to offer. There are literally hundreds of shops and stands and you couldn’t see them all if you wanted to. We looked at some shoe stores, went to the clothing district and saw a lot of gorgeous fruit. I really want to get a pair of black flats for church. We’ve been sporting our chacos each week which are convenient and comfortable, but not quite “Sunday best.” I mean, it’s the best we have in Peru, as our other option would be tennis shoes or boots, but we could do better and buy some real shoes. The little shoe stores are kind of intimidating though. They are not big and spacious like ones in America. They’re the size of my closet back home with three walls completely covered in shoes. I guess there are a few that you can walk around, but they don’t have all sizes out for you to try…they’re more like the fancy stores in that you have to ask the clerk (in Spanish) to get the shoe for you. And they don’t use the same size system so who even knows what I’m supposed to ask for. I didn’t buy a pair on Friday but maybe this week I’ll get some.
I did buy a nice new jacket though! It’s dark gray, fleece and very warm. Well, I assume it’s warm because it’s fleece but I haven’t actually worn it yet. I haven’t even seen myself in it yet because I don’t have access to a mirror bigger than my head…I took Noelle and Brittany’s word for it when they said it looked good on me and I should buy it. And a fleece jacket was not on my list of things to buy in Peru! Oh well. Noelle tried to buy a skirt from a little old lady who refused to lower her price because we were gringas. She even told us the price was higher for us because we could afford it. I know they jack prices up for us, but I didn’t expect one to admit it! I need to work on my bartering skills. I paid exactly what she asked for the jacket. It was only like $8 so I’m not super worried about overspending.
The big purchase of the day came from Brittany. She bought a guitar! We’d been to the guitar shop last week so she could check them out and we came back with hard cash to buy one. The little old man that owns the place was hilarious. He talked fast and seemed almost crazy…but he was very nice and helpful. He taught her how to restring and tune it, how to play a song about Cajamarca and she got a free case, pick and some music with it. The case was a nice surprise since she forgot hers at the house and it was pouring rain outside. Sadly, when we got home that night and she went to play the songs she knows, she realized he tuned it differently so none of her songs sound right.
It was a chill evening at home. We made guacamole for dinner and ate it with chips and eggs then topped it off with popcorn for dessert.
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