This had already been such a culturally rich day!  So many thoughts and feelings about what we had experienced were bouncing around in my head, but little did I know at the time, there was so much more to come…

We still had much of the afternoon and evening ahead of us, so Raul, our tour leader, offered to take our group to Mercado San Pedro.  Bruce and I were the only takers, so the three of us hopped on a local bus to visit Cusco’s largest market.

Although Mercado San Pedro has over 2,000 reviews on Trip Advisor and has been written up in several blogs, Bruce and I appeared to be the only tourists in most of the areas Raul showed us.  In addition to the indoor stalls, the market encompasses several streets, so I’m guessing the tourists never make it out to those back streets where the locals shop.  But this is where the action was, where I was inspired to shoot photos, and where the awesome assault on my senses was mind-blowing—on top of what was a mind-blowing day (as detailed in my previous post).

This is what travel is all about for me and Bruce; those experiences that awake the senses and have me exclaiming, “Wow, check that out!” incessantly.  My friend Al said it perfectly in his comment about my last post, “…Travel is about more than just sightseeing, it’s about being aware of and absorbing the customs and cultures of the people and that has an effect on broadening our personal world-view.”

Pictures can’t possibly tell the full story, because they are only visual.  What’s missing are the sounds, smells, and conversations that also took place, in addition to all the other un-photographed sights we took in during our exploration.

We are grateful to Raul for generously giving of his free time to share this meaningful and memorable experience with us!

(For all photos, click on the image for a full screen view.)

Scenes in the indoor market:

Coming up next: PERU #15: SEEKING OUT THE SOUTHERN VALLEY & SACSAYHUAMAN