This past Sunday, Dr. Rafael, Claudia (an obstetrician at the clinic), Michael and I did a medical campaign in Mayrasco, a community below Occopata. This community is smaller than Occopata but also nicer. The campaign focused around wart treatment, a major problem in the surrounding villages of Cusco. We began the campaign in Occopata, and then drove down to Mayrasco to work there for the majority of the morning. Michael and I had bought lapices de nitrata de plata, or silver nitrate pencils to treat the warts. These pencils effectively treat the warts and are also simple for people to use, since one just has to 'color' the warts with the pencil. 

Beginning at El Puesto de Salud in Occopata

One of the main roads in Occopata

Dr. Rafael explaining our medical campaign to a local family

 Michael treating the warts on a young boy's foot

We then headed to Mayrasco, where we found a large part of the community watching a soccer game in the field.

 We began going house to house, asking the locals if they were infected with warts or had any other sickness that needed treatment.

 View of Mayrasco

Baby lambs on the soccer field :)

 Kids watching the game while eating lunch

After the medical campaign, the four of us headed into town for lunch. The restaurant we went to had the best Peruvian food I've tasted my entire time here! A 'hole-in-the-wall' locale, this place served a four-course authentic Peruvian meal for 15 soles (a little less than $6). We had Rocotto Relleno (stuffed peppers) for the appetizer, chicken and kiwicha soup, a choice of either Papa Rellena con Arroz Chaufa  (stuffed potatoes with a Peruvian kind of fried rice) or Bistec de Pollo con Papas Fritas (grilled chicken and french fries) for the secondary, and a variety of different options for dessert. The Papa Rellena that I ate was incredible, and by far the best one I've ever had. Along with the meal, we were served the classic Peruvian drink Chicha Morada, a sweet drink made from blue corn. 

In case I haven't explained before, the typical Peruvian "Menu" meal consists of three parts - a soup, your choice of secondary (there are usually 2-3 main courses from which to choose), and the drink (generally tea or chicha morada). This "Menu" can range anywhere from 3.50 soles to upwards of 20 or 25, depending on the quality and type of restaurant. A dessert or appetizer might also be included at a nicer restaurant. There are over 20 different Menu places within a few blocks of where I live in the neighborhood of Los Nogales, and they all cost 3.50 soles, or about $1.30. Needless to say, I'm very careful of which ones I eat at, since it's very easy to develop gastrointestinal problems from the food at cheaper restaurants.

Lately, I've been really enjoying cooking. Last week, my friend Claudia from the clinic came over and we cooked together. She taught me how to make Tallarín Rojo con Pollo, a Peruvian dish that consists of spaghetti served with chicken and tomato sauce. It was very easy to make and tasted wonderful! 

For dessert, I made a chocolate fondue, and we dipped fresh bananas in both the chocolate sauce and some peanut butter I had made the day before. Peanut butter being one of my staple foods at home, I was shocked to find out that this was Claudia's first time ever trying it!

One of the Jardín volunteers, Hannah, is from Austria and we enjoy cooking together as well. We took advantage of the plentiful fruit in Cusco, and made a stack of coconut oatmeal pancakes topped with passionfruit and bananas! Definitely a breakfast to remember. 

Work at the Jardín is also going very well. The kids have been on vacation for the past two and a half weeks, which gave us the opportunity to get a lot of manual labor done. Recently, we build a greenhouse out of plastic bottles filled with dirt, a wall/bench for the kids to sit on, and painted murals on the side of the school.

 Side view of the greenhouse

 Inside the greenhouse

This coming weekend, Hannah and I are traveling to Puno and Lake Titicaca (the highest lake in the world)! We're going to spend the night on an island in the lake with a local family, and also see the Uros islands which are man-made from reeds. 

I can't believe that my time in Cusco has nearly come to an end. In less than two weeks, I will be leaving for Ecuador to start my study abroad program. I'm really excited for the next chapter in my travels to begin, but at the same time will greatly miss Cusco, the volunteer work, and all the amazing friends I have made here.