In South American small towns invariably have a square in the middle. Even in the most modest of towns the square is an important place. There will be a church, some restaurants and streets radiating out from the square where commerce takes place.
The hat is very important in Peru. Each region has distinctive hats. In Chivay they take it to another level with hat sculptures. They are irresistible to children and sometimes accidents happen. Some child may have spilled ice cream on the last hat. The sculptures are designed so you can sit on them and rest weary legs and feet.
If you’ve had a tiring day you can always take a taxi. However don’t look for the standard black taxi or collectivo here. Each taxi owner personalizes their ‘cab’. It’s quite the creative use of a motorcycle.
Chivay’s marketplace is quite orderly. In Chivay each area of the marketplace has a purpose. If you want groceries you go to one area and for other items you find the area where it’s being sold.
We also went on a hike outside of town that took us up on a hill that overlooked the town. We highly recommend taking that walk. The views are great at the edge of town.
Those views get even better outside of town. And if you go you may even see someone walking to town with child in tow and their llama. We really liked the bridge and appreciate the amount of work that must have gone into building it.
woolyandraeski 