Ana, Jeanne, Victor and I all met around 10:30 am in the city center to embark on a tour of the northern part of Huancayo and Jauja (a nearby city). The first stop on the tour was in Huancayo, and was to show us how Alpaca sweaters or other things of Alpaca are made. The man told us how to tell the differences between Alpaca, Llama, and sheep fur; which is useful to know when you are looking to buy. After the demonstration and explanation was concluded, we got to poke around and look at the items. I didn't buy anything, and before too long, everyone had once again boarded the van and we set off to the next stop.
When we all got off the bus, we were all a little weirded out and confused, as a man dressed completely in black fringe started playing music and dancing. From his mask around his nose dangled a large, protruding, red, hot dog shaped thing. I'm still a little confused as to why he was dressed like this, as I soon realized we were in a place where jewelry is made. He demonstrated how they melt down silver and the procedures they took when making the jewelry or pieces. We once again received some time to poke around the various booths. Jeanne bought a beautiful ring, Ana some earrings for her family, and Victor bought his grandma a necklace and earrings. After everyone finished buying, the bus was boarded and we made a quick stop to see some statues...
Before we got on the bus and left Huancayo for Jauja. We arrived at Laguna de Paca (Lake Paca) and boarded a quaint row boat. The lake was stunning, surrounded by mountains and filled with wildlife (birds and trout). The guide/rower pointed out faces in the mountains (which I didn't see) and explained legends. After we landed back on shore, we took some pictures and boarded the bus again.
After our boat ride, we were all a little hungry, so we were all relived that the next stop on the tour was a dairy farm. We taste tested some cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and manjar blanco. While the yogurt was good, we all decided to get ice cream (soft serve, coffee flavored). Poor Ana is lactose intolerant, so she didn't get to try too much. After our little snack, we finally headed to the restaurant. Here Ana and I gorged on Chicharron de Trucha (Fried Trout), while Jeanne and Victor settled for steak. We were quite hungry and finished before the other people of our group, so we had a bit off time to look around all of the tourist shops outside. While I didn't find anything but Inca Kola (my favorite Peruvian pop), I wasn't too disappointed in saving my coin.
The final stop on the tour was a Convent and church. All of us decided to pay 5 soles for the tour. For parts of the tour, we weren't allowed to take photos. For these parts the guide was explaining the various paintings on all the walls. I found the library quite impressive, as it was filled to the brim with yellowed pages. Another impressive part of the tour a room we entered that was painted everywhere. Here, we were allowed to take pictures...
The tour of the convent concluded about an hour later. We took some pictures from outside the church, before we all headed back toward Huancayo. The tour guide kindly dropped us off at a shopping mall a block from our house so that we could more easily walk home. Once home, we relaxed and talked to our host mom about the tour. Jeanne, Ana, and I then headed back to the mall to see a movie, before returning home and preparing for the next days adventure, a trip to the jungle!
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