Yesterday I got a chance to get out of Cusco and out into the countryside. My friend Miguel owns a large plot of land there. He invited me out there to participate in a huatia. A huatia is a traditional Peruvian oven made out of the earth. It is a mound built using soil and is open on one side. A fire is lit inside the huatia and allowed to burn for several hours. After there is sufficient heat, potatoes are placed inside, the hole is filled and the mound is allowed to collapse in on itself. The fire is extinguished and the potatoes cook for an hour or two via the heat from the surrounding soil. Sounds delicious! What my friend Miguel failed to mention that the afternoon leading up to the potato fest would consist of us digging a 1'x1' ditch down the side of a mountain in order to run a water pipe from a spring at the top. It was a very humbling experience to say the least. Ditch digging is not easy work!! We were about 1,000 feet higher in elevation than Cusco, so I was already short of breath. Once I came to terms with the fact that I would be digging a ditch all day, it got a little easier. Miguel is working on cultivating the land and making a self sufficient artist community. I have a lot of respect for that. In hindsight, it was actually an honor to be a part of that (even if my digging skills were not up to par!) So 4 hours, 3 blisters, and one hell of a sunburn later, I stumbled down the mountain and ate the best 7 potatoes of my life. You should try it sometime!
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