Markets in Cusco

By Tina Lin – Guest blogger traveling in Peru.
I left the hospital earlier today with Marcy (another student in the Salud program) to visit Museo de Arte Contemporaneo and Museo Historico Regional. These museums are located across from each other, which makes them easy stops. I liked the artwork at the contemporary museum, they are not as contemporary as I had imagined. The paintings consisted of objects you can make out and the sculptures are of people. My favorite painting of all was a woman bathing in the rain. The painting where done in dark and light shades of green. It gave a sense of exhilaration and joy. Both Marcy and I wanted to see more after we finished all the exhibits. Museo Historico Regional consisted of Pre-Incan/Incan art on the first floor, then religious art on the second floor. Unlike the contemporary art museum, we were not allowed to take pictures there. My favorite piece was stonework of puma (puma is the animal that served as guardian of the land). I did not learn as much from this museum as Museo Inca because we did not have a guide.
After our visit to the museums, Marcy went home. I walked to the Central Market and visited a book fair. I was so excited to see cookbooks and anatomy books. They were 5 sols each. I cannot wait to show my friends these awesome books. Then, I went into Central Market to buy some fruits. My favorite fruit that I've only seen in Cusco is granadilla. It is this fruit with an orange colored shell on the outside and soft white meat enveloping seeds in the inside. How do you eat this thing you might ask…. you suck out the seeds. The juice left on the seeds is delicious. I bought half kilo for 1.5 sols.
In the afternoon, we had Spanish lessons as usual. A few of my friends decided to head over to El Molino together after class ended. El Molino is a market that sells cheap common electronics, clothing, shoes, sport gears…etc. A lot of students in my program bought cheap DVDs and brand name clothes there. I bought some CDs and films. I am getting ready for my weekend trip to Machu Pichu. I think I will use up at least four rolls of films. Around 8pm, I went home to eat dinner with my family. I have a Spanish quiz tomorrow.